The Mets are riding arguably their hottest stretch of the season, but David Stearns continues to take hits for his roster construction.
Yankees play-by-play announcer Michael Kay blasted the Mets’ president of baseball operations over his offseason moves, which included shedding several franchise mainstays in favor of short-term deals for oft-injured veterans.
Even with their three-game winning streak, the Amazin’s 18-25 record is tied with the Giants for second-worst in the majors.
Superstars Francisco Lindor and Juan Soto have both missed time with injuries, while offseason additions Jorge Polanco, Luis Robert Jr., Bo Bichette and Luke Weaver have battled prolonged absences or slumps of their own.
“Every move he made has not worked,” Kay said Tuesday on ESPN’s “The Michael Kay Show.” “It’s like some of these things didn’t even come to David Stearns’ mind as he was putting the team together.
“This guy is operating under his own guidelines when the rest of the sport is operating completely differently.”
Kay criticized Stearns for overlooking red flags in injury histories such as Polanco and Robert Jr., and for trying to fill the third base vacancy with a player (Bichette) who had never played the position.
losing streak earlier in the season.
Additionally, Kay hit Stearns for allowing Pete Alonso, the franchise’s all-time leader in home runs, to leave for the Orioles despite his durability.
“You took Pete Alonso and this is a guy who you wouldn’t sign to a five-year deal,” Kay began. “But one thing that Pete Alonso gave you was availability. He played every game; the guy was a bull. You never had to worry about him being scratched or being injured — he played every game.
“Instead, you sign a guy [Polanco] who can’t get healthy. How’s that looking now? Just an awful maneuver by David Stearns.”
During his seven seasons in Flushing, Alonso missed just 24 games, while Polanco already has missed 29 games because of Achilles and wrist injuries.
Kay praised the Mets’ decision to promote top prospect A.J. Ewing, who has enjoyed a hot start to his MLB career.
After reaching base four times in his debut Tuesday, Ewing hit his first career homer Thursday in the Mets’ 8-3 win over the Tigers, which sealed a three-game sweep.
“So you look at this, and you go, ‘Well, that’s kind of a panic move.’ And I go, ‘Good. They need to panic. They need to panic. They still have a chance,’” Kay said. “You can’t keep rolling out the same lineup that doesn’t hit and expect things to change.”
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