Sweeping one of the worst NY Mets trades in team history under the rug with another

On December 20, 1989, the New York Mets made their best attempt to sweep one of their worst trades under the rug. Earlier that year, the Mets traded for Philadelphia Phillies center fielder Juan Samuel. The infamous trade cost them future All-Star Lenny Dykstra, reliable reliever Roger McDowell, plus another pitcher Tom Edens.

The trade was a disaster. Samuel played poorly. Dykstra became a fan favorite in Philadelphia and an MVP candidate several years later. So sure it was a mistake, the Mets traded Samuel to the Los Angeles Dodgers days before Christmas 1989.

The Mets couldn’t wait to trade Juan Samuel away months after acquiring him

After batting .228/.299/.300 for the Mets, New York was ready to trade him for anything. Incredibly, the Dodgers were willing to give up two decent players in return. For Samuel, the Dodgers sent the Mets Mike Marshall (the first baseman/outfielder) and pitcher Alejandro Pena.

Marshall was a regular in the Dodgers lineup for several years and coming off of a strong 1989 season. He belted 11 home runs with a .260/.325/.408 slash line in 419 plate appearances. Pena had an even more impressive season. In 76 innings of relief, he had a 2.13 ERA. It was more than Samuel proved to be worth in his three-month stint in Queens.

Samuel improved slightly in 1990 with the Dodgers then managed to put together an All-Star campaign in 1991. His speed was on the decline, though. The most dangerous weapon in his game vanquished made it a little easier for the Mets to accept that they moved on.

Marshall didn’t end up being nearly as good with the Mets as he had been with the Dodgers; quite the same story with his shared namesake from about a decade earlier. This Marshall batted .239 in 53 games. He was traded in July of 1990 to the Boston Red Sox for two players who never made the majors and Greg Hansell.

Pena lasted a little longer. He had a 3.20 ERA with 76 strikeouts in as many innings. For baseball in 1990, this was actually a pretty awesome strikeout rate. He began the 1991 season with the club before a late August trade to the Atlanta Braves ended his New York tenure. He had a 2.71 ERA at the time. He’d go on to pitch in the World Series, ultimately giving up the walk-off hit to Gene Larkin in the 10th inning of Game 7. Pena managed to find his way back to the Braves in 1995, earning a World Series ring with them.

Bailing on the Samuel addition was the goal for the Mets. To their credit, they got two pretty good players back for him. Unfortunately, the team around them wasn’t good enough.