MLB Rumors: Grading likelihood Mets can land any of these targets on Steve Cohen's offseason wish list

MLB Rumors: Will Mets hire David Stearns?

This should be the Mets’ first order of business. Because hiring Stearns as president of baseball operations could single handedly change the outlook of the franchise’s next decade.

Stearns, TK, is as good as any veteran executive in baseball. He consistently got the Brewers to the postseason with limited resources and in a small market. He built one of the best homegrown pitching staffs in baseball, which is something that is important to Cohen. He built a strong culture in Milwaukee and was universally respected by all of his peers.

Stearns is someone that the Mets, who have struggled with leadership in recent years, have prioritized. He has been Cohen’s No. 1 target since he revealed that he wants a president of baseball operations. He was unable to talk to him because Brewers owner Mark Attanasio blocked Cohen from doing so.

But Stearns stepped down as Brewers president of baseball operations in the winter of 2022. He is still technically under contract with the team through the 2023 season, but was recently allowed to talk with other teams – and reports suggest that he is already far down the road in negotiations with the Mets.

And that would be a franchise-altering hire.

Likelihood: 8.5/10.