Sources - Mets hiring David Stearns as president of baseball operations - ESPN

The New York Mets are hiring David Stearns as their president of baseball operations, sources told ESPN on Tuesday, tabbing the architect of multiple division titles in Milwaukee to help deliver the first World Series championship to Queens in nearly four decades.

Stearns, 38, has long been rumored to take over the Mets after stepping down as Brewers president after the 2022 season and will officially begin in early October, after the regular season ends, sources told ESPN.

A New York native who grew up a Mets fan, Stearns was denied permission by the Brewers to talk about the Mets' top baseball-operations job after the 2021 season.

Stearns' contract with Milwaukee, which is set to expire after this season, allowed him to speak with other teams following this year's Aug. 1 trade deadline. While other teams expressed interest, the opportunity to run the Mets — with the seemingly limitless resources of owner Steve Cohen — makes the Stearns-to-New York move perhaps the most significant for a baseball front office since Andrew Friedman left the Tampa Bay Rays to take over the Los Angeles Dodgers in 2014.

The Mets, who entered the 2023 season with championship aspirations, collapsed in the first half, and general manager Billy Eppler traded a quarter of their roster, including co-aces Max Scherzer and Justin Verlander, before the deadline.

Eppler will remain as GM and serve as the No. 2 to Stearns. Together, they'll reshape the Mets' front office after Eppler recently fired four department directors, including player development and pro scouting.

Like Friedman, Stearns excelled in a small market with a limited budget, going 554-479 in seven years — an average of 87 wins a season. Never in Stearns' tenure did the Brewers carry