NY Mets: Five worst December trades the team has ever made

ATLANTA - JUNE 4: Infielder Mo Vaughn #42 of the New York Mets looks on from the field during the game against the Atlanta Braves at Turner Field in Atlanta, Georgia on June 4, 2002. Rainout. (Photo By Jamie Squire/Getty Images)
ATLANTA - JUNE 4: Infielder Mo Vaughn #42 of the New York Mets looks on from the field during the game against the Atlanta Braves at Turner Field in Atlanta, Georgia on June 4, 2002. Rainout. (Photo By Jamie Squire/Getty Images)
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WEST PALM BEACH, FL – MARCH 11: The New Era cap, Nike sunglasses and Wilson glove of Michael Conforto #30 of the New York Mets during a spring training baseball game against the Houston Astros at Fitteam Ballpark of the Palm Beaches on March 11, 2019 in West Palm Beach, Florida. The Astros defeated the Mets 6-3. (Photo by Rich Schultz/Getty Images)
WEST PALM BEACH, FL – MARCH 11: The New Era cap, Nike sunglasses and Wilson glove of Michael Conforto #30 of the New York Mets during a spring training baseball game against the Houston Astros at Fitteam Ballpark of the Palm Beaches on March 11, 2019 in West Palm Beach, Florida. The Astros defeated the Mets 6-3. (Photo by Rich Schultz/Getty Images) /

The New York Mets have made some awesome December trades. These aren’t them.

December has been a great month for the New York Mets to add some extremely talented players. Whether via trade or free agency, the month has been very kind to the organization.

However, not all transactions are created equally. The Mets have also had their share of bad decisions in December. Included are some notoriously bad trades.

These swaps were made with the expectation that it would improve the team. Unfortunately, each trade backfired and some became quite notorious for how bad they are in the team’s history.

Not included are trades with no final grades. So, the infamous swap with the Seattle Mariners that brought the Mets Robinson Cano will have to wait in the queue for now.

Honorable Mention: Mets trade Kevin Mitchell to the Padres

The Kevin Mitchell trade with the San Diego Padres was no doubt a bad one for the Mets. However, because the team did get Kevin McReynolds in the deal, I can’t add it to my list of the worst five. Instead, it gets an honorable mention.

The December trade sent the young outfielder, Mitchell, to the Giants with four other players including Stan Javier and Shawn Abner. Along with McReynolds, the Mets received Adam Ging and Gene Walter.

McReynolds was a solid player with the Mets for several years. In 1988, he even finished third in the MVP vote.

This doesn’t compare to what Mitchell did. In 1989, he actually won the MVP. Led by his league-leading 47 home runs and 126 RBI, Mitchell starred with his new club, the San Francisco Giants. Amazingly, the Padres gave up on him just as fast as the Mets. Somewhere out there, a Padres blog may have that trade ranked on a similar list as this.

Mitchell continued to swat home runs and give whatever team he played for production from the middle of the lineup.

ANAHEIM, CA – CIRCA 1981: Amos Otis #26 of the Kansas City Royals bats against the California Angels during an Major League Baseball game circa 1981 at Anaheim Stadium in Anaheim, Californis. Otis played for the Royals from 1970-83. (Photo by Focus on Sport/Getty Images)
ANAHEIM, CA – CIRCA 1981: Amos Otis #26 of the Kansas City Royals bats against the California Angels during an Major League Baseball game circa 1981 at Anaheim Stadium in Anaheim, Californis. Otis played for the Royals from 1970-83. (Photo by Focus on Sport/Getty Images) /

5) Mets prematurely trade Amos Otis to the Royals

On December 3, 1969, the Mets made the poor decision to trade Amos Otis and Bob Johnson to the Kansas City Royals for Joe Foy.

Johnson went on to have a solid yet short career. In his one year with Kansas City, he pitched to a 3.07 ERA working as a starter and reliever. Foy, meanwhile, spent just a single season with the Mets. He hit .236 in 399 trips to the plate.

Those two aren’t what made this such a bad trade. It was what Otis did with the Royals that left a scar in Queens.

Otis isn’t a household name for many baseball fans, but he very well could be. In his 14 seasons with the Royals, he was an All-Star five times. He won a pair of Gold Gloves, led the league in doubles twice, and in 1971 stole an American League-best 52 bases.

