Final Thoughts on Trade Deadline Outlook

Buying pants shouldn't take this much effort, too many options, inconsistent sizing, and styles that don't work across your day. You want something comfortable, sharp, and reliable without guessing, returning, or buying five different pairs. That's why there's Jack Archer. Ah, yes, JackArcher.com simplifies everything with the Jet Setter Tech Pant, one versatile pair designed to take you from work to weekend without missing a beat. Easy to wear, easy to style, and easy to shop for. The Jet Setter Tech Pan is wrinkle-free, stain resistant, and built for all-day comfort. They stretch, breathe, and hold their shape, giving you a consistent fit and polished look every time, backed by thousands of five star reviews. They're the dependable pants you'll reach for daily. Jack Archer, ready when you are for a limited time. Get fifteen percent off your first order with code GET JACK at JackArcher.com. Again, that's promo code GET JACK at JackArchercher.com for fifteen percent off your first order. Real skin results start with one daily ritual. Meet Daily Microfoliant from Dermalogica. This iconic exfoliating powder activates with water to gently polish away dullness and uneven texture. It leaves skin instantly smoother and more luminous while supporting your skin barrier. Formulated with professional expertise to deliver visible results daily, even on sensitive sk in. Discover your healthiest skin today. Visit dermalogica dot com and use code smooth at checkout for an exclusive gift with your sixty-five dollar purchase. Avoiding your unfinished home projects because you're not sure where to start. Thumbtack knows homes, so you don't have to. Don't know the difference between matte paint finish and satin? Or what that clunking sound from your dryer is. With Thumbtack, you don't have to be a home pro, you just have to hire one. You can hire top-rated pros, see price estimates, and read reviews. All on the app. Download today . It's the amazing Rico Bronya Podcast with your host, Evan Roberts. Rico Bro wnia. Welcome in to episode 6 90 of the Rico. We got a lot to cover on today's episode. The New York Mets won a baseball game in the Major League debut of AJ Ewing by scoring 10 runs. Holy crap! Ten runs on 13 hits. Unbelievable. We will also do our best to listen to David Stearns because David Stearns met the media. He does this every couple of weeks, usually at the beginning of a homestead. Because we've got games to talk about. But because the Mets have been in a crisis and David hasn't spoken in a couple of weeks, we will listen to David Stern. So that is a warning to you. If you don't want to hear his voice, if you don't want to hear us analyze what he has to say , then don't listen to the second half of this podcast. The first half of this podcast is talking about a win last night at City Field as the Mets defeated the Detroit Tigers 10-2. There are a lot of positives to get to, but I also want to acknowledge that the Detroit Tigers played an awful baseball game. And I am not complaining about it. I am not throwing it back. I am merely acknowledging it and saying thank you because there were moments in this game specifically the should have been double play that Bo Bichette hit in the sixth inning that turned into I mean, really two runs. Now I know the Mets ended up scoring 10 runs, but that horrific throw by Gage Work man made you feel like, wow, it's nice to be on the other side of this. It's nice to get the brakes go your way. And we've heard so much about how the Mets have been unlucky. And there's been some unluck throughout this season. I acknowledge that. It hasn't been completely crappy baseball, though it's mostly been crappy baseball. So seeing the Detroit Tigers kick theed ball around a little bit like, that error by Workman, which led to a few unearned runs, like the error we saw in the eighth inning, which at that point it didn't really matter, but the miscue by who's on the man at that point? Ricky Venesco, who can't get the ball out of his glove. And then even the luck, and I thought this was a more significant play than the Detroit Miscues, but the luck that Freddie Peralta got in how he escaped the fifth inning. So go back early. Obviously, Freddie gives up the home run to Dylan Dinkler, which of course is on an O-2 pitch. This has been common for the Mets now, where they will give up the big hit, or in this case, the home run ahead of the count. He gives up the home run to Dylan Dengler, puts the next two guys on base, and somehow to his credit, gets out of a second and third nobody out jam, only allowing one more run to score. Two-nothing feels like a huge cliff with the way the But three runs would have felt much bigger than that. He got out of trouble in the third inning after giving up a leadoff double. And what happened in the fifth inning with his pitch count starting to explode and the Met bullpen being active , there was no guarantee Freddie Peralta was going to get through the fifth inning. He got the first two outs easily, but then gave up a base hit to Cole Keith. He gives up a base hit to Riley Green. And this was that under rat ed pivotal moment in this game. Again, Mets have just taken the lead. So down to nothing, they come back, which I'm still stunned by, and we'll get to more of that in a few minutes. They just take the lead. We know about the importance of a shutdown inning. And it appears as if Freddie Peralta's going to have a short shutdown inning because he does get the first two outs. He gives up the back to back base hits, and that's when Carson Bench tries to throw out Cold Keith going first to third, and he wasn't gonna throw him out. And the throw gets past Brett Beatty. And as that ball is trickling past Beatty, I did utter a large F bomb as I was watching this game on two-hour delay on DVR. Because I'm thinking, you know, we just took the lead. It is like surgery for the Mets to score runs. And the fact that they came back from two-nothing down and did that in such a quick amount of time was like you can't give that back right away. And you never want to rip Carson Bench these days because he's played so well. But that miscue is going to lead to Detroit coming back and not only tying the game, but putting Freddie Peralta's future in this game in doubt because his pitch count was touching ninety at this point. And by the grace of God, and maybe this is what this team needs to help slowly turn this season around. The errant throw hits the third base umpire Rob Drake, and that gave Freddie Peralta