David Stearns talks Luisangel Acuña's chances for Opening Day roster, expectations for Jett Williams

Mets president of baseball operations David Stearns discussed a wide range of topics on Thursday at Grapefruit League Media Day in Jupiter, Fla.

Here are the key things to know:

On Luisangel Acuña, and the possibility of him making the roster on the bench

Acuña is ostensibly in the mix to win the second base job out of spring training, but it will be an upset if Jeff McNeil doesn't emerge as the starter.

Still, what Acuña did late last season while filling in for the injured Francisco Lindor turned heads. And as a speedy, toolsy player who has strong defensive chops, it's enticing to wonder how Acuña might impact the 2025 Mets.

One of the people excited to find out is Stearns.

"It is unusual when a player reaches the major leagues and consistently performs at a higher level than he performed at in Triple-A," Stearns said. "I think another instance of a player who wasn't scared by the moment, and showed up and performed at a high level from day one.

"With him, let's put offensive contributions aside for a second. The defense is real, and he played at a very high level when Lindor was out. We didn't miss a beat defensively, and I thought that was really impressive."

Asked to define who the "real" Acuña is, Stearns explained:

"I think the real Acuña is a very, very talented player who still has developmental growth needed. And I don't know that that has changed from now versus if we're having this conversation on September 8 last year, before he ever got called up. I think what he experienced last year in September will benefit him, but he's the same player."

If Acuña doesn't unseat McNeil, it's possible he'll make the Opening Day roster on the bench, where he would give the Mets a player who can play second base, third base, shortstop, and perhaps some outfield.

While it might be better for Acuña to get consistent at-bats in Triple-A Syracuse if he isn't in the majors in a full-time role, Stearns did not rule out the potential that Acuña could be on the bench from the jump.

"I think that's a discussion we're gonna continue to have throughout camp, and it's a possibility," Stearns said. "He's in that competition, he's part of that competition. But we've got a lot of time to make that decision, with a lot of things that can happen between now and then before we make that decision. So we'll answer that when we need to at the end of camp."

Expectations for Jett Williams, and his future position

Williams, who is all but certain to start the season back in the minors after most of his 2024 campaign was wiped out due to a wrist injury, is in big league spring training.

Along with Acuña, Williams will get reps at second base in camp. And Stearns discussed what the team wants to see from Williams this season.

"First off, health. Priority one is let's have a healthy season that allows him to get 550 plate appearances," Stearns explained. "That would be outstanding. I'm pretty confident that if we have a healthy season that allows him to get 550 plate appearances, we're gonna see a player who's gonna continue to grow, move up the ladder a little bit, and put himself in a position where people are actually starting to talk about him as a major league option. But it all starts with staying on the field and staying healthy."

As far as what Williams' eventual position will be once he reaches the majors, Stearns said it would be second base or center field, but that the Mets won't stop giving him reps at shortstop right now. That's because "playing there helps him play the rest of the field."

"We think he can play both second and center at a high level," Stearns said. "He hasn't had the reps there yet, but he has all the skills and tools to be able to do it. So I do think we're gonna try to get him a few more reps at both those positions this year.

"What I would anticipate is, we're looking at a player who can play the three premium positions at an average or better level. I really think he has that ability to do it. There aren't too many people who can do that."

Mets have discussed extending some of their younger players

Speaking about the Mets' established younger players -- a crop that includes Mark Vientos and Francisco Alvarez -- Stearns said that the team has recently explored extensions with some of them.

But he understandably did not specify which ones.

"I think that's something always to explore, with younger players who are having success in the major leagues who want to be here," Stearns noted. "I think that's something I've done previously in my career. It's something we have explored here with some of our younger players over the past year and a half since I've been here -- we haven't lined up yet.

"Those are the types of discussions that can be ongoing. They can travel over multiple years because there's no real deadline to get anything like that done. So there's often a prolonged back-and-forth in some of those types of discussions with younger players, and I imagine we'll continue to have those."