Discussed NY Mets trade of David Wright probably robs us of two franchise icons

Saturday will be all about David Wright getting his number retired by the New York Mets. The whole week has led up to the event and had those who worked for the Mets during his career talking plenty.

No story seemed to be a better kept secret than the revelation that the team almost traded him. 21 years ago, the Mets were buying at the trade deadline and Wright’s name kept coming up in trade conversations with the Kansas City Royals.

As revealed by the GM at the time, Jim Duquette, the target was none other than Carlos Beltran. A future Hall of Famer who’d end up with the Mets the next offseason via free agency, had this trade happened it would have potentially robbed us of two of the greatest in franchise history.

What if this Mets-Royals trade actually did happen?

Beltran was traded by the Royals that summer, but to the Houston Astros. He was a postseason beast. He had 8 home runs in 12 games and batted over .400 in both series he participated in. Still, it wasn’t enough for the Astros to advance to the World Series. They lost in Game 7 to the St. Louis Cardinals. There’s certainly some irony there with Beltran at the plate two years later in Game 7 against the Cardinals in the NLCS.

Let’s say the Wright for Beltran trade did happen. Others might’ve been involved. It’s a massive enough deal with the way their careers went if no one else was. The Royals add an up-and-coming leader and superstar. The Mets rent Beltran for a year, probably still miss the postseason, and the experience might have him landing elsewhere. As a result, we never get to experience either of them in Flushing.

Wright was a rookie in 2004 and coveted enough by the Mets to pass on a potential opportunity to add Beltran. Duquette explained he had no intention of trading Wright, much to the frustration of Allard Baird who was the GM of the Royals at the time. He heaped praise onto Wright, looking back at what made him such a desirable young player:

“He was a complete player! Besides the easy offensive and defensive projection, he was team above oneself. A winning player. In A-ball, he came out on the field all alone an hour before anyone else was there. All for what looked like was just the joy of being on the field. On a night he didn’t perform at the plate, he was the first one out of the dugout every inning to go play defense.” - Allard Baird

The Mets ended up 71-91 in 2004. Two years later in 2006, they were in the playoffs with both Wright and Beltran leading the way. Each is considered the best player in franchise history at their respective positions. How did this potential trade stay quiet for so long?