6 best Mets trades for a minor league player

5) NY Mets trade for Jerry Grote

It’s kind of amazing to picture Jerry Grote in any other uniform than a Mets one especially early on in his career. The club’s catcher and the only position player on this list, he saw limited action early on in his career with the Houston Astros in 1963 and 1964.

After not hitting much, he spent all of the 1965 season in the minor leagues to try and figure things out. He ended up traded to the Mets in October of that year for Tom Parsons.

Grote was not a good hitter early on in his Mets career. He batted .237 in 1966 and .195 in 1967. In 1968, a year when pitchers dominated across both leagues, he somehow managed to slash .282/.357/.349 and earn himself a trip to the All-Star Game.

In parts of 12 seasons with the Mets, Grote batted .256/.321/.329. Never an elite hitter, his best attribute was the way he performed behind the plate. Pitching was how the Mets won games back in those days—almost exclusively at times. Grote was a big reason for their success. It’s just a shame that he never was able to win a Gold Glove. He certainly had the numbers to do it. Instead, he’ll just have to settle for being one of the best catchers in Mets history.

4) NY Mets trade for Noah Syndergaard

The biggest and freshest trade on this list was the one that took place in December of 2012. Only a few weeks after the Mets found out R.A. Dickey became one of the unlikeliest of Cy Young winners in MLB history, they shipped him off to the Toronto Blue Jays in a blockbuster trade. Four players went to the Mets. Three went to the Blue Jays. The most notable to land in New York was Noah Syndergaard.

At the time of the trade, Travis d’Arnaud was the bigger prospect. A player the Blue Jays had acquired from the Philadelphia Phillies in the Roy Halladay deal, it was the second time in his career he was traded for a Cy Young winner. Time would prove that Syndergaard was the better big leaguer—at least during his time with the Mets.

Syndergaard would go on to finish his time in New York with a 49-32 record and 3.30 ERA. He won a World Series game for them in 2015 and gave a valiant effort in the 2016 Wild Card matchup. Another pitcher, like Wheeler, whose full potential may have been untapped, Syndergaard’s time with the Mets ended with an absence from all of 2020 and only two innings in 2021.

Now with the Los Angeles Angels for the 2022 campaign, Thor is looking to get onto some top lists for their franchise.

3) NY Mets trade for Ron Darling

Ron Darling came to the Mets with zero innings of big league experience. First joining the organization on April 1, 1982, along with Walt Terrell in exchange for Lee Mazzilli, it’s amazing to realize he would end up as the best player either team acquired.

Darling spent all of 1982 in Triple-A where he managed to impress the Mets. He had gone 4-2 with a 4.44 ERA in his 13 starts for the Double-A team of the Texas Rangers the year prior. Things were looking up.

Darling stuck in Triple-A for most of 1983 before a September promotion gave him his first taste of major league baseball. He went 1-3 with a 2.80 ERA in his five starts. From then on, he was a permanent fixture in the show.

Across parts of nine seasons, Darling went 99-70 with a 3.50 ERA for the Mets. He was one of the big pieces to their impressive pitching staff throughout the late 1980s until he was eventually traded to the Montreal Expos in 1991. By then, Darling’s best days were in the past. Fortunately, he would remain a lifer for the Mets organization. Now a television broadcaster for the club, it wouldn’t have been possible if not for the Mets taking a chance on this minor league arm.

2) NY Mets trade for Jesse Orosco

One of the most coincidental trades in Mets history, this one involved the first guy to throw the last pitch of a Mets World Series getting traded for the second guy to do the same. It was February of 1979 and the Mets were continuing to look for ways to reduce their salary. The great Jerry Koosman ended up getting traded to the Minnesota Twins. Orosco was the player to be named later in the deal.

As beloved as Koosman was, the trade made some sense with the team doing very little to build around what they did have. The trade for Orosco would also become the first of many great swaps by the Mets in building their 1986 championship roster.

Orosco had only one year of professional experience under his belt—a successful stint as a Rookie Ball closer with a 1.12 ERA in 40 innings of work. The Mets used him regularly as a starter in Triple-A during the 1979 campaign and even gave him some innings at the big league level later on.

In 1980, Orosco spent the whole year in Double-A working almost exclusively as a reliever. A strong performance in 1981 down on the farm provided him with a call up to the big leagues. He was awesome for the Mets out of the bullpen and it’s where he would remain with the exception of two starts in 1982.

Over the course of the 595.2 innings and 372 appearances he made with the Mets, Orosco went 47-47 with a 2.73 ERA and 107 saves. He was a multi-inning closer as many were in those days. Without him, they may have never captured that 1986 championship. In fact, you can probably guarantee it.

1) NY Mets trade for Sid Fernandez

On December 8, 1983, the Mets acquired Sid Fernandez and Ross Jones from the Los Angeles Dodgers for Bob Bailor and Carlos Diaz. If you don’t remember any of the names other than Fernandez, it’s okay.

Fernandez might be one of the most underrated players in Mets history. At 98-78 with a 3.14 ERA, he was a consistent lefty in the 1980s and even into the early 1990s. Like so many other talented Mets pitchers, injuries took their toll on him later in his career.

The owner of the ninth-highest WAR in Mets history, Fernandez would have to receive consideration as the fifth starter in any all-time Mets starting rotation. Only Tom Seaver, Dwight Gooden, Jacob deGrom, and Jerry Koosman have passed him in this statistic. Partly because of his longevity, he still deserves credit for being worth 27.4 WAR in 10 seasons.

At the time of the trade, Fernandez had already logged six innings for the Dodgers but went to Triple-A at the start of the 1984 season. He ended up spending about half the season there. Thereafter, the Mets knew they had to make room for him in the rotation. They should be glad they did. He is one of the best to wear the uniform and played a key role pitching in relief for the club during the 1986 World Series.