A forgotten NY Mets trade that sent away a future All-Star nobody saw coming

Third base has been a position of great grievances for the New York Mets. However, it’s second base where the organization seems to have missed on a far more regular basis. The 1990s involved them trading away Jeff Kent prematurely, for Carlos Baerga. Years later, they added Roberto Alomar just as the future Hall of Famer was on the decline. Robinson Cano? Say no more about his Mets tenure.

Before any of those moves, the Mets made an easily forgotten trade with the Milwaukee Brewers. Reliever Doug Henry joined the Mets, pitching well in 1995 for the Mets but not so great in 1996. To acquire him, the Mets gave up a second baseman in his mid-20s they lost in the Rule 5 Draft in 1992 and reclaimed about midway through 1993 when the Seattle Mariners pulled the plug. His name is Fernando Vina.

From 1995-2003, Vina spent 5 seasons with the Brewers and another 4 with the St. Louis Cardinals. Putting up nearly identical numbers with both ball clubs, his sustained success that included three .300+ batting seasons and a pair of Gold Gloves makes him yet another one of those players the Mets probably traded too early in his career.

Fernando Vina could have been a very popular Mets player

A plus defender at second base, Vina staying with the Mets through at least a portion of the latter part of the 1990s could have shaped the ball club much differently. Kent could get traded for someone other than Baerga. Vina takes second base for at least a few years while Edgardo Alfonzo remains at third base. The infield becomes one of the best in baseball a little earlier than 1999.

There’s no guarantee Vina develops the same way if he remained with the Mets, but assuming he did, his 1998 All-Star campaign would have been a welcomed alternative over Baerga whose .667 OPS was trumped by the .813 posted by Vina. Never a power hitter or huge stolen base threat, he would have fit in nicely batting first or second in the lineup. Hitting for contact was a regularity for him. He struck out only 4 more times than he walked in his career.

Did the Mets miss here? Considering his minor league numbers, it’s hard to put much fault. Vina batted .230 in 1993 while in Triple-A. His .250 batting average for the Mets in 1994 barely hinted at what a useful player he’d become. Amazingly hit 12 times in only 150 plate appearances, there was a peskiness about him early on. Those dozen hit by pitches led the league in the shortened 1994 campaign. He’d lead the league in the category again once more in 2000 with 28 for the Cardinals.

An infield in 1998 consisting of Vina at second base, Alfonzo at third base, Rey Ordonez at shortstop, and John Olerud at first base would have been incredibly unique and possibly even right up there alongside the one they actually had a year later when Robin Ventura joined. Defensive wizards galore with a couple of .300 batting averages mixed in there with no major free agent signing to be found, it's not better than what actually happened but strong in its own way.