Inside The Mets

Did David Stearns suggest Mets are out on future Vladimir Guerrero Jr. pursuit?

David Stearns may have inadvertently explained why the Mets won't be pursuing Vladimir Guerrero Jr. in free agency next season.

Grant Young

Sep 29, 2024; Toronto, Ontario, CAN; Toronto Blue Jays designated hitter Vladimir Guerrero Jr. (27) sits in the dugout before the start of a game against the Miami Marlins at Rogers Centre. Mandatory Credit: Nick Turchiaro-Imagn Images
Sep 29, 2024; Toronto, Ontario, CAN; Toronto Blue Jays designated hitter Vladimir Guerrero Jr. (27) sits in the dugout before the start of a game against the Miami Marlins at Rogers Centre. Mandatory Credit: Nick Turchiaro-Imagn Images / Nick Turchiaro-Imagn Images
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In January it was reported that the New York Mets had been in contact with the Toronto Blue Jays regarding superstar slugger Vladimir Guerrero Jr.

"The Mets have spoken with the Toronto Blue Jays this winter about Guerrero, league sources say, though those sources characterized the conversations as 'checking in,'" SNY's Andy Martino wrote in a January 15 article.

It seemed that the main reason why New York was inquiring about Guerrero Jr. (who is still under contract through next season and therefore would have needed to be traded) was because, at that point, the sentiment seemed to be that Pete Alonso was signing elsewhere.

Of course, Alonso has since re-signed with the Mets, which ended any potential outcome of Guerrero Jr. joining New York.

But if Alonso exercises his player opt-out after next season, he and Guerrero Jr. will arguably be the two best first basemen available in free agency.

However, something Mets president of baseball operations David Stearns said during his February 11appearance on the Pablo Torre Finds Out show suggests that New York may be out in Guerrero Jr. entirely moving forward.

When speaking about what went into offering Juan Soto his historic contract, Stearns said, "It's tough to foresee another identically situated free agency emerging in the next, let's say, 7-10 years. And so you had one shot at this type of investment. And we put our best foot forward and fortunately, we got it.

Read More: David Stearns reveals factors that led to historic Juan Soto Mets contract

"Regardless of how deep an organization's pockets are, you can't do multiple of these. In terms of these generational types of contracts, you probably have one shot to shoot. And we felt that this was the right person to take that shot," he added.

Early estimates suggest that Guerrero Jr. could command a $500 million contract next offseason if he produced a good 2025 campaign. Therefore, Stearns seems to essentially be saying his team isn't in a place to spend that amount of money on anybody else in the future, given what they've already allotted to Juan Soto this offseason.

This is certainly fair enough, as giving two players north of $1.2 billion does seem preposterous.

It doesn't seem like Mets fans should expect their team to be in on Guerrero Jr. next season. Then again, a lot can change in a year.

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Grant Young
GRANT YOUNG

Grant Young covers the New York Mets and Women’s Basketball for Sports Illustrated’s ‘On SI’ sites. He holds an MFA degree in creative writing from the University of San Francisco, where he also played Division 1 baseball for five years. He believes Mark Teixeira should have been a first ballot MLB Hall of Fame inductee.

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