Perhaps New York Mets fans should’ve expected it, but we were all shocked and disappointed Edwin Díaz signed with the Los Angeles Dodgers. The fans immediately directed their ire towards David Stearns, and correctly so.

Spin the story any which way you want. In all iterations, Stearns completely and utterly failed.

There were reports the Mets were “shocked” Díaz left without giving them a chance to match. They expected him to return. Put another way, Stearns completely misread the situation.

There were reports Díaz was upset the Mets fired Jeremy Hefner. Remember, Hefner fixed Díaz’s stride and helped him become the best closer in baseball.

Hefner was fired partially as an overreaction to the Mets pitching staff collapsing. Remember, that was because of the pitchers Stearns obtained and not anything Hefner did.

As an example, Stearns let Luis Severino walk (when he wanted to return) to sign Frankie Montas. Somehow, Hefner was to blame for Stearns signing broken starters and relievers.

There’s Stearns no fifth year rule. Remember, Diaz said he’d return to the Mets if he got the same deal he got last time. If the Mets gave him that offer, he’s back for a lower AAV they were offering him.

Instead they opted to gamble they could outbid everyone. They weren’t even given the chance with them now looking at Robert Suarez amongst others.

By the way, if Suarez gets a two year deal, he wlll be signed to his age 36 season. If the Mets wrapped up Díaz by giving him five years, he’s would’ve been signed through his age 36 season. But hey, it’s length of deal and not age.

The Mets said their three year $66 million deal had “wiggle room.” That’s just about the dumbest way to negotiate. Hey, we’re offering this, but we have more money for you but only after someone else engages you in contract talks.

Please, come back to us after someone offers you more, so you can hear our best offer. Why let Díaz actively seek out better offers to get a better one out of you? You run the risk of letting him: (1) get an offer you won’t match; (2) be blown away by another team; or (3) never give you a chance to match or counter.

The Mets let Díaz shop their offer. The Dodgers bettered it, and they were impressive enough (or Díaz was upset enough) Díaz opted just to leave.

Díaz was also apparently upset the Mets signed Devin Williams without talking to him. Certainly, it must’ve been a shock to see the Mets sign another closer when they’re telling you they want you back.

Now, the Mets tried to make it clear to everyone they wanted Williams as a bridge to Díaz. That’s good and all, but why not just tell Díaz?

It goes to a growing criticism of Stearns. He’s a poor communicator with the players. That’s a very bad quality for someone entasked with building relationships to entice people to either stay or come to your team.

There are some accusing Díaz of ring chasing. Guess what? The Mets haven’t exactly put together a roster to convince Díaz they can compete with the Dodgers now. Again, that’s on Stearns.

The Mets expecting and hoping for some loyalty from Díaz is also a little thick. Stearns forced Brandon Nimmo out the door. Remember, Nimmo was a homegrown Met who loved being a Met and never wanted to waive or be asked to waive his no-trade clause.

Nimmo was partially persuaded to accept the trade to the Texas Rangers by Jacob deGrom. Stearns had partially opted to not retain the homegrown Met because he wanted more years. Again, years are standing in the way of signing impactful free agents.

At the end of the day, the Mets offer was to come back to a team who fired his pitching coach. They asked him to return to a team showing no loyalty to anyone. There’s rumors of a toxic clubhouse.

The Mets didn’t want to give him what he wanted. They don’t have the best roster amongst the teams who were vying for his services. They didn’t have the best offer, nor did they make their best offer.

Overall, the Mets not only misjudge the situation, but they also misjudged their relationship with Díaz. That doesn’t happen to a competent GM who is supposed to have good working relationships with his players and their agents.

Stearns botched the Díaz situation from every single angle. That led to Díaz signing with the Dodgers, and the Mets being left in shock and an already bad bullpen losing their only reliable arm.

Stearns has work to do here not only in terms of fixing this Mets roster, but also in ensuring something like this never happens again.