He Put David Stearns On BLAST...

He put David Stearns on blast! Former Mets hitting coach Eric Chavez exposed the truth about how Juan Soto's brutal start in flushing stemmed from uncomfortability. The problem? The front office allowed him to do something unthinkable during games, which we'll dive into only here on Mets Digest. I'm your host today, Mike Duda. Stoked to dive in, but first, I want to thank each and every single one of the over 7,500 subscribers that we have on the channel. Thank you so much for taking time out of your day to hit that free subscribe button, and if you're part of the 68% of viewers who have not yet done so, please consider we're on the road to 8,000 subscribers. It's free and it's worth your while. We got videos coming out each and every single day between myself and Josh Byrne, sometimes two, three, and even four videos in a given day. Thank you so much in advance, and before we dive in, this video is brought to you by PrizePix. PrizePix is America's number one sports pick app and the best way to get in on the action. We have some awesome promotions and, of course, Duda's decisions later on in the video. We're going to talk the World Cup, but also because there is no Mets game tonight, we're going to talk about some of the other cool features outside of sports that PrizePix has to offer, but for now, make sure to download the app using the link in the description or pinned comment and use code Digest to sign up today. Users get $50 in their lineups instantly when playing your first $5, and it helps out Mets Digest a ton. So we'll begin with Chavez's outing of Stearns in a few parts. Though it's only 1 minute and 27 seconds, that being the clip that I found on Twitter, it is powerful. So starting off with the pressure that we saw for Juan Soto. I love Juan. Juan will give you the shirt off his back. I think he's one of the coolest human beings, just a really good person, but he struggled the first two months of his extremely large contract, the largest in the history of baseball at 15 years, $765 million, with the option to go up to $805 if the Mets buy him out after the first five years of his contract. So emotionally, that takes a lot and it's tough on him. I don't blame him, says the former hitting coach Eric Chavez. Big move going from the Crosstown rival Yankees. Maybe he had a little bit of buyer's remorse, but it's all going to work out. Juan's going to the Hall of Fame. I even tapped him to be an MVP type player, which when you look at the raw statistics, he is definitely putting up an MVP-like season this year, and he's going off hitting-wise. He's unreal, but to start that contract, he struggled. So if you want to check out the clip, go to Mets 2026 on X. That's where I personally found it. It's from late June, but it really is so powerful that we could talk about it at just about any time because there were some apparent struggles, but of course there was a turnaround afterwards. So I'll bring this up so you can see it clearer. Before the 29th of May, that being last year in 2025, Soto was not good whatsoever. 224 average, 352 OVP, 363 slug, 745 OPS, on pace for just 24 homers and 74 RBIs. It was the lowest of the season in batting average OVP and OPS. The only thing that wasn't the lowest of was slugging. It was the worst date of seemingly his entire career because he came out of the gate super hot with the Nationals in 2019 as a rookie. Now, after that date, 105 games, 285 average, 417, 577 slash for a 994 OPS, on pace for 54 dingers and 123 RBIs in a full 162 game season. He played 160 games. So basically he would have been on pace for a 54 homer, 123 RBI season, and possibly even, remember, he was stealing bases at will because Antoine Richardson was over at first base. So maybe even a 50-40 season would have been incredible, but that line definitely ended up working out in 2025. And in fact, many would say that he was robbed of the 2025 All-Star game because in June, his splits were nuts. And he ended up going off for National League Player of the Month with a batting average above 320. And these splits include a really bad July. He only had a slash line of 210, 340, 420 for a 760 OPS in the month of July. And when you look at the bottom, the turnaround is certainly there as well because he has been great in 2026. So ever since that bad date, that 529 date, he has played in 184 games with the Amazons with a 288, 415, 571 slash for a 986 OPS on pace for just about 50 homers per 162 and 115 RBIs. And for the most part, he hasn't dealt with injuries as well, with the exception of those two and a half weeks that he missed earlier this season. And of course, he is off to a Juan Soto-like incredible start this year. As we all know, 292 average, 21 dingers, 51 RBIs in 277 at-bats. He's actually nearing the top of all of baseball in home runs, despite missing nearly three weeks worth of games, a 975 OPS. Don't worry as well. If you were watching last night, he is perfectly fine. The Mets don't expect him to miss any more time than the time that he did last night when he had to exit the game. But it makes sense that, of course, he's going off. He is such a good player. 282 career average, 950 OPS. He's going to go down as one of the best raw hitters in the history of baseball. So obviously, he was named an all-star this past season. Finally, after I think he got snubbed in 2025. And of course, he is untouchable amidst a fire sale this deadline. Something that Francisco Lindor, his partner, so to speak, that he didn't really get along with and that that came out, even though the owner says, oh, everything's fixed right now. I still think the two of them have problems. So his partner in crime over there, Lindor, he cannot say the same thing. The only five untouchables, according to insiders, are Soto, AJ Ewing, Corson Bench, Christian Scott, and Nolan McClain. Of course, the young guys, the outfield, and probably the two best pitchers in your rotation. Maybe you could say Clay Holmes. But regardless, let's dive in a little bit more to the actual problem. What happened? Why am I making this video after all? Well, in between innings, Soto would run from the outfield and go sit in the batting cage on a couch and not be in the dugout with a teammate or his team at all. Like I said, I'm not throwing Juan under the bus. Chavez is not talking bad about Soto here. This isn't a Juan issue. This is a leadership, lack of leadership, lack of accountability from the top down issue. We had an assistant GM who would be down there with him. It's not his teammates. It is literally someone with an extremely high