As the Mets’ season comes down to the wire, one of the biggest questions facing the ballclub centers around who will take over as a new president of baseball operations.
Steve Cohen, in June, said he’s looking for a president to pair with general manager Billy Eppler, and David Stearns — former Brewers president and current Milwaukee senior advisor — has been linked to the Mets as the leading candidate.
A baseball person earlier this summer even told The Post’s Jon Heyman that the job is Stearns’ if he wants it.
However, Stearns coming to New York isn’t a 100 percent guarantee, and current Brewers general manager, Matt Arnold, didn’t divulge any insight into his predecessor’s plans during an appearance on “The Show,” on Tuesday.
“What I would say is I have no idea,” Arnold told “The Show” co-host Joel Sherman. “I love David a ton. I respect everything that he’s accomplished here and just as a good friend and one of the best people you could ever meet, even in or out of baseball honestly.
“I know he’s gonna be successful wherever he decides to go.
“If that’s with the Mets, then I’m sure he’ll have a great level of success there. But honestly, if he chooses to do anything in or out of baseball, I know he’s gonna do very well. I’m just pulling for him wherever he ends up.”
Stearns moved into an advisory role after the 2022 season after serving as the president of baseball ops in Milwaukee for four seasons.
Before that, he was the team’s general manager for three years.
Under his leadership in the front office, he helped usher in an era of Brewers success, as they reached the playoffs in four consecutive seasons from 2018-21.
In doing so, he’s become one of the most respected executives in baseball
Given his resume, it would make sense why Stearns was at the top of the list — if not the whole list — of candidates for the Mets’ president of baseball operations gig, as Heyman reported in June.
What has made Stearns so successful in Milwaukee has been the way he leads with his high baseball intelligence, Arnold said on “The Show.”
“He’s somebody you want to work with and you want to work for. He’s somebody that every day challenges the way you think in productive ways,” Arnold said. “He’s going to make any situation better wherever he ends up.
“It’s probably the combination of both EQ and IQ honestly. He has this great feel with people and understanding and relates to a lot of people in a lot of different ways. And then he’s one of the smartest guys in the room at all times.
“That’s a really dangerous combination.”
The Mets still have 25 games left on their schedule heading into Tuesday night’s contest against the Nationals.
The Amazin’s — or any other team — aren’t allowed to talk with Stearns until after his contract expires with the Brewers after this season.
Milwaukee enters play Tuesday with a 2 1/2 game lead in the NL Central over the second-place Cubs.