The Mets president, David Stearns, on Friday gave a clear warning. The team had just dropped 10 games under .500. The Marlins swept them last week. The Mets now sit seven games back in the Wild Card race. Stearns addressing the media means the team has to start winning right now.

Manager Carlos Mendoza has already tried to take this approach, but nothing seems to have worked. Stearns tried this earlier in the year as well. Back in April, the team had a 10-20 record. Stearns told the press to stay patient. He did not let two bad weeks change his mind. That message did not change things, and the losing continued. However, this time, he had to change his tone.

“We have not had a good year so far. There’s no question. We’re not where we thought we would be. We’ve dug ourselves a hole. It’s not an insurmountable hole, but it is definitely a hole, and we’re going to have to play a lot better baseball to do what we want to do this year,” SNY quoted Stearns.

Well, entering Friday, the Mets have played 56 games and are still 10 games under .500. They are in the series against the Marlins, the same team that swept the Mets last week. But Stearns can still take credit for a minor turnaround. Just before the first game, Stearns evaluated the clubhouse, and they won 9-7 on Friday.

Home runs came, most of the batters scored runs, Freddy Peralta had a dominant start at the mound, and the bullpen clicked. Thus, as per Stearns, the Mets surely played better baseball on Friday. That didn’t change the fact that the Mets are still ranked 28th in terms of average (.226) and 27th in terms of total runs scored (214).

While the clubhouse has been evaluated before, this is the first time Stearns has acknowledged that the team is running out of time.

“It’s really tough for me to take two weeks, even in two weeks where we didn’t win a baseball game, but take two weeks and say that’s going to dramatically alter who we think we are,” Stearns said on April 29. “I still think we’re a good team.”

The trade deadline on August 3 is getting closer, and fans expect the Mets to sell. But Stearns isn’t ready to give up on this group. When reporters asked if he was planning to trade away players, Stearns said they are “not anywhere close to that” point yet.

Stearns believes that his team has the talent to go on a run.

“I think we have the talent on the roster and the character on the roster to make a run,” he said. “We’ve got a lot of season left. I’m not going to say it’s early. It’s not. We’re a quarter into the season. It’s not early anymore, but we do have enough season left to make a run, and I think we have the talent to do that.”

If we notice a trend, the Mets’ president was confident about enough time left to recover. This time, though, he is expecting something drastic.

Statistically, a turnaround is possible. The 2024 team turned a terrible 22-33 start into a postseason berth after a late-May turnaround. But with rising injuries and marquee names struggling, we are uncertain if that’s possible without an aggressive trade deadline.

The Mets’ existing roster is battered

“I still think it’s early to have very robust trade discussions,” Stearns added. “If you look at the history of midseason acquisitions, we really are talking about the majority taking place in a very concentrated period after the All-Star break and close to the end of July. We’re still a long way away from that.”

While the Mets’ president is showing patience, the roster’s struggle suggests otherwise. Take David Peterson as an example.

Peterson is perhaps the biggest disappointment of the Mets this year. Coming off a 150 SOs and a complete game shutout, he blew up games this year. On Tuesday, his mental gaffe of not backing up the home plate was just an illustration of his struggle. Mendoza assured that there’s no issue of accountability in the team. And this time, Stearns once again relied on his manager.

“I think our coaching staff does a really good job,” he said.

With the August 3 deadline two months away, Stearns is giving this roster another chance. They have to start winning with what they have right now. If they keep losing, the front office will surely look to make moves. For now, fans just have to wait and see if this warning actually sinks in.