Angels dodge massive bullet with David Stearns choosing Mets over Astros

The Houston Astros have dominated the AL West for years, winning five of the last six division titles and on their way to potentially winning their sixth of the last seven. It feels like a miracle every time the Los Angeles Angels beat them in a game at this point, let alone a series or season series. They've done this despite some turmoil with their personnel. First, Jeff Lunhow and A.J. Hinch are suspended for their roles with the Astros cheating scandal, and most recently, James Click was just replaced by Dana Brown.

In between the Click and Brown transition, the Astros owner, Jim Crane, made some brutal decisions. He gave large contracts to players like Jose Abreu and Rafael Montero which have aged horribly in year one.

When word got out that former Brewers president of operations David Stearns was ready to get back into baseball and was discussing the role with other teams, it felt like the Astros were going to get their man once again and continue their dominance for years to come. Fortunately, it looks like Stearns has chosen a different team.

LA Angels catch a break with David Stearns choosing Mets over Astros

Stearns has reportedly agreed to a deal to become the President of Baseball Operations for the New York Mets. This is a good move for New York who had been searching for someone to fill that role for years and finally got their guy. It's even better news for the Angels to avoid having the wildly successful Stearns in the AL West on a team that's already loaded and well-equipped to spend money.

While he never won a World Series with Milwaukee, Stearns had an extremely successful run heading their baseball operations. Tasked with building a winner for a small market team, Stearns went 554-479 with the Brewers, making the postseason four straight times and pushing the Dodgers to Game 7 of the NLCS back in 2018.

Stearns has his fingerprints all over this current Brewers team that is heading towards a division title, as he was the one who acquired players like former MVP Christian Yelich and former Cy Young Award winner Corbin Burnes.

The most impressive accolade Stearns has is building a sustainable winner with not a lot at his disposal. Milwaukee never had an above-average payroll and was even at the bottom in his first two years in that category. The Astros on the other hand, while not having the unlimited Steve Cohen money, have the seventh-highest payroll this season and are consistently towards the top.

The Angels have their own front office issues as they've yet to find a way to build a winner for one year, let alone four straight like Stearns did with the Brewers. The last thing they needed was for this man to return to Houston and keep them on a winning path and thankfully, it didn't come to fruition.