An underrated bad NY Mets-Blue Jays trade involving a .225 hitter

It’s pretty well-known how the New York Mets traded David Cone in 1992 to the Toronto Blue Jays and somehow ended up losing a deal that brought them future Hall of Famer Jeff Kent. Without looking into the ramifications years down the road, this was a Blue Jays trade victory simply because Toronto won a World Series with Cone.

Less than a year later, the Mets and Blue Jays struck another mid-year deal. This one doesn’t get talked about much, but in the middle of June they made an early trade deadline deal with the Blue Jays that would once again give Toronto a player who’d help win them another championship.

The Tony Fernandez trade to the Blue Jays is an underrated bad Mets deal

Fernandez joined the Mets in October of 1992 in a deal with the San Diego Padres. Many of his best years came in the 1980s as a member of the Blue Jays. After two years in San Diego, one which included an All-Star appearance, he came to the Mets and caught whatever was going around their side of the box score.

The 1993 Mets weren’t regarded as “the worst team money can buy” yet they were even worse than the 1992 club. They went from 72 wins to 59 and managed to lose over 100 games. It was the first time since 1967 they would reach triple digit losses.

Fernandez was an All-Star in 1992 so there was plenty of reason to believe he could become one of the better shortstops to pass through Queens. However, in 48 games and just over 200 plate appearances, Fernandez hit .225/.323/.295 with a single home run. Worth 0.2 bWAR, the Mets traded the soon-to-be free agent to the Blue Jays for Darrin Jackson.

A 29-year-old outfielder batting .216 with the Blue Jays, Jackson somehow found a way to be worse with the Mets. He hit .195 and managed a single home run. A free agent at the end of the year as well, he’d end up with the Chicago White Sox in 1994 batting .312.

Yeah, so the Mets didn’t get much back for Fernandez. Making it worse is how well Fernandez hit in Toronto. He suddenly found his groove by hitting .306 and posting a 3.1 bWAR in his 94 games for the Blue Jays.

It didn’t stop in the regular season. Fernandez was 7 for 22 in the ALCS and 7 for 21 in the World Series. He drove in 9 runs in the latter.

Some trade losses are bad because you gave up a good player and got little in return. In this instance, the Mets gave up a struggling veteran, got back another who actually got worse, and saw the guy they traded away find the Fountain of Youth.

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