5 best Mets who spent 1 year or less with the team

While the New York Mets have had a penchant for trades and free agent signings that went terribly wrong, there are moments throughout franchise history of just the opposite.

Some of the best performances have come from players who, in many cases, over-delivered on expectations or made an immediate splash. But while some of these turned into marriages that lasted another year or so – or a weird saga like the Yoenis Cespedes contract – there are a handful of cases where players left a lasting impression before leaving town in a New York minute.

Let’s take a closer look at this select group of standouts who spent no more than a full season in a Mets uniform.

NY Mets one year wonder: Mike Hampton

Not only did Mike Hampton make the most of his one season with the Mets, but he also indirectly helped the franchise long-term after leaving.

Hampton was a key cog for the National League pennant winning team in 2000. He won 15 regular season games and finished sixth among qualified major league starters with a 3.14 ERA – an especially remarkable feat given that the MLB average was 4.76 that year. He also hit .274 in 73 at-bats, earning him a Silver Slugger award.

In the postseason, Hampton earned MVP honors in the National League Championship Series by tossing 16 shutout innings against the St. Louis Cardinals, including a complete game three-hitter in the Game 5 clincher.

Any hopes the Mets had of keeping Hampton long term were dashed that winter when he signed a then-record eight-year, $121 million contract with the Colorado Rockies. The sting of losing Hampton, however, quickly dissipated as he endured two disastrous seasons in Colorado’s thin air, pitching to a 5.75 ERA before getting traded and battling injuries the rest of his career.

Hampton’s departure certainly left a void in the Mets’ rotation short term, but the Rockies’ sunken cost turned into gold for the Mets over time. By losing Hampton in free agency, the Mets received a supplemental first round pick in the following year’s draft – a selection they used on a high school third baseman named David Wright.

NY Mets one year wonder: Desi Relaford

Amidst regression from many of the hitters that helped the Mets to the 2000 National League pennant, the 2001 team got a spark from an unlikely source in utility man Desi Relaford.

Picked up off waivers from the San Diego Padres, Relaford entered his sixth big-league season as a .230 career hitter, mostly in a part time role with the Philadelphia Phillies. But in his lone year with the Mets, he hit .302 with 35 extra-base hits in 301 at-bats.

Aside from a breakout performance offensively, Relaford gave the Mets defensive versatility, logging time at second base, shortstop, and third base. He also had one of the more memorable pitching cameos by a Mets position player, pitching a perfect inning with one strikeout in a blowout loss to San Diego in May.

Relaford’s year wasn’t enough to save the Mets that season, as the team slumped to 82 wins and missed the playoffs entirely. Still, he exceeded expectations and earned playing time, particularly down the stretch as the Mets made a strong late season push.

The Mets dealt Relaford along with Tsuyoshi Shinjo to San Francisco Giants that winter for pitcher Shawn Estes. Relaford never actually played for the Giants, however, going to Seattle for the 2002 season before bouncing around a bit and retiring after 2007. Ultimately, his lone season with the Mets proved to be the best statistical year of his career.

NY Mets one year wonder: Chad Bradford

Amongst all the offensive fire power on the 2006 Mets, it was a deep bullpen that rounded them into National League East champions. A lesser-remembered, but integral part of that pitching staff was side-arming veteran Chad Bradford.

The right-hander signed as a free agent after an injury-shortened 2005 season with the Boston Red Sox. Bradford rebounded with the Mets in a big way in 2006, posting a 2.90 ERA in 62 innings pitched with just one home run allowed all year. His impact stretched into the postseason as well, with 5.2 scoreless innings across six relief appearances.

Bradford primarily served as an option for the seventh and eighth innings, lengthening a bullpen that boasted closer Billy Wagner, righties Aaron Heilman and Duaner Sanchez, and lefties Pedro Feliciano and Darren Oliver. The Mets’ bullen that year posted a 3.28 ERA overall, almost a full run better than the league average for relief pitching (4.22).

Unfortunately, the Mets were unable to retain Bradford after 2006, as he signed a multi-year deal with the Baltimore Orioles. He enjoyed continued success with the Orioles before contributing to the Tampa Bay Rays’ run to the World Series in 2008, then retiring after the 2009 season.

NY Mets one year wonder: Marlon Byrd

Still two years away from their return to the postseason, the 2013 Mets embodied a franchise firmly in rebuild mode, littered with a mix of well-traveled veterans and young prospects. One veteran that gave the team an unexpected offensive jolt was Marlon Byrd.

Entering his twelfth season and playing for his sixth different team, Byrd delivered the best statistical season of his career to that point. In 117 games with the Mets, he hit .285 with 21 home runs, 71 RBI, and a .848 OPS.

The Mets wisely cashed in on Byrd’s peak in value when they traded him and catcher John Buck to the Pittsburgh Pirates for a pair of prospects that August, just three days before Byrd’s 35th birthday. Coming back in the deal were reliver Vic Black, who posted a 2.83 ERA in just under 48 innings for the Mets, and Dilson Herrera, a young infielder who was eventually flipped to the Cincinnati Reds as part of the Jay Bruce trade during the 2016 stretch run.

Byrd would hit .364 in six playoff games for the Pirates that fall and bounced around the league for three more years before retiring after the 2016 season. And while his lasting impact for the Mets was minimal, it was a fitting example of a rebuilding team successfully taking a short-term flier on a low cost, high return signee.