more than enough time, who was backing up the throw, to calmly pick up the baseball, make an accurate throw to Francisco Alvarez and nail Riley Green at the play. And in a lot of ways, or I should say Cole Keith at the plate. And in a lot of ways, that was the most important play of the game. In a lot of ways. So sometimes you need luck. Sometimes you need a break to go your way. And I don't want to spend too much time saying that the Mets have had all the breaks go against them this season. Because I think a lot of times you create your own bad breaks, and the Mets have played bad baseball this season. So they have deserved their 10 games under 500 record coming into this game. But it's nice to get a break go your way. And then the key is once a break goes your way, you have to take advantage of it. Where I really give Freddie Peralta credit is after the escape and the luck of getting through the fifth inning, he comes out in the sixth inning and throws a one, two, three inning on just 11 pitches and he's able to complete six innings. And Freddie Peralta has now been known as five and five, five and fly, five inning Freddie. So for five inning Freddie to be able to fight through the sixth inning and give this team in a close game three more outs. I thought that was really important. And then I think in a lot of ways changes your outlook on this start. If it's a five inning, two run performance in which you were very fortunate to get through that fifth inning. I think we look at it and say, Ah, it was all right, but we expect more, which has really kind of been the definition of Freddie Peralta's tenure with the Mets. Like, yeah, it's been bad. You just want more. I think going out and throwing that sixth inning was really important for him. It was important in this game. Because we didn't know that the Mets were going to score seven runs in the sixth, seventh, and eighth inning. I mean, I don't think anyone expected that. So you're thinking, all right, you got a one-run lead. You're going to need nine or twelve outs from your bullpen if you can make that number nine outs because Freddy goes six. That's a huge deal. Let's get to the offense and let's get to A.J. Ewing. So I said on the Rico the other day that upon calling him up, I'd bat him ninth, I would take the pressure off. Carlos Mendoza batted him eighth. And I am ready after one game. And yes, this is a complete over-exagger ation, slash the Mets still suck. So I think when you combine those two things, when you combine over-exaggeration, which I raise my hand, I'm doing it, slash the Mets aren't any good. I would make AJ Ewing the leadoff hitter today. Today, today, Junior. Carson Benz did a fine job in the leadoff spot. He got on base twice, had a clutch hit in the fourth inning, and Carson's been a different ball player over the last few weeks. But A.J. Ewing's the leadoff federal. Why do I say that? There are certain things that could be lucky. There are certain things that are out was just a good day. But the eye that we saw from A.J. Ewing in his major league debut, his ability to take very close pitches. AJ Ewing didn't draw three walks because he was lucky. You know, yesterday, the reason I started the Met game on delay is my oldest son was playing a little league game. And in his second at bat, he saw four pitches. None of them were close, and he drew a walk. And while I gave Jed a high five and I said, Great job, you drew a walk, he didn't have really to do anything. You know what I mean? Like they weren't close . A J Ewing had to spit on close pitches right under the strike zone. And he wasn't going to challenge anything. You know, the way the Mets go through challenges, which is another story, and he's a rookie making his major league debut. So A.J. Ewing is going to have to live with whatever the home plate umpires through Sherwater calls. And that walk he drew in the second inning, which, hey, pivotal moment, right? Two on, one out. You're down two nothing already. That's a huge walk by A.J. Ewing in his major league debut in his first major league at bat. But his at-back quality was so good . The three walks , the triple , even the one out he made was at 400 feet. But forget that other stuff. I'm talking about the quality of the at-bat and his eye, which isn't a coincidence. It's not new. If you look at what he's accomplished in the minor leagues, that's one of his attributes. I'd lead him off. Like, why screw around? And I give uh credit to whoever asked it after the game, but someone asked Mendy, are you ready to lead are you ready to lead him off? And Mendy actually was before the game. It wasn't even after the game, it was before the game was like, hey, are you considering leading him off? And Mendy's like, ah, you know, let's let's let him get his feet wet. Well, his feet's wet . And it's more than just over-exaggerating to a major league debut, which it is partially, it's also the team. It's also the roster, it's also who's in this lineup. The Juan Soto leadoff experiment did not work, and I don't think it didn't work because of the theories I gave. I think it makes sense when Juan Soto is Juan Soto, but the Mets weren't hitting. Soto wasn't hitting. And like Mendy has done many other times with different aspects of this lineup, if something isn't working, you're gonna change it. You're gonna try it. So the Ju Soto leadoff spot experiment, which I pushed for for a very long time. Unfortunately for me, and unfortunately for us, he didn't hit. I mean, I don't think it's related to him hit hitting leadoff. I think it just happened to be a guy who's slumping. I mentioned when the Mets were bringing Juan Soto back that I had a level of concern that they were rushing him back because of how desperate they were, and that it would not surprise me if Juan slumped upon his return. He hasn't been great since his return. So it's probably more related to that than anything. Nevertheless, if you're moving Soto off the leadoff spot, I think right now, just when you look at this roster, when you look at this lineup and you look at even small sample sizes, AJ Ewing's the leadoff hitter. Just just just do it. Just get it done. But overall, really good debut from him. And credit to some others. B Bo achet drew a walk, got a base hit that started the rally in the third inning. He did essentially bounce into a double play in the sixth inning, but got lucky and got a cheap RBI because of that bad throw by Gage Workman. Mark Vientos came through with the RBI single that got the Mets on the board, or at least tied