The New York Mets and Toronto Blue Jays haven’t been shy about making impactful trades. They share many of the same alumni because of it.
Who are the best hitters and pitchers to represent each ball club? Using WAR as our final decision-maker, we have our solution. David Cone, R.A. Dickey, John Olerud, and several other memorable members from both teams would be logical candidates for a list like this but didn’t make the cut. There are undoubtedly some surprising names who were declared the winner.
The best NY Mets player by WAR to also play for the Blue Jays
Any quick guesses? The answer is probably going to shock you because it’s Edgardo Alfonzo. This isn’t a knock against Fonzie. Who recalls him playing 12 games for the Blue Jays in 2006 anyway? His 29.6 WAR as a member of the Mets is slightly higher than Jose Reyes at 27.9.
The best Blue Jays player by WAR to also play for the Mets
First instinct, it has to be Carlos Delgado, right? He smashed 336 home runs for the Blue Jays and did it while hitting for a high average. He’s actually third with a 36.8 WAR in Toronto. Our winner is Jose Bautista. His 38.4 WAR accrued as a member of the Blue Jays narrowly beats out Tony Fernandez at 37.5. Both Bautista and Fernandez did very little during their time in New York, spending part of one season each.
The best NY Mets pitcher by WAR to also play for the Blue Jays
Far less of a surprise, the best Mets pitcher by WAR to represent the Blue Jays as well is Al Leiter. Already our Miami Marlins representative, his 28 WAR for the Mets is somewhat under-the-radar. He spent the early part of his career in Toronto amassing only an 8.5 WAR.
The best Blue Jays pitcher by WAR to also play for the Mets
Leiter comes in at number three with Shan Marcum in second-place at 9.8. Our winner here is Marcus Stroman. With a 12.5 WAR for the Blue Jays, there isn’t a more productive pitcher (at least from this statistic) to play for the Blue Jays and also have the Mets on his resume.