Twice in his career, Otis finished in the top five of the MVP voting. The speedy center fielder with pop had a dazzling career and saw plenty of playoff action with the Royals in the late 1970s and early 1980s. During that same time period, the Mets were in freefall and selling off players left and right.

The Mets missed out on a decade of what could have potentially been an all-time great center fielder in franchise history. Otis had all of the tools you want from a center fielder. He would have made for a great replacement for Tommie Agee—if the team had only waited a little longer.

CHICAGO – CIRCA 2002: Roberto Alomar #12 of the New York Mets fields during an MLB game at Wrigley Field in Chicago, Illinois. Alomar played for 17 seasons with 7 different teams was a 12-time All-Star and was inducted in the Baseball Hall of Fame in 2011. (Photo by SPX/Ron Vesely Photography via Getty Images)
CHICAGO – CIRCA 2002: Roberto Alomar #12 of the New York Mets fields during an MLB game at Wrigley Field in Chicago, Illinois. Alomar played for 17 seasons with 7 different teams was a 12-time All-Star and was inducted in the Baseball Hall of Fame in 2011. (Photo by SPX/Ron Vesely Photography via Getty Images) /

4) Mets get the bad end of Roberto Alomar

A little more modern, this next awful December trade took place on the 1tth and helped define the era of Mets baseball it took place in. After 12 All-Star appearances, a Hall of Fame future ahead of him, and a whole lot of other awards, the Mets managed to pick up second baseman Roberto Alomar in a trade with the Cleveland Indians.

Only a few years earlier, the Mets made a trade for another Indians second baseman, Carlos Baerga. That deal was a mess. This one may have been worse because of how great Alomar was before going to New York.

Coming off a year where he finished fourth in the MVP vote, Alomar seemed to age quickly in orange and blue. He hit .266 in his first year with 11 home runs and 53 RBI. Those numbers were only slightly more than half the total (20 home runs, 100 RBI) he had in his final year with Cleveland.

Alomar was one of the top second basemen for years in the American League. Regardless of the city he played in, he seemed to always excel.

This wasn’t the case with the Mets. In his two seasons, Alomar slashed .265/.333/.370 with 13 home runs. He didn’t even make it through the 2003 season as the team traded him to the Chicago White Sox.

The cost to land Alomar didn’t hurt the franchise all that much. The Amazins even managed to pick up a pair of prospects in the deal. The Indians’ prospects appeared to have a brighter future, but none ever did anything close to what Alomar accomplished—before he got to the Mets.

BRONX, NY – JUNE 30: First baseman Mo Vaughn #42 of the New York Mets stands on second base during the MLB game against the New York Yankees on June 30, 2002 at Yankee Stadium in the Bronx, New York. The Yankees won 8-0. (Photo by Ezra Shaw/Getty Images)
BRONX, NY – JUNE 30: First baseman Mo Vaughn #42 of the New York Mets stands on second base during the MLB game against the New York Yankees on June 30, 2002 at Yankee Stadium in the Bronx, New York. The Yankees won 8-0. (Photo by Ezra Shaw/Getty Images) /

3) Mo Vaughn joins the Mets and does almost nothing

This Mets trade had bad news written all over it from the start. Looking for some pop, the franchise made a trade with the Los Angeles Angels on December 27, 2001. The deal turned out to do very little for the Mets and a whole lot more for the Angels. It sent Kevin Appier to the Angeles in exchange for Mo Vaughn.

Vaughn didn’t play at all in 2001 due to injury so the Mets were already taking a risk. However, when he did last take the field in 2000, he slugged 36 home runs and drove in 117. Would they get the same consistent power hitter from the last several seasons?

They wouldn’t.

Vaughn did manage to swat 26 dingers in 2002 while hitting .259. It wasn’t a horrific year for him. The better way to put it is disappointing.

The following season, however, things were worse. Battling through injuries, Vaughn only appeared in 27 games for the Mets. He hit .190 and knocked just three home runs. Thoughts on this trade aren’t helped much either by the fact that he made over $17 million in 2004 without playing a single game.