the game, I should say, in the third inning. But there was a lot of really good quality at bats in this game. And I mean, how much better do I feel? I don't feel a lot better. I'm glad they won. I'm glad they scored 10 runs. Again, there was some luck involved. But you definitely saw the infusion of spark from A.J. Ewing. And I think this is what as Met fans we were hoping for. We were envisioning upon calling up a prospect that not only can he contribute, but the guys around them start to play better, because that's the key. It can't just be A.J. Ewing getting on base a bunch of times and making a push for the rookie of the year as great as that would be. That's the fantasy upon calling a guy up in the middle of May . But they need Juan Soto to perform. Juan had two hits in this game, including an RBI single. They need Bo Bachette to perform. He got on base twice. Mark Vientos is the other guy I circle and say they need him to perform. He had two hits in this game and got robbed again on a great defensive play. They need Brett Beatty to perform . He had two hits . So they're going to need a lot of that. But it was a nice victory. And for whatever reason, I can't really explain it, the Mets have now won five consecutive g ame one of series . So they've got that going for them. But you know what they need, and I think I need, and you need, and we all need as Met fans, winning series. Yes, yes, that would be great. We said going into this homestand, win two out of three against Detroit, win two out of three against the good Yankee team. And I think everyone would look at this homestand and say, okay, that's a success. But what they really need, whether it's now or two weeks from now, they need a long winning streak. They've put themselves in a position where they need that. Am I confident that's gonna happen? Not quite . But Tuesday night at City Field was a nice start. And for all the talk about Met fans and we're going to boo this guy and we're going to boo that guy, a great job by the people that showed up giving AJ Ewing the New York welcome by giving him standing ovations, essentially every at bat he had. It was very, very cool. And he obviously responded with a historic day for a guy making his major league debut, a triple, two walks, a stolen base. Very tough to do. The negative was Francisco Alvarez. And what so sucks about this is a for him, the bad luck this man continues to have. But remember, he roped the double in the fourth inning, which started the rally in the fourth in ning that gave the Mets the lead, eventually the winning run. He had a very long at bat with bases loaded one out in the second inning that luckily didn't in a double play, which it usually does. It almost did, but it ended in an RBI fielder's choice ground . So he actually had a quality day at the plate. And then in something that is so Mets like and maybe so Alvarez-like because of his bad luck when it comes to injuries, he swings and injures his knee . Has anyone ever seen that? Where you swing, it's a big swing and he takes a monster cut, and you injure your knee. And it doesn't sound good. He's going to have an MRI on Tuesday. And I'm sure on the next Rico Bronya will break down how much time he's going to miss. But I'd be surprised if he doesn't miss time. MRI, Hayden Singer, scratched from a triple A game. So what it means is that Luis Terence is the most of the time everyday catcher . And as Met fans, we got to shrug our shoulders, man. Like you feel bad for him because he's not doing it on purpose, but you also have to just remind yourself this is who he is. He is an injury prone player. Whether it's bad luck, it doesn't matter what it is, honestly. Like the thing about injury-prone players is you can feel bad for them, but you could also acknowledge that they're injury prone and you can't rely on them. But we need to stop talking about Alvarez like he someday could put it all together. Because I'm at the point, I don't care how young he is, where even if he is putting it all together, even if he is showing you the signs of being the catcher that the Mets projected him to be, the odds are an injury's hanging around the corner, whether it's a finger injury or it's a knee injury on a swing . So it sucks for him. It sucks for us because as good as Luis Torrenz is behind the plate, we are still talking about a guy that in an ideal world is not an everyday catcher. He's a part-time catcher. And he's a good part-time catcher. He's a good fill-in . But what Teren 's playing everyday means is it means there's more pressure on everyone else in this lineup to hit because you cannot expect Luis Terence to be a real factor offensively. Will he have some clutch hits every once in a while, like he did last night? Yeah. I mean, he mixes them in. But at the end of the day, you are still talking about a guy who's probably going to put up, you know, a two hundred ten average with a five eighty-five OPS . The clutch hits are nice, but he is not really going to be a major contributing offensive player. I would continue to bunt him a lot when there are guys on base, especially when I'm batting him ninth, which I will, and then I've got the top of the order coming up. But the plus is his defense. He's a great defender, and that's where Luis Torrenza is so valuable. But I would brace ourselves for the fact that Alvarez is going to miss a long time. And we're bracing ourselves for the fact that we're not going to see Jorge Polanco or Luis Robert Jr. anytime soon. The updates supplied yesterday by David Stearns and Carlos Mendoza are not good . In terms of Robert Jr., because there was a lot of discourse here on the RICO for multiple years about acquiring him, eyes wide open is the phrase I like to use. You go into any acquisition understanding the risks. As someone who supported getting Luis Robert Jr., I did two years ago, I did last year, I did this year, I understood this was very possible . I understood it. I understood that the idea that you were going to get the Luis Robert Jr. from 2023 was unlikely . The question was: was it worth it? Was it worth what you gave up, Luis Angel Acunya? Was it worth the price tag, $20 million a year? Was it worth it? And I would at least say, yeah. I thought it was. Now, there's many other moves that David Stearns made that was not worth it, as we've talked about at nause um. But in terms of Robert Jr., you shake your head and you say, I'm not surprised, but this was a part of the risk. There's a reason why a guy with as much talent as he has, who put up the numbers