Mets' David Stearns praised by rival GMs for this reason

With all of these upgrades, it's clear that the Mets are one of the deadline's winners. However, rival GMs across MLB are giving Stearns his flowers for a different reason.

According to Bob Nightengale of USA Today, the Mets are considered by rival executives to have gotten the most "bang for their buck" with their moves; New York has seemingly sacrificed very little from their farm system compared to the high-profile players they got in return.

"Sure, no one did more than San Diego Padres GM A.J. Preller, but it cost him 17 prospects to get five players. But no one got more by giving up less than David Stearns of the Mets, rival GMs and executives overwhelmingly say," Nightengale wrote.

"What Stearns did was a stroke of genius," an anonymous GM told Nightengale. "They traded away a lot of bodies, but no real prospects. Stearns had a hell of a deadline."

The Padres perhaps made the biggest splashes at the deadline by landing closer Mason Miller, starting pitcher J.P. Sears, designated hitter Ryan O'Hearn, outfielder Ramon Laureano, and more. However, most of those trades came at quite the cost; the trade to acquire Miller and Sears in particular sent shortstop Leodalis De Vries to the Athletics, who was the No. 3 ranked prospect in all of baseball according to MLB.com.

In comparison, what Stearns gave up in the Mets' trades were somewhat inconsequential. The team's highest ranked prospects to be shipped off were Jesus Baez (No. 7), Blade Tidwell (No. 10), and Drew Gilbert (No. 12), none of whom were going to figure heavily in New York's future. Meanwhile, the Mets' most coveted prospects (Jett Williams, Jonah Tong, Nolan McLean, Carson Benge, Brandon Sproat) all stayed put.

There is still some risks attached, as Soto, Rogers, Helsley, and Mullins will all become free agents after the season; the former three are significant because closer Edwin Diaz also has the opportunity to join then by opting out of his contract.

Regardless, Stearns did a fantastic job of addressing the Mets' biggest needs (save for starting pitching) while not sacrificing the most important pieces in their farm system. New York's future core is secure, but the big splashes at the deadline have the team primed to make a deep playoff run and perhaps win a World Series for the first time in nearly 40 years.