FILE – Milwaukee Brewers President of Baseball Operations David Stearns talks about stepping down from that role during a news conference Thursday, Oct. 27, 2022, in Milwaukee. Stearns has agreed to become president of baseball operations for the underperforming New York Mets, according to several reports, Tuesday, Sept. 12, 2023. (AP Photo/Morry Gash, File)
QUEENS — New York Mets owner Steve Cohen has been as hands-on as any owner across Major League Baseball across his first three seasons. But now he’s turning things over to David Stearns.
The incoming president of baseball operations, who will be introduced on Monday at noon at Citi Field, sparked the decision to part ways with manager Buck Showalter and will hand-pick the team’s next skipper.
“When you bring in a president of baseball ops, they’re entitled to bring in their own people,” Cohen said on Sunday. “I wasn’t sure if David was going to join us and when he finally did, it became clear that he wanted to go in a different direction and he certainly has that right. I gave him that right.”
Showalter was shown the door after two seasons with the Mets where he revealed that Sunday’s regular-season finale against the Philadelphia Phillies would be his final outing in Queens. While general manager Billy Eppler broke the news to him on Saturday night, Showalter disclosed that he never had a single discussion with Stearns.
“This is not a reflection on Buck,” Cohen said. “Buck did everything we wanted him to do. The season was a disappointment but it’s not Buck’s fault. It’s spread across the organization. These are really his decisions I’m empowering…
“Buck did everything we wanted him to do. Not everything went right this year and he kept it even keel. His players love him. Those are always hard things to do. I personally have no complaints. I loved having Buck here.”
This will be Stearns’ first opportunity to choose a manager after spending eight…
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