that he did a few years ago, was available for very little. This is the reason. And the Mets tried everything. We mocked it in spring training, how they tried to keep him in bubble wrap. They did everything they could to keep this guy healthy. And after a few good weeks, because that's all it was, it was a couple of good weeks from Luis Robert Jr., he fell off the rooftop, started the struggle, and now he's got the back issue. I sold my car in Carvana last night. Well that's cool. No, you don't understand. It went perfectly. Real offer down to the penny. They're picking it up tomorrow. Nothing went wrong. So w what's the problem? That is the problem. Nothing in my life goes as smoothly. I'm waiting for the catch. Maybe there's no catch. That's exactly what a catch would want me to think. Wow, you need to relax. I need to knock on wood. Do we have wood? Is this tablewood? I think it's laminate. Okay, yeah, that's good. That's close enough. Car selling without a catch. Sell your car today on Car vana. Pick up fees may apply. When the stakes rise and the lights get bright, that's when you find out who can really swim. Deep waters is a new UFC podcast from CB S Sports. Every Monday, myself, Dean Thomas, alongside with legends of the sport, Chris Wideman, Jorge Masredal, and Dustin Poirier, bring you inside the octagon like no one else can. Deep waters, new episodes every Monday, watch on YouTube or listen on Apple, Spotify, and everywhere else you get podcasts. There's never been a better time to get outside and experience the benefits of nature . Discover nearby trails and explore the outdoors with all trails. Download the free app today and find your outside . We're going to learn more about Luis Robert Jr., the timetable for Francisco Lindor, Jorge Polanco, and more, because David Stearns met the media. Now, for those that are not aware, David does this before like every homestand. So he is available for the media, and I commend him for that. But what I don't commend him for is I think there are certain moments in a baseball season where you need to show up and you need to answer the tough questions. Over the course of that West Coast trip, David Stearns needed to show up. Putting out a statement through Anthony DeComo and M O B.com to say that Carlos Mendoza is safe. That's not leadership. I'm sorry. It's not . So while David Stearns isn't a full Leon Rose where he doesn't talk to the media. And I know he's a tough guy to pick on because the Knicks are so good, but imagine when they weren't, you know, imagine when the Knicks were bad and you never heard from the GM. It was frustrating, right? But you need to hear from your leadership, not when things are going well, but when things are going bad. So I think David Stern showed a lack of leadership for the fact that he disappeared for two and a half weeks. I'm glad he answered questions on Tuesday. That's great. But it's not great enough. Now, with that said, we are going to hear questions and answers from David Stearns. And as we do here on the RECO, after each answer, we will analyze. So if you miss David Stearns' press conference, great. You're going to get to hear all the questions and answers. If you've already heard it, no problem, you're going to hear us respond to it. So let us begin with question number one for the president of the New York Mets, David Stearns. Overall, you obviously projected this roster when you built it this offseason to be one of the better rosters in Major League Baseball. I know that there have been a number of injuries, but when you look now a quarter of the way, what did you guys miss or maybe get wrong projection wise that you think has led to to these results so far? Yeah, we haven't been a good enough offensive team and and we haven't scored enough runs and I think it's a combination of there have been some injuries and there have also been um players who have been healthy who haven't performed at their custom levels and and we need to do everything we can, we are doing everything we can to help those players get back to to where they're capable of performing. So what David Stern said was I didn't do anything wrong. I mean this is a great roster. I mean it's their fault. I brought them in. They're supposed to be better than this. Steve Gelbs was about to lay the hammer down, but he but he kind of laid off a little bit. Like he could have pulled the Chris Russo. I love this one. The Chris Russo, um, Mike Milberry line, which I've played a few times on WFN, where Dog had Mike Milberry on and said, how do you still have a job? Like he could have gone that route. By the way, I am going to request. This is so not match related , but I had this thought this morning. I'm gonna politely request that Sean Marks join Evan and Tiki every single day until they say yes. And I'll tell them, don't worry, it's a two minute interview. I want to ask Sean Marks why he thinks he deserves to keep his job. Simple as that. Just give me an answer. That's all I want to know. Why do you think you should still have your job? But that's that's a story for another day. I apologize. But basically, Steve Gelb said, How did you F this up? And instead of owning anything, David Stearns' response is it's not my fault. Everyone else sucks. Here's question number two for David Stearns. Many was just saying that Robert uh you know has not progressing the way you guys would have wanted. What is your understanding, A, of what exactly he's going through at this point, and B, you know, when that could resolve to the point where you could start ramping up? Yeah. I mean what he's going through is is the back soreness has not resolved. Um and we're consulting with additional specialists. Don't have an updated time frame uh right now. We need to get further doctor's opinions and then Not yet at least. That does not sound good. First of all, backs are tricky, I think as we all know, I'm not even going to invoke myself. I'll invoke baseball players, you know, whether it's at Gardo Alfonso or David Wright. I think as we sit here today and we're recording this Rico Bronya the morning of May thirteenth, I think there's a decent chance we don't see Luis Robert Jr. play another game for the New York Mets. And I don't think that's hyperbole. I mean, this is a guy who's missed a lot of time. We're talking about a back problem. We don't know if he may need surgery or not. So that was as negative an update on Luis Robert Jr. as one could have. David, you're 40 games in, so 25% of the season. Do you still believe you can make a run at some point