When David Stearns will start considering trades with the Mets

The Marlins, who were 15 games under .500 in early May, jumped into the market and dealt batting champ Luis Arraez to the Padres.

Don’t expect the Mets to follow suit. David Stearns wants to give the team at least a few more months to prove themselves.

The team president suggested major changes for the Mets, who entered Tuesday eight games under .500, with the third-worst record in the NL but just 4.5 games out of a wild card spot , would only arrive around the trade deadline. on July 30.

“We have a lot of time before that,” Stearns said before the Mets began a doubleheader against the Dodgers at Citi Field.

“Throughout July, you’re preparing for the deadline and you’re talking. I think each year takes a slightly different rhythm. …But throughout July, you prepare. You also don’t need to make a decision until the end of the month. So we’re going to continue to evaluate where we are.

The Mets have lost 12 of their previous 16 games, several in heartbreaking fashion, and are already behind 14.5 games in the NL East.

When Stearns last spoke to the media on May 16 in Philadelphia, he said he believed in the clubhouse records and that this club could still be successful.

The Mets have lost seven of ten games since that declaration.

A week and a half later, Stearns reiterated that the talent around the team still made him believe it, but he acknowledged that the team’s play hadn’t reflected its talent level.

“We haven’t played like a playoff team, and I think that’s a reality of the way we’ve played here in the first 50 games,” said Stearns, who added that despite the decisions of the Marlins, trade negotiations have been generally calm. for the end of May.

“That doesn’t mean we won’t do it, but we have to show it. I think we have a group of players who are very committed to this goal, determined to play better. But until we show it, it’s a reasonable question.

Several of Stearns’ offseason moves — including the additions of Luis Severino, Sean Manaea, Harrison Bader and JD Martinez — proved to be solid over the first few months of the season. It is the survivors, from Jeff McNeil to Francisco Lindor via Pete Alonso and Edwin Diaz, who have taken a step back.

“I think they have higher expectations of themselves,” Stearns said. “These are players who have very quality, sometimes elite track records in this league, and at certain times of the year we have guys who have struggled. And the great players, the best players, fight for it. I think our guys will.

“I think they would expect and I would expect that at the end of the year they will have seasons that are more like the types of players they have been throughout their careers.”