Mets can learn from Johan Santana why they shouldn’t trade Jacob deGrom

When it comes to whether or not the New York Mets should trade Jacob deGrom, the deal that landed them Johan Santana says a lot.

We’re now well past the 2018 non-waiver trade deadline. Still in our view, should the New York Mets keep or trade Jacob deGrom?

To answer this question, one simply needs to look at the Johan Santana trade the Mets made with the Minnesota Twins in the 2007-2008 offseason.

With two Cy Young Awards to his name, Santana left the Twins after another phenomenal season. He joined the Mets where he would give them three stellar seasons and the franchise’s lone no-hitter. Injuries ended his career prematurely, which unfortunately cost Santana a shot at the Hall of Fame.

We all know this part of the Santana story. What we’ve glanced over is how he landed in New York.

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The Mets wasted no time in extending Santana. The same day they acquired him, Santana agreed to a six-year extension worth $137.5 million. The Mets had their ace all locked up. And all they needed to give up in the trade to acquire him were four prospects.

The four men who went from New York to Minnesota in the trade were Carlos Gomez, Deolis Guerra, Philip Humber, and Kevin Mulvey. The foursome includes one name we know. By far, Gomez developed into the best player. Even that was short-lived and took place as a member of the Milwaukee Brewers.

Minnesota knew they couldn’t afford Santana. Trading him made sense. As a smaller market ballclub, this is the pain they deal with.

Meanwhile, the Mets can’t use the same excuse for deGrom. They’re in New York City. Their budget should afford them the luxury of keeping the star players they develop on their roster for his entire career.

Imagine if they traded deGrom elsewhere and none of the prospects they got in return became good players for their organization. The outrage could fill Citi Field ten times.

Since the trade, the Twins have been to the postseason three times. They won the division in 2009 and 2010 but failed to win a single playoff game. They went back again in 2017 and lost the wild card matchup against the New York Yankees.

The Twins are by no means cursed. They did, however, lose this trade. Dealing a player of Santana’s abilities in the height of his career should net you at least two players who can help keep your franchise competitive. The Twins got zero of them.

There’s no guarantee the Mets would be as unlucky shipping their ace elsewhere. Then again, how often do we see big pieces moved for minor leaguers and the team receiving the unknown wins out?

Next. What a Jacob deGrom extension could look like

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The moment the Mets trade deGrom, they will go on the hunt to find someone else with the same abilities. Rather than chase their tails, learning from this trade they were directly involved in will save everyone from a dizzying experience.

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