here and that you can get I do believe that. Um but but I do believe that. Why? I think we have the talent on the roster and and the character on the roster to make a run. Um we've got a lot of season left. I'm not gonna say it's early. Um it's not. Uh we're we're a quarter into the season, it's not early anymore. But we do have a Carson Benj, unknown. I mean, he could still be very good, obviously. Could end up winning rookie of the year. Bobachette should be better. Juan Soto should be better. Totally agree. I think everyone would raise their hand and say those are two guys that have underperformed for the first 40 g ames. But look at your lineup yesterday. And that lineup isn't really changing because none of the injured players are coming back anytime soon. Mark Vientos, MJ Melendez, Brett Beatty, Marcus Simeon, AJ Ewing. I'll put him to the side because he could be great. And who knows about catcher ? Where's the talent? Where's the talent you talk about? That's a lot of unproven players you're talking about. I don't think Beatty, uh forget Beatt I don't think Bachet and Soto, being Bichette and Soto, which would be a huge help, is necessarily enough when you talk about the talent in the room . So I'm glad Bruce Beck is the one guy actually calling him out. Like, how? Why? You think they can go on a run? Okay. Break that down for me . And I just don't believe him. And it sucks because a couple of years ago in 2024 when they were struggling and David Stearns kept saying, I think we have the talent. I believed him more because you could see the talent on that roster. Look at the lineup yesterday. That's the exercise you need to play. Because you don't like when people lie to you or BS you, we can all make our own decisions. Bo Bichette, Ju Soto, much better than the way they've played. Carson Bench, A.J. Ewing, two young players where sky's the limit. They could also just not be ready. They're young play The rest of that lineup, which again is not changing anytime soon, features major, major questions . Hey, David, regarding some of the injured players, is there anything about the acquisition side of that that you have to maybe revisit or rethink going forward? um our risk assessment on on injured players or or players um who get uh injured once they're here. Um certainly we know we're taking a level of risk um when we bring players in with injury histories . Uh we're feeling that risk right now and and it hasn't helped that uh a number of our players have gotten hurt at the exact same time. Um it's not something we necessarily anticipated, but I think that's a fair question, something we need to look at. Yeah, I'm gonna I'm gonna help you out. I'm gonna very much help you out, David, and this sucks, but this is business. When guys have injury histories and guys are in their thirties, let's use Jorge Polanco as an example. And I'll just give you the facts real quick. Last year he played a hundred and thirty-eight games, had a great year. I would consider that mostly a healthy season, despite missing close to a month of action in terms of game time. 138 games, 821 OPS, 26 home runs, totally fine. The year before that, he played 118 games and hit 213. The year before that, he played 80 games. The year before that, he played 104 games . That is a guy who is not healthy. The reason you were able to sign Jorge Polanco to a short-term deal, which you're in love with , is because of that. If Jorge Polanco played every day, he would have gotten a longer contract. That's a part of why you're able to get guys on the cheap isn't the right word, because you're paying them a lot of money on the cheap when it comes to years? So the juxtaposition David Stearns is in is he doesn't want to give out long-term contracts. Well, the guys that are normally accepting short-term deals are guys that come with some type of red flag. And in the case of Jorge Polanco or the Luis Robert Jr. giveaway, the red flag is health. So I can help you reevaluate this. It ain't that complicated. You decided your decision to not hold on to a long-term deal in Brandon Nemo or give a long-term deal in Pete Alonso to guys who say whatever you want about them, they play. Their records show that they play a lot more than some of the guys you acquired. And that's the the difficulty of doing business. So you want to reevaluate it. The reason you were able to sign Polanco to a two-year deal is he's injury prone. The reason Luis Robert Jr. didn't cost you very much is because he's injury prone. Speaking of Polanco, maybe we can get an update on Jorge Pol anco, David. Another injury question. Just what's your current understanding of what has to happen for Jorge Polanco to to be someone who can count on to be healthy, you know, every day and consistently? Yeah, we need we need to get asymptomatic with the ankle um and and with the bursitis. Uh we're we're not there yet. I think we have really good days and then it flares up. Um but we we need to get asymptomatic so that we know he can go out there. Um Do you have to consider shutting him down kind of fully from even trying? I'm assuming you're kind of going back and forth with trying to get him back and what does that look like? Yeah, right now we're following the protocols laid out by the physicians who are experts in that and they have not recommended um a complete shutdown. Uh so we're still we're still following a protocol that that would not lead to that. Hoff, I'll ask you a trivia question. It's not a trivia question, it's a prediction question. Which player do we see first in a New York Met uniform in 2026? And you have three choices. Jorge Polanco, Luis Robert Jr., or none of the above . Ooh. Um, I I'm gonna go with the C, none of the above. You know what's crazy? I know you've been very negative , but I think that is absolutely on the table. I think it is entirely possible that Jorge Polanco and Luis Robert Jr. have played their last games of 2026 for the New York Mets. And here's what's crazy about it. Depending on where this season goes, because right now they're nine games under 500, and it's likelier than not that a turnaround is not coming, despite the infusion of A.J. Ewing. When Ryan Clifford gets the call, and he will and Nick Morabito gets the call along with AJ Ewing and Carson Benjardy in the outfield. I don't know how many Met fans are gonna want either guy to come back. Could can I ask another another layer to this too and I I'm not trying to be uh pessimistic but just realistic here if Lindor's taking a long time and the Mets are completely out