David Stearns ‘energized’ by Mets offseason work needed to build off success

A new season is just beginning in a sense for Mets president of baseball operations David Stearns, but that doesn’t mean he’s gotten over the old one.

“It still stings for me right now and it will for a little while and it should,” Stearns said on Wednesday at Citi Field, three days after the Mets lost to the Dodgers in Game 6 of the NLCS. “That means we care about it. That means we were doing something important. That means we made it far enough to really hurt.”

As much as Stearns expects the organization to build off the success of this season, there also aren’t guarantees that will be the case.

Exhibit A might be the Mets’ losing season in 2023 that followed 101 victories a year earlier.

With much of the starting rotation in flux, Mets officials have plenty of work ahead.

“I am keenly aware that nothing is predetermined,” Stearns said. “Our success this year does not mean anything for our success next year. We have got work to do and I am energized by that work. As an organization we feel that we’re in a real good spot and ready to go.”

Some areas on which Stearns touched during a half-hour session with reporters:

The starting rotation: Sean Manaea (opt out), Luis Severino and Jose Quintana are headed to free agency. Kodai Senga, David Peterson, Jose Butto, Tylor Megill and top pitching prospect Brandon Sprout are among the internal options, but additions will be necessary.

“This isn’t new to us — we faced a similar task last offseason,” Stearns said, referring to the additions of Manaea, Severino and Adrian Houser. “We’re going to have to replace innings. Potentially part of that could be from some of those guys returning or we may look elsewhere. But we’re going to have to add starting pitching. We have to add multiple starters. We understand that. We went to the last offseason with the same need and I think we’ll be able to do it.”

The payroll: Stearns declined to say whether the Mets’ $336 million payroll from this season — which includes significant dead money from players such as Justin Verlander, Max Scherzer and James McCann — would potentially remain in the same stratosphere.

“At this point in the offseason, I don’t think it’s fair for me to speculate on anything,” Stearns said. “I would expect us to be active in free agency. I would expect us to go out and try to improve this team and where ultimately the payroll lands I can’t say.”

The bullpen: Edwin Diaz, Reed Garrett and Butto (who is also a possibility for the rotation) are the top returning names. Dedniel Nunez is returning from ligament damage that necessitated a PRP injection and shutdown near the end of the regular season.

Stearns spent much of the season trying to find the right arms and anticipates next year won’t be any different.

“Bullpens are tricky,” he said. “Bullpens evolve over the course of a year. I think ideally you have a little more continuity from start to finish in a pen. I didn’t really anticipate turning over 80 percent of the bullpen over the course of a year, but that’s where we got to. But I do think we have some arms that emerged this year that can complement Edwin and be stabilizing forces and then we will have to add pieces as well.”