Best Mets trades, signings, and other transactions pre-postseason trip

1973 – Jim Fregosi sale

What is there to say about Jim Fregosi’s time with the Mets that we haven’t said before about all other memories we’d like to forget?

Traded to New York just one year prior in the infamous Nolan Ryan deal which almost immediately bit them in the back, Fregosi will never be able to walk into Queens and get a free beer. In fact, he’s paying double.

Fregosi came to the Mets with some concerns about his health. Unfortunately, his failing body lived up to the reputation.

The multi-time All-Star from the 1960s wasn’t able to rebound with the Mets in 1972. In 1973, he continued to hit poorly, for the third straight year on track to hit in the low .230s.

In a year where the National League East was wide open, the Mets put him up for sale. On July 11, the Texas Rangers purchased him from New York.

Although the impact this had on the Mets is more speculative than anything else, I have to think the bad mojo leaving the clubhouse gave them a boost. The team eventually found themselves back in the World Series, pushing the dominant Oakland Athletics to a seventh game.

1986 – Bob Ojeda trade

Something I’m not sure many younger Mets fans realize, Bob Ojeda actually made his debut with the organization in 1986. The timing couldn’t be more perfect. Acquired in a trade with the Boston Red Sox—the team the Mets defeated in the World Series—he couldn’t have made a better first impression.

Already an established veteran pitcher, Ojeda didn’t have too much success in Beantown. Everything changed when he arrived in New York.

Ojeda won 18 games for the 1986 Mets and did so with a 2.57 ERA. He finished fourth in the Cy Young race while cementing himself as an important part of his new franchise.

The November 13, 1985 trade that brought Ojeda down from Boston included multiple players—none of which had near the impact he did in 1986.