of it you rushing him back too you're not rushing him back but when the guy is ready to play play, you him. That's the way I always look at those kinds of things. Like you you shouldn't rush him back. And I was concerned that they were rushing Juan Soto back to help save the season. But I think the moment that Lindor is ready to come back, like all the doctors agree, then I think a proud veteran player wants to play baseball. And I think there's a value to that. So uh rush, no, but play baseball, yes, would be my answer. So so are you saying that Jore Polanco is not a proud veteran player. He he's not Francisco Lindor . He's not signed for nine more years. And he's not nearly as good. So the answer is no. And also, and this is partially, there's no young player Lindor's blocking. You know what I mean? Like if Ryan Clifford comes up here and ends up playing first base, I mean what we're gonna see Jorge Polanco play first base or take DH at bats away from you know a returning Ronnie Mauricio potentially. So I think that's the other problem. And that's what's going on with Robert Jr. right now. Like, even if Robert Jr. got healthy, like tomorrow the Mets say he's good to go. Is he the center fielder for the New York Mets? The answer is no. And I remember we talked about that at the beginning of the year, like could Luis Robert Jr. lose his job? And I was always in favor of it could happen, even as a supporter of acquiring him, that he doesn't get an unlimited amount of time to perform, especially with some of the young players the Mets have. Right now, the Mets have an outfield. As long as Juan Soto's playing the outfield, Soto Ewing, and Benj should be their everyday outfield until Nick Borabito comes up and gets them at bats against lefties. You know what I mean? So uh and I honestly probably DH Soto. And then you could have an all-young outfield of Morabito, Ewing, and Benge. Anyhow, let's hear more from David Stearns. Do you uh anticipate more acquisitions or tra des or whether internally or externally in addition to to Ewing coming up? We're we're we're always looking. Um we we are always looking and always seeing if we can improve the team. As as all of you know, um this isn't the most vibrant time of the year for for external trades, but we're we're going to be open minded and we're certainly um going to look to see if there are ways we can improve the team um in constructive ways. Making trades in May very unrealistic. They're just not things that make sense. If you missed it on our last RICO, we examined the possibilities of going after Raphael Devers or Matt Chapman. Ryan writes, I do not want Raphael Devers . Raphael Devers equals James Harden. Swing, swing, swing, fat, fat , fat . It's a good one. Yes, I did have a rant the day the Nets acquired James Harden where I said dribble dribble dribble fat fat . One of my sports opinions that aged well. Carlos just told us a the lineup uh with Soto, Benjamin Ewing in the atfield. He kind of had to pinch himself last night. Thinks it could be you know special for the future. Do you have that sort of thought process going through your mind when you see those two young guys out there with Soda? Yeah I think I think it's those are two very talented young players and and Soda's one of the best players um in the game . And so yes, I think we look at that and say that could be a a really productive outfield for a long time. I don't know how long, because I still look at Juan Soto potentially moving to first base down the road or just DHing more often, even this season, especially if they deem Nick Morabito ready. You could have an all-young outfield with Juan Soto DHing. But yes, for now, that is an exciting outfield. David, it's been about two weeks since you offered a sentence to a single entity about the status of your manager. I just had a couple of questions about it. You said we don't see this as a manager problem. Whose problem is it and what are you doing to fix that problem? Yeah, I think um we've underachieved. There there's no question. Um collectively as an organization, we've got to figure out a way to to get better, and I think we will. Look I'll I'll I'll let my words um speak for themselves. I've been very clear um and consistent that I think Mendy does a really good job. I believe Mendy does a really good job. I like coming to work with him every day. Um I'm not gonna address this every two weeks when I talk to you guys. And I'll leave it at that. You know that thing where you get an amazing pair of shoes at a really great price and want to tell everyone about it? Yeah, so do we. Here at Designer Shoe Warehouse, we'll give you something to brag about. Like the latest styles from brands you love, or the trends everyone's obsessing over, or shoes that make you feel like, well, you. So go ahead, show off a little. Find shoes to get you, and prices that get your budget. That's your DSW store or DSW.com today. DSW. Let us surprise you! Brought to you by Apple Card. Hey, you could be earning 2% daily cash back on that purchase. And that one. And even that one. That's because Apple card users earn 2% daily cash back on every purchase, including everyday items they buy online or in store when using their Apple card with Apple Pay. Not an Apple card customer? You can apply in the wallet app on iPhone. Subject to credit approval. Apple card issued by Goldman Sachs Bank USA Salt Lake City Branch. Terms and more at Apple.co slash benefits. You said this place was steps from the w ater. We just haven't found the steps yet. How much did we save? Enough. Enough to get lost! Or you could book a stay with Hilton. Welcome to your ocean front room, just steps from the water. The Hilton sale is on now. Book on Hilton.com or the Hilton app and save up to 20% to get the stay you expected. When you want savings, not surprises. It matters where you stay. Hilton for this day. You gotta give Joel Sherman credit. Like Joel Sherman is such a douchey person when it comes to asking questions, but I love it like eighty percent of the time. Like eighty percent eighty percent of the time when Joel is acting douchey to Brian Cashman or David Stearns, I laugh and say, Boy, there's one reporter with balls. I love that. That was so douchey. Uh but we all loved it. So Joel. Yeah, we got it. We got it. David, it's been about two weeks since you offered sixteen words because you were too gutless to actually talk to us . That was great. And if it's not the manager's problem, whose problem is it? I I commend Joel Sherman for that question. And David