Meanwhile, over in California, Appier enjoyed a solid regular season for the Angels. He went 14-12 with a 3.92 ERA in 32 starts. Although he wasn’t pitching well, he may have enjoyed the postseason more. The Angels went on to win the 2002 World Series.

This trade stings in a few ways. The Mets got a player who didn’t do much and the player they traded away won a championship with his new ball club.

ST. LOUIS, MO – CIRCA 1987: Mike Scott #33 of the Houston Astros pitches against the St. Louis Cardinals during an Major League Baseball game circa 1987 at Busch Stadium in St. Louis, Missouri. Scott played for the Astros from 1983-91. (Photo by Focus on Sport/Getty Images)
ST. LOUIS, MO – CIRCA 1987: Mike Scott #33 of the Houston Astros pitches against the St. Louis Cardinals during an Major League Baseball game circa 1987 at Busch Stadium in St. Louis, Missouri. Scott played for the Astros from 1983-91. (Photo by Focus on Sport/Getty Images) /

2) Mets trade future Cy Young winner Mike Scott

The Mets made a lot of great transactions in the 1980s. They built themselves a championship roster through several means, including trades. One not so great move occurred on December 10, 1982. On this day, they traded pitcher Mike Scott to the Houston Astros for Danny Heep.

Heep had some good years with the Mets. However, Scott had some incredibly ones with the Astros.

Scott pitched in Houston for nine years and won 110 games while posting a 3.30 ERA. In 1986, he won the National League Cy Young. He posted a league-best 2.22 ERA, tossed five shutouts, and struck out an astonishing 306 batters.

Scott was far from a one-year-wonder. He was an All-Star three times and managed to win 20 games in 1989; a year where he finished second in the Cy Young vote.

The Mets nearly regretted this trade even more when they faced Scott twice in the 1986 NLCS. He defeated them twice, allowing just one run in 18 innings of work.

Fortunately, New York was able to get the best of Houston in the rest of the series. When Scott wasn’t on the mound, the Mets were much better in this particular series.

For those curious, Heep spent four years with the Mets. He hit .263/.430/.390 in what was a part-time role with the club. He did manage to hit .280+ in 1985 and 1986, playing an important role for the club from the bench.

Regardless of Heep’s contributions, one has to wonder how powerful the Mets would have looked with Scott remaining in Flushing.

ANAHEIM, CA – 1973: Pitcher Nolan Ryan #30 of the California Angels sits on the bench during an MLB game circa 1973 at Angel Stadium in Anaheim, California. (Photo by Robert Riger/Getty Images)
ANAHEIM, CA – 1973: Pitcher Nolan Ryan #30 of the California Angels sits on the bench during an MLB game circa 1973 at Angel Stadium in Anaheim, California. (Photo by Robert Riger/Getty Images) /

1) Mets miss out on Nolan Ryan’s Hall of Fame career

No trade might be worse in Mets history than the one that happened on December 10, 1971. The team traded four players to the California Angels for infielder Jim Fregosi.

Fregosi was a disaster in New York. He hit .232 in his first season and was batting .234 the following year when he parted ways with the Mets. His performance isn’t what makes this so bad. It’s what happened with one of the players the Angels acquired that makes this so utterly painful.

Nolan Ryan was a young yet flawed pitcher for the Mets at the time of the trade. Working as a starter and reliever, he managed to go 29-38 with a 3.58 ERA in his 510 frames with the Metropolitans. Control was a major issue for him. His walk ratio was at 6.1 per nine innings.

Minus a crystal ball, the Mets ended up dealing him away for a shot at Fregosi—a veteran whose better days were in the past.

The complete opposite can be said about Ryan. He would go on to become the all-time strikeout leader in Major League Baseball history. Another record he owns, Ryan’s 6.6 hits per nine is also the lowest of any qualified pitcher.

Ryan’s Hall of Fame career lasted until 1993. In all of those years, Mets fans cringed at how the organization missed out on so many wonderful seasons from him.

Although Ryan would never win another World Series aside from the one he enjoyed in 1969 with his Mets teammates, he became one of the greatest pitchers to ever step on a mound.

Next. Top 5 November Mets trades

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In my opinion, this is the worst trade in Mets history. Not only did it bring the Mets very little in return, it also cost them a legend.

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