Mets trades with the Diamondbacks often lead to a postseason visit

May 24, 2006 – Mets trade Jorge Julio for Orlando Hernandez

About a half-decade after the Pulsipher for Harris deal, the Mets and Diamondbacks struck another one well before the actual July 31 trade deadline. This time, the Mets were looking for a starting pitcher.

The May 24, 2006 trade between New York and Arizona sent Orlando Hernandez back to the city where he made his MLB debut. Best known for his time with the New York Yankees, “El Duque” had a reputation early on in his career as a big-game pitcher. He hadn’t performed all that well since leaving the Yankees and the 2006 season was no exception.

At the time of this trade, Hernandez was 2-4 with a 6.11 ERA in nine starts. The Mets needed an arm and had seen in their own back yard what he can do.

To acquire Hernandez, the Mets traded reliever Jorge Julio. It was his first year with the team and things were not going well. He owned a 5.06 ERA through his first 21.1 innings of work. Fortunately for Arizona, he turned things around and had a 3.83 ERA and 15 saves for them in 2006.

Hernandez, however, had the bigger impact. In his 20 starts he went 9-7 with a 4.09 ERA. It wasn’t a flash of his early brilliance but it was what the team needed in front of their awesome offense and talented bullpen.

The year didn’t end well for Hernandez as he suffered an injury while sprinting just one day before the 2006 postseason began. He did return the following year and have success before injuries caught up to him again, but it’s his efforts in the 2006 regular season that made the largest difference.