Steve Cohen hired David Stearns for the big picture. The Mets owner has not disguised his ambitions: He wants to be the Dodgers East.

That mainly means that the club will have a feeder system that annually provides both depth and stars for the roster and always has the prospect collateral to make a trade while at the same time having the financial resources to chase difference-makers.

Cohen, obviously, has the money part down. What has been lacking is a fertile farm. Cohen has conceded it takes years — very plural — to build such a system, even as he has tried to speed it up by using his financial might. He willingly provides every modern bell and whistle and essentially has bought prospects in the trades of Max Scherzer and Justin Verlander.

He also hired Stearns to oversee a behemoth. But Stearns’ history in Milwaukee does not suggest he oversaw a teeming farm system.