Following Jorge Polanco signing, Mets’ David Stearns could have eyes on blockbuster trade with Padres

If you were hoping for an immediate big-splash response to losing Pete Alonso and Edwin Diaz that would make you feel better about this Mets’ offseason, well, it’s clear by now that David Stearns just isn’t wired that way.

Which is to say, Jorge Polanco is a solid player coming off a good season with the Seattle Mariners that included a few electric postseason moments. He’s just not a guy who’s going to send anyone running to buy season tickets.

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And that’s fine if he helps the Mets win a lot of games next season. Which remains to be seen, of course.

For the moment, the timing of Polanco’s signing seemed to indicate that Stearns won’t be pushed into going big-game hunting no matter how outraged the fan base is by the events of this past week.

On the other hand, a potential trade with the San Diego Padres that has been reported — most heavily by The Athletic — in recent days could be of blockbuster quality, even if it apparently wouldn’t include Francisco Lindor or Fernando Tatis Jr.

More on that to come.

As for Polanco, it’s not exactly a bargain contract, as $20 million a year seems to be pushing the envelope on value, given his inconsistent track record. But it’s only a two-year deal, or $40 million total, which is $115 million less than Alonso is guaranteed with the Baltimore Orioles.

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There is also the little matter of whether Polanco can play first base, which is where Mets’ people are saying they see him getting most of his at-bats. It’s notable because he’s virtually never played first base at the big-league level (one career game at first base, which came this past season), and though most middle infielders are a good bet to adapt well to the new position, it still adds some risk to the equation.

It’s also thinking outside the box, to a degree, which is kind of what you want to see from Stearns after all the bloodletting this past week. Yet Polanco, whose 26 home runs last season was the second-highest total of his career, is hardly a guy who’s going to fill the power void left by Alonso’s departure.

However, Stearns may think he can build an effective offensive team without big power. Consider what his old team, the Milwaukee Brewers, did last season, finishing third in the majors in runs scored despite ranking only 22^nd in home runs.

Of course, the Brewers also finished second in the majors in stolen bases and had the fifth-fewest total of strikeouts, so they were a fast, contact-hitting team that would be hard for the Mets to emulate. They also were completely shut down in the postseason by the Los Angeles Dodgers, and indeed they’ve had little success in October in recent years.

Perhaps Stearns also had an eye on the Toronto Blue Jays, who had great success with a high-contact offense, including the second-fewest total of strikeouts. Polanco struck out only 84 times last season, which ranked in the 83^rd percentile of all major league hitters last season.

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“What you’re seeing is David wants to build a team that is solid in all facets of the game,” one person who has worked for Stearns in the past told me. “He’s a sum-of-the-parts guy. I think he’d rather have grinders than stars.”

Polanco fits that mold. So does outfielder Ramon Laureano, who could be coming to Queens as well if the Mets make that multi-player trade with the Padres that has been reported in detail by The Athletic as being in the talking stages.

There is no indication that Lindor or Tatis Jr. would be part of such a deal, yet it could still fill a lot of holes for the Mets, as it reportedly could include starting pitcher Nick Pivetta, reliever and strikeout monster Mason Miller, as well as lefty reliever Adrian Morejon, who was dominant last season, and Laureano too.

Laureano isn’t the contact hitter that Polanco is, striking out 119 times last season in 132 games, but he hit .281 last season and he’s got some pop, as evidenced by his 54 extra-base hits and a .512 slugging percentage. Last year he ranked in the 93^rd percentile of all MLB hitters in expected slugging percentage, based on his quality of contact.

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At age 31 he’s coming off his two best offensive seasons since 2019, and while he has very limited range in the outfield, according to Statcast, he does have one of the strongest arms in the game.

And Laureano is making $6.5 million on a team option in 2026 before reaching free agency next winter, which means he would come a lot cheaper than Cody Bellinger, not to mention Kyle Tucker.

Likewise, Pivetta could be a short-term answer to upgrading the starting rotation, coming off the best season of his career at age 32, with a 2.87 ERA over 31 starts and 181 innings. The righthander is due to make $19.75 million in 2026 and can opt out of the final two years of his contract (worth $33.5 million) after next season.

For the Mets to also get Miller, perhaps the hardest thrower in the game, in the same deal, it would take a huge package, but baseball people say the two teams do match up in terms of needs.

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That is, the Padres are desperate for pitching, after losing Dylan Cease and (presumably) Michael King to free agency, as well as Yu Darvish to injury, and while the Mets would get Pivetta they could send back Jonah Tong and Brandon Sproat, as well as David Peterson and perhaps Kodai Senga as well, in addition to a Mark Vientos or Ronny Mauricio.

It’s an intriguing possibility and, perhaps more to the point, it would fill some key needs for the Mets without dipping heavily into free agency.

“I’d bet on Stearns making some version of that trade (with the Padres) before I could see him giving (Framber) Valdez or (Ranger) Suarez a long-term deal,” said the person who once worked for Stearns.  “That’s just who he is. (Juan) Soto was the exception, and that was probably more (Steve) Cohen anyway. David wants to build something without committing to long-term contracts as much as he can.”

That’s becoming more obvious by the day.