David Stearns drew a firm line on one Mets cornerstone and left another hanging in the balance.
Speaking before the Mets faced the San Francisco Giants on Friday, the team president made it clear there’s no offseason mystery when it comes to Francisco Lindor. Asked about the shortstop’s future, Stearns said he has "no question" that Francisco Lindor will be the Mets' everyday shortstop next season.
That was a much stronger stance than the one he took on Jorge Polanco.
When asked how the Mets plan to handle Polanco defensively heading into next year, Stearns offered no firm answer. He said, "It's a little bit TBD, unfortunately. Clearly, it did not work out the way we anticipated this year.
If there's one thing I've learned about Jorge, is he's going to work incredibly…"
The contrast was hard to miss. Lindor got certainty. Polanco got uncertainty.
For the Mets, that matters because Lindor’s name had already become a target for winter trade chatter. Stearns didn’t exactly dance around the topic - he shut it down. That doesn’t erase every possible scenario, but it does take some of the air out of the speculation that the Mets might move their star shortstop this offseason.
Polanco, on the other hand, is heading into a far less secure situation. After two starts at first base, he never played the position again the rest of the year. The idea of using him as a first base/DH hybrid raised eyebrows when the Mets signed him, and injuries ended up turning his season into a dead end at the plate and in the field.
That leaves his role for next year very much unsettled. The Mets could still need him to do enough defensively to justify the contract, but there’s also a real chance they limit him if things aren’t working. The possibility of him being pushed aside entirely is on the table too.
The roster picture gets even more complicated because the Mets have another problem spot at Polanco’s old position. Marcus Semien has only been surpassed by Polanco this season in terms of how badly things went. Still, with the Mets not even making early promises about Polanco getting first base reps, there’s little reason to think they’ll ask Semien to give way for Polanco at second base unless they have no other choice.
Polanco’s rough 2026 line - .148/.201/.230 - can be softened a bit by the injury excuse. Semien doesn’t get that same cushion.
Even so, Polanco’s own track record is part of the evaluation here. He brought a 5% home run rate and a 15.6% strikeout rate into the season, then saw the power dip and the strikeouts climb once he joined the Mets.
If that version is the real one, the leash is going to be extremely short. And if he’s not helping on defense, there won’t be much reason to keep him on the field.
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Mets Are Letting Young Players Struggle For One Important Reason
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That means the Mets are resisting the quick trigger that often comes with young players who are scuffling, choosing instead to let Ewing, Zac Thornton and Jonah Tong absorb the bumps that come with learning at this level. Ewings recent two-run homer offered a reminder of why the patience exists, and Green also said he feels good about Tong staying in place after his improvement in Triple-A, another sign the team is trying to build through growth instead of panic. [Read more 🡒]