Mets have yet to get the best of the Phillies in any significant trade

The division rival New York Mets and Philadelphia Phillies have made plenty of trades over the year. Unfortunately for New York, Philadelphia has a lot more wins in these deals.

Prior to the Asdrubal Cabrera trade in late July of 2018, the New York Mets and Philadelphia Phillies had gone exactly 17 years since they made a deal. Back on July 27, 2001, the Mets sent Dennis Cook and Turk Wendell to Philadelphia for Adam Walker and Bruce Chen.

Since the Cabrera trade that had little positive effect on the 2018 Phillies, the two teams have swapped two other veterans. Jose Bautista went to Philadelphia in a trade one month later. Last July, Jason Vargas was the veteran headed from the Big Apple to the City of Brotherly Love.

While the Mets and Phillies haven’t done much business in the 21st century, they have traded plenty in the past. Unfortunately for the Amazins, they have come out losers in just about every important deal.

The Lenny Dykstra and Roger McDowell for Juan Samuel trade highlights the bad of these two teams striking a deal. Dykstra became a star for the Phillies while Samuel took up a roster spot and was quickly expelled from Queens shortly after.

Other deals, such as the 1996 trade which sent first baseman Rico Brogna to the Phillies, have come back to bite the Mets. Even though they were able to replace Brogna with John Olerud in an amazing steal from the Toronto Blue Jays, to only land Toby Borland in return for Brogna feels like a loss.

In more ways than just performance, trades between the Mets and Phillies have favored the team in orange and blue. For instance, the Bud Harrelson trade ended the tenure of one of the earliest great Mets.

Even more painful because of how much it helped Philadelphia, Tug McGraw was involved in a trade in December 1974. The deal sent him to the Phillies where he would go on to help them contend for several years in the late 1970s and eventually win it all in 1980.

The only silver lining in this trade is the Mets were able to acquire longtime catcher John Stearns. Sadly, Stearns’ highlight reel doesn’t include any World Series celebration.

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Things may always change in the future between these two clubs. For what it’s worth, Cabrera, Bautista, and Vargas all had their struggles with Philadelphia following the recent trade deadline deals. The Mets were able to acquire pitching prospect Franklyn Kilome in the Cabrera deal, potentially adding a first to their history: a win against Philadelphia in a trade.