Pirates fans can't help but laugh at Mets for having their own Ben Cherington

The Pittsburgh Pirates and New York Mets don't have a lot in common.

The Pirates play in the NL Central, while the Mets toil away in the NL East. Likewise, the Mets had five players worth at least 3.0 fWAR this year, while the Pirates only had one (Paul Skenes). And, of course, the Bucs' payroll of $87 million was barely even a quarter of New York's whopping $340 million bottom line this year.

Do you know what they do have in common, though? Both teams missed the playoffs in 2025.

Yes, following their historic collapse that propelled the Cincinnati Reds into the postseason for the first time since 2020, the Mets are now left to pick up the pieces, as they reflect upon a second half in which they were five games worse (28-37) than the last-place Pirates.

Mets' frugality at trade deadline invites laughable Pirates comparisons

A lot of the blame for the Mets' second half struggles can be placed on President of Baseball Operations David Stearns, who failed to capitalize on his talented core at the trade deadline.

The team simply failed to add impact talent where it mattered, especially in the starting rotation. Unsung reliever Tyler Rogers was excellent in New York, though Gregory Soto and Ryan Helsley struggled out of the bullpen, and Cedric Mullins failed to run away with the center field gig.

If a disappointing trade deadline sounds familiar, that's because the Pirates also had one of their own. David Bednar and Ke'Bryan Hayes were traded for pennies on the dollar, and they didn't get a ton back for Caleb Ferguson, Adam Frazier, or Bailey Falter.

More importantly, they shockingly refused to deal a number of their veteran rentals, like Tommy Pham and Andrew Heaney. It was one thing to keep Mitch Keller; not stocking the farm system back up in a lost season was inexcusable.

Stearns developed an impressive reputation with the Milwaukee Brewers, constructing a talented roster despite facing significant payroll restrictions in such a small market. When he went to the Mets, it was expected that he would thrive with those constraints removed under MLB's wealthiest owner, Steve Cohen.

Now, he's being compared to Ben Cherington, the wildly ineffective general manager of the Pirates. That's not exactly the kind of company you want to be keeping, especially if you're the person in charge of baseball's largest payroll.

If it's any consolation to Stearns and Mets fans, the team should be able to turn things around quickly. They were NLCS participants just last year, and they still have a roster headlined by Francisco Lindor and Juan Soto, whose combined contracts total more than $1.1 billion.

Meanwhile, it sounds like Pirates fans will be stuck with Cherington's "vision" for the franchise for at least another year.