NY Mets: 15 worst trade deadline deals in franchise history

7) NY Mets Worst Trade Deadline Deals: Acquiring Oliver Perez from the Pittsburgh Pirates

This trade is a little change of pace from many of the others on this list. The majority of misses the Mets made at the trade deadline involved moving a capable major leaguer for minor league talent that never amounted to much. This all-time worst trade is an exception.

In the summer of 2006, the Mets were on their way to capturing an NL East crown. During their march there, the team had a need for a pitcher. This brought us to a questionable trade made with the Pittsburgh Pirates and the beginning of the Oliver Perez nightmare.

At this point of his career, Perez had only one good season on his resume: 2004 when he was 12-10 with a 2.98 ERA. In 2006, he was dreadful with Pittsburgh. At 2-10 with a 6.63 ERA, I have to question what the Mets were thinking.

Things didn’t get better. Perez did win a shutout for the Mets but that was it. He would go 1-3 with a 6.38 ERA for the club in 2006, essentially contributing nothing aside from fueling nightmares. Perez did turn things around in 2017 but his time calling Queens home left a bad taste in the mouths of many.

Stepping back for a moment, we need to look at what was given up to acquire Perez. For his services, the Mets traded outfielder Xavier Nady and also managed to pick up veteran reliever Roberto Hernandez. Nady did have a successful stint with the Pirates and continued to give serviceable efforts for several years. Hernandez, now in his second stint with New York, pitched to a 3.48 in 2006. He was actually the better piece acquired in this trade.

Was the Perez trade dreadfully awful? Not so much if all it cost them was Nady.

Did it do more harm than good? You better believe it.