NY Mets: 15 worst trade deadline deals in franchise history

Jun 27, 2021

NEW YORK, NY - APRIL 03: Jose Reyes #7 of the New York Mets celebrates the win with teammates Neil Walker #20,Asdrubal Cabrera #13,Jay Bruce #19, Curtis Granderson #3 and Yoenis Cespedes #52 after the game against the Atlanta Braves during Opening Day on April 3, 2017 at Citi Field in the Flushing neighborhood of the Queens borough of New York City.The New York Mets defeated the 6-0. (Photo by Elsa/Getty Images) /

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The New York Mets trade for Juan Samuel is one of the worst made in June. (Photo by: Stephen Dunn/Getty Images) /

2) NY Mets Worst Trade Deadline Deals: Lenny Dykstra to the Philadelphia Phillies for Juan Samuel

Never make a deal with your biggest enemies. The Mets learned this from the June 18, 1989 trade made with the Philadelphia Phillies. Tom Edens, Roger McDowell, and Lenny Dykstra were all sent to the Phillies in exchange for Juan Samuel. Immediately, this was a bad trade.

Samuel had been a major stolen base threat during the 1980s as a member of the rival Phillies. Also a fine hitter, things went in a different direction once he joined the boys in the Big Apple. Samuel was a .228 hitter in 370 plate appearances with the Mets in 1989. So upset with how the deal was going, he was shipped out before the new year in a December swap with the Los Angeles Dodgers.

McDowell pitched amazingly well for the Phillies in 1989. In 56.2 innings, he had a 1.11 ERA. He would go on to pitch well for several more seasons, even joining Samuel with the Dodgers ironically enough.

The bigger piece in this trade was Dykstra. During his time with the Phillies, he became a fan favorite and MVP runner-up. His first full year with the team included a league-best 192 hits. An exceptional player with multiple tools, he helped hold down the Mets for several years in the early 1990s.