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

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.