Stearns likes Mets' internal options at 3B, DH

PORT ST. LUCIE, Fla. -- Every day, it seems, a new rumor surfaces linking the Mets to hitting upgrades. For much of the offseason and into Spring Training, it’s been J.D. Martinez. More recently, since the Giants cut him from camp, J.D. Davis had surfaced as a potential option for the club.

But don’t count on the Mets actually making a move between now and March 28. While Mets president of baseball operations David Stearns openly acknowledged Friday that he does not intend to stop seeking upgrades, Stearns also said he remains steadfast in his commitment to give playing time to younger players such as Brett Baty and Mark Vientos. He went as far as to add that the Mets’ current internal options will be their primary options on Opening Day.

“This is, I think, the needle that we’re trying to thread,” Stearns said. “We’ve talked about this all offseason. At times, there’s tension between those two endeavors, and we’re going to do our best to balance it and ensure that we can put a competitive team, a good team on the field right now, and also build for that sustainable success long-term that we’re seeking to do.”

Until Friday night, that seemed possible to achieve by adding Davis, who initially played for the Mets from 2019-22. The Mets could have signed Davis more as a bench bat, rather than the type of player who would supplant either Baty at third base or Vientos at DH. But Davis instead reportedly stayed in the Bay Area on a one-year deal with the A’s, taking him off the table for a Mets team that never saw him as a necessity, anyway.

“I still think -- and I’ll continue to think -- that it’s important for us to give young players who have consistently succeeded at the Minor League level chances to contribute at the Major League level,” Stearns said.

Given that Davis was a snugger roster fit than Martinez, who would command the lion’s share of DH at-bats and push either Baty or Vientos to the bench, it now appears far less likely that the Mets will upgrade their offense in the coming weeks. Either Davis or Martinez could have helped the Mets increase their floor. But the club is not interested in incremental gains if that means siphoning at-bats from players who could develop into long-term solutions.

“I do think you can do both at the same time,” Stearns said of developing for the future while also trying to push for the playoffs. “You should be able to do both at the same time. And it’s as we’re looking at any particular decision point, does it tip the scale one way or the other? Do we think it tips the scale too far one way or the other? Those are the judgment calls that we’re constantly talking about as an organization.”

Stearns also cautioned that he doesn’t intend to draw too many conclusions from Grapefruit League games, which tend to have little correlation with season statistics. Baty, for what it’s worth, entered Friday’s play batting .250 with one home run and a .669 OPS, while Vientos was hitting .206 with three homers, a .750 OPS and markedly better production of late. Both players have shown positive and negative flashes at third base.

Both players also hear the noise about their jobs and their futures.

“I feel like I walk around here with a chip on my shoulder,” Vientos said after homering against the Astros earlier this week. “I feel like I’ve always got to prove times two. And I feel like I’ve been doing it, so I just want to keep it up and keep proving myself, and it’s not going to stop.”