Stearns, you know, I think somebody can screw that as David Stearns getting angry by saying I'm not going to address this every two weeks. David Stearns in a robotic way was not angry. It was just very matter of fact. What bothered me, and I'll give you a little spoiler for the next few questions we're going to get to, is no one followed up. And I don't know if Joel's allowed to follow up because he just asked two questions in a row, but there are follow-ups to him saying I'm not addressing the manager anymore. I'll give you one. You want to hear some examples? One is, are you not going to fire the manager because it makes you look bad? Because you're attached to the manager? Because you hired the manager? Because if it's the manager's fault, it's then your fault? And I think you gotta bring up what's going on in Philadel phia . I brought this up before the Phillies made the move whenever I argued with people about it's not Mendy's fault, because that's always the default. It's not Mendy's fault. Which I overall agreed it wasn't overall Mendy's fa ult with examples from the past of where firing a manager sparks a team. I don't need to go into the past. You just need to look inside the division. In one of the most obvious moves and sparks we've seen going from Rob Thompson, a national league pennant-winning manager, to quite frankly a bad manager in Don Mattingley, and yet that's even working . So David Stearns in his statement and that's why I said at the top of this, this was a mistake by David Stearns. He should have met the media two weeks ago. He shouldn't have released the sixteen word statement as Joel Sherman counted it up. Because it makes him look gutless. It just does. You don't release a statement to Anthony DeComo. You answer questions then. And what David did, and you want to say this was brilliant because it kind of worked, is because it's two weeks later, Joel Sherman was like the only guy who asked about it. And then the media was like, oh, I got I guess he's not gonna talk about it anymore. So we're not gonna ask. If two weeks ago he had met the media on the West Coast, the entire conference would have been about the status of Carlos Mendoza. So I guess from that standpoint, Stearns did a good job. But look, I commend Joel Sherman. He is incredibly douchey at times to general managers. And again, about 80% of the time, I love it. So good job by Joel. By the way, uh, I know you said that, you know, that maybe wasn't David Stearns being angry per se, yes, with his response, but I will tell you this much in this in this press conference, he did not have his normal smiley self to him, his smiley face. Well, I think he probably listened to us because remember in spring training, uh he said, What's the meanest thing you've said about me? And I said, You smile too much. And maybe in the back of his mind he realized at 15 and 25, now 16 and 25, I shouldn't smile. But I don't think that was snippy. Like Brian Cashman is snippy. Brian Cashman will give it back to you, and maybe it's because David Stearns is such a like a Harvard business-like focused geek that he wasn't gonna go, hey, I'm gonna just get in the sewer with you. But I didn't get a tone change from him. It was basically I'm just not gonna answer it again. You guys can try, but I'm not gonna give you anything. And the media listen, like lap dogs. I don't think anyone asked again about Carlos Mendoza. So let's get to the next question, which is important. It's about Francisco Lindor. Mendoza just mentioned about Lindor having an MRI in the next couple days. What what's the before he has an MR what was the framework that you We we won't know until we see the results of the MRI. I think we we need to get the MRI I think it'll be over the next forty eight hours or so. Yeah, it's gonna be a big couple of days. Uh I don't have my hopes up, but I think the results of that MR I will tell us a lot about Francisco Lindor. But right now with the way this season has gone, and certainly with the way they talked about the Lindor injury when he first went down, it's tough to have a lot of faith that they're gonna get good news. What have you made of Shah Maniah's season and just what what are you guys expecting from him in this sort of role? Do you think you'll you'll keep him in this bullpen role long term? Now that is um our plan . Um we've had outings from Sean where I think we've seen glimmers of a really good pitcher, and and we've had some outings of Sean that haven't been competitive. And I think Sean understands that. He's working to get back to the type of pitcher he knows he can be. We're working with him. And we need Sean to contribute. You look at the road to the rotation , and it's kind of crazy that we're sitting here in the middle of May and he hasn't made a start yet for this team. Christian Scott is here. I think it's a start to start basis with him, though I think they want to give him a longer road than maybe start to start, but he doesn't have a secured rotation spot. David Peterson has so far done okay in this bulk role. You got the rest of the rotation, which knock on wood is healthy for now. Jack Weninger continues to be awesome at triple A. Jonah Tong is showing a lot of progress at triple A, right? Do you see these um the you know, two long relievers or three long relievers, depending on um Peterson or not, working out uh like or I guess is there a certain timeline for how long they will be able to work out in the bullpen based on how it's functioning? Um look I I I think it is functioning right now. I think um each of our relievers has a role and and most of them have performed really well in those roles. Um so for the moment I think I think it's a functional bullpen construction. Yeah, I don't view David Peterson as a reliever. I mean David Peterson is coming out of the bullpen once every five days. He's basically taking his turn in the rotation. He's just not starting each game . Just what would you do differently if you had to build this team again tomorrow? I I don't think sitting here in the middle of May I'm gonna do a a postmortem on our season. Um we still have confidence in in our team uh and we're still gonna support this group and do everything we can to have a successful season. I know you don't want to answer that in the middle of May. I get it, because you still have 75% of the season left. But how about this answer? Let me try this answer on for size and see if Met fans would have appreciated it and if this would have been okay for David to say without really throwing anyone too