3 players traded to the NY Mets after an All-Star season that were immediate busts

2) Carlos Baerga, 2B, 1996

On July 29, 1996, the Cleveland Indians traded second baseman Carlos Baerga to the New York Mets in exchange for shortstop Jose Vizcaino and future National League Most Valuable Player second baseman Jeff Kent.

Carlos Baerga was coming off his fourth All-Star season when he was traded to the NY Mets in mid-season of 1996. At that moment in time, Carlos Baerga was at the very top of his game and was considered to be nothing short of a superstar at his position. In addition to his two Silver Slugger Awards, he also would tie a record that had been 70 years in the making. In the 1992-1993 seasons, Carlos Baerga became the first second baseman since Rogers Hornsby in 1922 to have back-to-back seasons of over 200 hits, 20 or more home runs, over100 RBIs, and with a batting average over .300.

Baseball people were amazed to speculate at what his career stats might someday total if he were to continue at this rate. At only 27 years of age, the Mets could see him leading the team out of the wilderness and back into contention. However, they didn’t expect how his skills would so suddenly diminish. In his 2.5 seasons with the Mets, Baerga would only average 7HR and 48 RBI, with a batting average of only .267

His contract option was not picked up by the Mets after the 1998 season so on October 26, 1998, Carlos Baerga became a free agent. He would eventually retire from baseball in 2005 but was never able to regain his former status as a superstar player. Sometimes, things can change so fast that you can't even see it coming.