Last year the New York Mets were the winners of the trade deadline. In desperate need of a big bat in the lineup, the Mets sent pitchers Luis Cessa and Michael Fulmer to the Detroit Lions for Yoenis Cespedes. After acquiring the two-time home run derby champion, both the Mets’ offense and pitching staff excelled. By the end of September, the Mets were the NL East Champions. Riding on a lights-out pitching staff and a streaky offense, they were able to win the pennant. Ultimately they lost to the returning AL Champion Royals in 5 games.
A memorable moment happened just a week before the Cespedes trade went down. ESPN released a trade rumor that the Mets would be shipping third baseman Wilmer Flores and pitching prospect Zach Wheeler to the Milwaukee Brewers in return for Carlos Gomez. Gomez is slumping this year with multiple trips to the DL and a .216 batting average, but last year he was hitting .262 at the deadline. Flores heard this rumor and was obviously upset. The Mets were the only team Flores had ever played for. Even more, heartbreaking was that he started the game at shortstop. Usually, when a player is getting traded away, they are benched as a sign of respect. Flores was actually brought to tears as he walked off the field as fans gave him a standing ovation. This was thought to be Flores’ last inning before he would start to pack for Milwaukee. The only problem was, Flores stayed in the game. Too much confusion, the deal between the Mets and the Brewers fell through. So Flores wasn’t actually being traded.
Fortunately enough, a few days later the Mets did acquired Cespedes, and the whole Flores fiasco is a funny memory. The mistake made by the Mets Saturday night will not bring a smile to anyone’s face. A weak spot this year for the Mets has been their catchers. Travis d’Arnaud spent the first two months of the season on the DL and backup catcher Rene Rivera just isn’t getting the job done. d’Arnaud is thought to be a hitter first, catcher second. This year he is batting a mere .238, down from his .268 average last year. His slugging percentage and on-base percentage are also significantly less. Defensively he struggles to throw runners out at second base. In the 38 games, he has played in, on 35 steal attempts he has caught just 8 runners trying to steal. He throws out 19 percent of the runners stealing against him. That means a runner has an 81 percent chance of stealing a base against d’Arnaud.
The Mets expressed interest in Milwaukee Brewer’s catcher Jonathan Lucroy. Lucroy is batting .300 on the year, bringing both an offensive and defensive advantage. Lucroy has been stolen on 48 times as a catcher and he has caught 32 runners. That is a rate of 40 percent runners caught stealing. Lucroy has also played in 82 games, almost double a number of games d’Arnuad has been in.
The first offer to the Brewers was d’Arnaud for Lucroy straight up. That is a horrible deal for the Brewers, as the only advantages would be the difference in salary and trading a 27-year-old catcher for a 30-year-old catcher. The massive loss of ability in both defense and offense gives little interest in making this deal happen. By the time the Mets made up the next deal, involving d’Arnaud, outfield prospect Brandon Nimmo, and one unnamed player, Lucroy was benched, showing that a deal may have gone through. Where? To the Cleveland Indians. The Mets lost out on a way to improve their team and make a real run to win the World Series.
The Mets are now showing interest in Cincinnati Reds outfielder, Jay Bruce. Bruce is a quality hitter who can take the spot of struggling left fielder Michael Conforto, or right fielder Curtis Granderson. The Washington Nationals had no problem upgrading their team before Monday's deadline. The Nats traded Felipe Rivero and pitching prospect Taylor Hearn to acquire all-star closer Mark Melancon. Melancon led the majors in saves last year with 55 and has converted 30 of his 33 chances this year.
No doubt about it, the Mets losing of a deal like this leaves a sour taste in any fan’s mouth.