position in the front office. The assistant GM would sit there with him and not just say, hey, you should probably go be with your teammates. And you kind of coddle him. He would literally tap him on the shoulder without saying, hey, dude, how about getting in the dugout with your teammates? Instead of holding him accountable, he would coddle him and let him do whatever he wants. I understand he's a generational baseball player, but nobody is above one another when you are a team, especially in baseball, which is a team sport. Juan Soto is arguably one of, if not the best players in all of Major League Baseball right now. His one player, if you compare that to football or basketball or any of these other sports, that one player should at least lead you to postseason contention. Well, it's not because he is one of the best players in the sport and the Mets are one of the worst teams in all of baseball right now. So nobody is more important than one another. I don't care if it's Babe Ruth, Ted Williams, Barry Bonds, you name it, I don't care. Nobody is more important than one another. You have to be held accountable. You have to be present in the dugout during games. That is the bare minimum of your job. And again, I'm with Chavez. This is not anything on Soto. This is the fact that it was allowed. Nobody was holding him accountable. So Chavez brought this up to David Stearns, the president of baseball operations. And he said, this is a huge problem because now younger players, they're seeing this. Rookies, guys that haven't been here this long, they're seeing it and you guys are allowing it. And maybe they think, hey, I can have this kind of treatment too. If I don't want to be with my teammates, I don't have to be. Stearns' response? Well, those players need to learn that they are not Juan Soto. Are you serious? That is a pathetic excuse from David Stearns. So let's try and dive in a little bit more to this problem leading with the current assistant GMs. Here are the three that are under David Stearns. Eduardo Berzella, Jonathan Strangio, and Ben Zazimer. As for Berzella, he joined in May of 2025. So theoretically, this assistant GM that sat down there in the tunnel and coddled him cannot be Berzella. So I'm going to leave him off the hook. As for Jonathan Strangio, he spent nine years with the Angels from 2012 to 2020. He's been with the Mets since 2022 and an assistant GM since the 2024 offseason. So theoretically, it can be him. And as for Zazimer, he has been an assistant GM since the offseason of 2021. So theoretically, it could be him as well. But who really cares who was the one coddling him? Because this guy is the one that allowed it after all. The assistant GM, as we've discussed, is unknown because the Mets didn't fire anyone in or around May. And in fact, according to Google, they didn't fire any assistant GM throughout the entirety of 2025. So I don't want to name names because at the end of the day, it's on this guy for allowing it all to happen. There is nobody more powerful in the Mets organization than David Stearns, except for the owner, Steve Cohen. And if the owner is not doing anything about it, then the blame has to go on the president of baseball operations. So this is a disaster overall. Again, it is not about Juan Soto. I think it's about David Stearns. But I'll tell you one thing that's not a disaster and that is PrizeFix because this video is brought to you by PrizeFix. Use the link in the description or pinned comment and use code Digest to get started today. They have some great promotions going on right now, like Flex Friday. Flex Friday is back in full swing. Boost your end of the week by using your Flex Friday payout boost to get a 40% higher payout every single Friday. So you know what time it is. It's Duda's Decisions. We have to start with the World Cup because it is coming to a conclusion over the weekend. Starting off, you got the game for number three, England and France. Here are the popular picks for that. But you could pick on super cool things like outfield fantasy score. And of course, the game for the whole thing, a huge event, the World Cup, the number one game between Spain and Argentina. Here are the current popular picks. You got a freebie over there with at least half a pass attempted for Lionel Messi. And when we dive more into these passes attempted, you can pick on just about any player. But again, I would pick that freebie if I were you. And you could also pick on some other cool things like goalie saves. But since this is a Mets off day, let's actually take this opportunity to not talk about sports because you can pick outside of sports with prize picks, which is super cool. Such as things like TV. Will this person, a host, leave Love Island season nine? That's a huge show. I know nothing about Love Island. But you can pick about that. You can pick about music. How about this? Will Drake and Kendrick Lamar make a song together before 2030? I'm going to go with no because they have a lot of beef there. But hey, you never know. You can also pick on super cool things like Super Bowl ads. Which brand will advertise during the big game? Disney Plus, Amazon Prime, both. More. You have 18 different options to pick from. And of course, you can pick on the weather. Because why would you not be able to pick on the weather? That is super cool. The lowest temperature today in New York City. Or of course, the highest temperature. You can pick on things like tornadoes and natural disasters. And you can even pick on the weather by hour. I'm filming this just before 1 p.m. Eastern Standard Time. So you can pick on what the temperature will be in New York City at 1 p.m. And just about every major city. So once again, use the link in the description or pinned comment to download PrizePicks and Code Digest to get started today. New users get $50 in their lineup instantly when playing your first $5. And it helps out the channel a ton. So go down in the comment section. Let me know what you think. I know this comment section greatly dislikes David Stearns. But does this fuel the fire even more? And what are your thoughts on this? I mean, I think this personally is unacceptable in the biggest possible way that you can say. Nobody, once again, is above one another when you are talking about a team. But let me know if you agree or disagree down in the comment section. Again, I don't think this is a Soto issue. I think it's a Stearns issue. But let me know if you agree or disagree. Unfortunately, that's all the time I have for you in today's video. Thank you so much, as always, for watching. And let's go Mets!