How these 4 former Mets players traded at the deadline have done with their new teams

How a couple of ex-Mets are contributing to playoff races after getting dealt by the bad teams they started with.

San Francisco Giants v Oakland Athletics
San Francisco Giants v Oakland Athletics / Lachlan Cunningham/GettyImages
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Heading into the 2024 MLB trade deadline, there was plenty of buzz around some former New York Mets getting moved. Several stayed put. The Texas Rangers foolishly held onto Max Scherzer and David Robertson. The Los Angeles Angels must’ve been asking for the moon to keep Kevin Pillar.

Four did find themselves swapping uniforms midseason. How have they done since joining their new ball clubs?

1) Mark Canha

Now on his fourth team in two seasons, Mark Canha went from the Detroit Tigers to the San Francisco Giants. When a player gets moved around as much as Canha has, one has to wonder if the player is the problem. Not in this instance. A likable player both by fans and teammates, he found himself in a unique situation.

Sold by the Mets last summer to the Milwaukee Brewers because everything was on the table for New York, he was dealt in the offseason to the Tigers who picked up his option for 2024. Things went awry for the Tigers beyond just the appearance of the Rally Pimp on that early April day when the Mets looked to turn their fortunes around.

Canha didn’t have a strong showing for the Tigers. Hitting .231/.337/.350 in 377 plate appearances, he was a salary dump trade candidate teams seeking a right handed hitter could add. Since joining the Giants, everyone’s favorite foodie is hitting .314/.375/.343. A lone double has accounted for his only extra-base hit. He has driven in 3 in those first 40 plate appearances.

We hate to root against Canha who embraced New York and the fans in his year and a half with the team. However, with the Giants breathing down the Mets’ necks, we wish him a lot of personal success and plenty of team failure.

2) Tommy Pham

Canha has played for four teams in two seasons. So had Tommy Pham. He is no stranger to trade deadline deals. Dealt in 2018, 2022, 2023, and now 2024, he went from the lowly Chicago White Sox to the overachieving St. Louis Cardinals whose time may be running out. One of the National League’s worst run differentials, Pham was a trade deadline addition to try to ignite a struggling offense.

An early grand slam in his first game back with the Cardinals has made up the bulk of his offense. He’s slashing .245/.327/.469 overall after 55 trips to the plate. A pair of home runs and 10 RBI have been added in as well. He has been a bit chilled of late as have the Cardinals. The last time he played in a game where they won was on August 9th.

Pham should be used to losing by now. In games he has played, the White Sox and Cardinals have combined to go 26-59. We’ll round this up to a .306 winning percentage. It’s better than the .238 the White Sox have this year. It’s worse than every other ball club.

3) Amed Rosario

Poor Amed Rosario. He went from the surprisingly out-of-it Tampa Bay Rays to the seriously contending Los Angeles Dodgers. It was the second straight trade deadline for the former Mets infielder to end up in Hollywood. A sensationally productive run with the Rays this year featuring a .307/.331/.417 slash line and a whole lot of games at a variety of positions, one would think the Dodgers could find a role for him. He went 3 for 11 with 2 RBI before the team DFA’d him last week to make room for Mookie Betts.

So much for a heroic return.

Rosario was officially claimed on Sunday off of waivers by the Cincinnati Reds. He was never a consideration for the Mets who already have a jam-packed roster of position players. His defensive abilities wouldn’t make him a consideration for the bench under nearly any circumstance.

The Mets play the Reds in September which could give us a chance to see him as long as they don’t get rid of him as quickly as the Dodgers did. Rosario will now have a chance to do something not often seen. With a season batting average over .300 thanks to his time with the Rays, could he have one of the best batting averages in baseball as a member of three different organizations?

4) Justin Turner

We have to go back a little further into Mets history to find the last time Justin Turner played for them. A classic “one that got away” in the franchise’s lore, he was long thought of as a free agent option for the Mets this past offseason. Turner would eventually sign with the Toronto Blue Jays where he posted a .257/.351/.373 slash line with 6 home runs and 31 RBI in 348 plate appearances. It was too little for what the Blue Jays needed out of the DH spot. We’ll gladly take what J.D. Martinez has given the Mets.

Turner’s down season in what could be a swan song performance was good enough for the Seattle Mariners to take him on in a trade. Now playing a lot of first base for the Mariners, things haven’t gotten off to a terrific start.

Through 59 plate appearances, Turner is batting .196/.305/.275. He has managed to drive in 9 runs on only 10 hits. It looks like the Mariners needed to go bigger with their trade deadline offensive additions. Aside from steamrolling the Mets, they’ve struggled mightily. Their pitching staff could go to waste yet again because the team simply cannot hit. Turner has caught the same bug.

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