under the bus. If I had to reevaluate, I probably would say I'd put more of an emphasis on reliability. How about that answer? Because we've touched on the injuries. He even touched on the injuries and the risks of signing or acquiring injury prone players. So you don't have to call anyone out by name, even if it's an implication that we're talking about Polanco and Robert Jr. who aren't walking through that door next week anyway. But how about that kind of answer? Give them give the fans something instead of I'm not doing that right now. Okay, David, you don't have to do it right now. But come October when the team isn't playing baseball and we can have vacation plans shown it yet. What's letting you believe in that talent up to this point? Yeah, I th I think we have a lot of players with really good track records in this league. Um and we are counting on those track records not only on the field but how they prepare for games , um, how they go about their business, how hard they're working right now, and we believe that ultimately that's gonna show. See, that that answer pisses me off cause it's not true. Okay. So let's look at the lineup . You have two young players who have no track records other than Hope. Right? Doesn't mean they can't be great, but Carson Bench and A.J. Ewing do not have major league track records. Again, could be awesome. They could do nothing. Like we do not know their young players. So when he says we have a lot of guys with track records, I think we could agree that at least Ewing and Bench get put to the side. You got Bo Bachet and Juan Soto. Absolutely. The rest of the lineup expla ined to me the track record of Mark Vientos . Yes, he had a couple of great months in twenty twenty-four. He fell off the rooftop last year. And even this year he's been incredibly streaky. So what's his track record, David? Brett Beatty's an everyday third baseman. What's his track record? Marcus Simeon's track record is that he's declining. The evidence is right in front of you. He is a declin ing baseball player. Your catcher, whoever your catcher is, what's their track record ? So I don't know what he's talking about when he talks about all the track records. And I I kept it specific ally to the lineup because that's their biggest issue. They're scoring three and a half runs a game. That's the reason they're in the predicament they're in. So he says this stuff, but if you actually go, you know, and deep dive at it, it's not I so I think we've got one at least one more pen and then we can probably get him back out on on um in competition on a rehab outing. Um we we do I I don't know that it's going to be the full time, but we do need to get him back to uh being able to go back to backs, being able to do two out of threes, um and that that will take a little. So we're still talking two, three weeks the way it looks. I think that's right. I think that's right . That's a another great signing so far has been AJ Minter. I I view AJ Minter as let me know when he's ready. A couple of weeks ago we, thought he was about to be activated because he was about to hit that 30 day window of rehab assignment and then he had the setback. Wake me up when AJ Minter has done those things that David Stearns said, and then we'll have a discussion. Because right now the number one question would be all right, who do you get rid of? I think the guy you get rid of in this moment is Craig Kimbrell. I think Austin Warren has done a great job and at least for now should maintain a spot in this bullpen . David, what's your message to your fan base at this point? I think our message to the fan base is we we recognize that the first six weeks of this season um haven't been close to good enough. And we understand that. We're disappointed in it. We also believe we have the talent on this team to turn this around and our focus is doing everything we can every single day to get it there. I don't think that's gonna inspire the fan base. Nice try though. I mean, you had a chance. Here's your message to everybody who wants you fired and thinks you're an idiot. And it's hey, don't worry. Basically, his message back was no biggie. We'll be okay. We've got the roster. We'll be fine. I don't think that David, with Francisco, is there a concern at all that it could be an Achilles issue or is this strictly a calf? I'm sorry. We we uh we do not have that concern, no. Thank God. I mean that's always the concern with a calf. It seems like that's more of the case in the NFL and the NBA that calf issues in baseball usually don't lead to a greater Achilles issue, but certainly you keep it in the back of your mind. Here it is, your final question for the president of the New York Mets, David Stearns. And understanding it's you know you're you're confident in the team, you also said it's not early anymore. Um we've asked you about uh potentially adding to the team. At what point do you have to think about pivoting to the future and deciding that this team is just not it not the year for this team? Yeah, we're we're not we're not close to that point right now. He's right. We aren't close to that point. Now, I may be close to that point as a fan in giving you what I think this team is, same with everybody out there. But in terms of trading guys away, in terms of selling at the trade deadline, the MLB trade deadline is August 3rd. Today, as we record this, Rico, it is May 13th. Think about how long from now that is. That is two and a half months. I'm not preaching to you that the Mets are going to turn this season around and be in first place by the time we get there. But there's no need to rush right now. There's a lot, a lot of time. So he's not wrong when he says we're not close to that. Because even if you decided today, even if internally David Stern says we suck, I screw ed this one up. I don't believe in this team. We're out. You're not selling guys in the middle of May. It's just not the time to do it. It's very unorthodox. It's not something that teams do. So when we get to July, and I like to say the all-star break is probably the great line of demarcation on this because that would still leave you like two and a half weeks before the MLB trade deadline. You want to go July 1st, you want to go fourth of July. Bottom line is it's July. That's when we can have this discussion of all right, they're out of it. Who do you want to trade? Who are the guys that you are willing to move on from, get prospects for, and not have them remain with this team? And the Mets will have a handful of options. And those options