Report: Brewers' Stearns interested in Mets gig after 2022

The New York Mets may get their guy, after all. But it might just take an extra year of waiting.

The Mets' interest in Milwaukee Brewers president of baseball operations David Stearns has been well documented, but Stearns being under contract posed an obstacle to luring away the executive this winter.

That being said, Stearns reportedly has a strong interest in assuming the position once his contract runs up, according to Ken Rosenthal, Tim Britton, and Britt Ghiroli of The Athletic. The Mets are operating as if his contract will end following the 2022 campaign.

Stearns grew up as a Mets fan in Manhattan and briefly worked for the organization's baseball operations department after graduating from Harvard in 2007.

In 2015, he was named Milwaukee's general manager, becoming the youngest GM in the sport. The 36-year-old was promoted to president of baseball ops in 2019 and signed an extension to stay with the club.

In the Mets' ideal scenario, they would reportedly pursue a GM to hold the position for one season, then continue their search next winter to potentially lure Stearns away from the Brewers at that time, The Athletic reports.

New York is rumored to be interested in Adam Cromie, who served as the Washington Nationals' assistant GM until 2017. While ostensibly out of baseball since then, Cromie maintains a role as an advisor to some teams on arbitration cases.

Teams will typically allow executives to interview for outside roles if they represent a promotion, but the New York job wouldn't constitute a promotion for Stearns. Under team president Sandy Alderson, the Mets are looking to hire a president of baseball ops, a general manager, and a manager.

Earlier this offseason, New York seemed to strike out on hiring any of its top targets: Stearns, longtime Oakland Athletics executive Billy Beane, and former Chicago Cubs president Theo Epstein, who now works in the league office.

Since being purchased by billionaire hedge fund manager Steve Cohen last winter, the Mets have gone through two different GMs. Jared Porter, who was dismissed days after being hired for sending explicit text messages to a reporter while with the Cubs in 2016, and Zack Scott, who served in an interim role until being placed on administrative leave and eventually dismissed while being investigated for DWI charges.