New York Mets president of baseball operations David Stearns has turn out to be a public enemy within the eyes of many Mets followers because of the controversial decisions he made in the course of the offseason whereas assembling a roster that went 35-49 throughout the primary 84 video games of the 2026 season.
In the meantime, Eric Chavez beforehand held completely different teaching roles with the Mets from 2022 up till he was dismissed by the membership this previous October. In the course of the newest version of his podcast, Chavez shared some regarding takes about Stearns and about how star outfielder Juan Soto dealt with his first season with the Mets.
Soto featured for the New York Yankees in the course of the 2024 marketing campaign earlier than he signed a 15-year, $765M contract to affix the Mets in December of that yr.
Juan Soto “struggled the primary two months emotionally” after becoming a member of Mets
“He struggled the primary two months emotionally,” Chavez mentioned about Soto, per Joe Pantorno of amNewYork. “I don’t blame him, an enormous transfer going from the Yankees. Perhaps had a bit little bit of purchaser’s regret. In between innings, he would run from the outfield and go sit within the batting cage on the sofa, and never be within the dugout with teammates. This isn’t a Juan subject. It is a lack of management, an absence of accountability from the highest down. And we had an assistant GM who would sit there with him…and form of coddle him, faucet him on the shoulder, with out saying, ‘Hey dude, how about getting within the dugout along with your teammates?'”
Tales about Soto’s alleged unhappiness whereas with the Mets routinely generated headlines all through the spring of 2025. After the Mets endured a brutal collapse final yr en path to lacking the playoffs, rumors surfaced claiming that the staff was impacted by alleged clubhouse points all through the second half of the season.
For what it’s price, a report from earlier in June indicated that Soto has served as a robust and outspoken chief for the Mets amid their quite a few struggles this yr.
How David Stearns allegedly reacted when informed of Juan Soto issues
Based on Pantorno, Chavez mentioned on the podcast that he spoke with Stearns about Soto probably setting a nasty instance for youthful gamers final yr.
“Nicely, these gamers must study that they’re not Juan Soto,” Stearns allegedly responded.
Chavez added that “this isn’t a spine kind of chief from a GM, as a result of it trickles down.”
In fact, Mets followers largely would not care about Chavez’s feedback if the staff had been even barely first rate heading into July. The Mets are as an alternative a last-place membership that fired supervisor Carlos Mendoza on June 26, so Chavez’s phrases could pour extra gas onto the figurative hearth for New York supporters who need staff proprietor Steve Cohen to indicate Stearns the door sooner moderately than later.
