The best Mets trade with the Marlins

The New York Mets have robbed the Miami Marlins plenty of times in trades. Choosing the best would be more difficult if not for how spectacular one of those trades turned out to be.

When looking at what was the best or worst trade a team has made, a few factors come in. When a Hall of Fame player is involved, he has to take the lead.

With this in mind, the best trade between the Mets and Marlins is easy. It was the 1998 deal for Mike Piazza.

The best Mets trade with the Marlins was a rare May trade for Mike Piazza

Piazza wasn’t a member of the Marlins long when he was traded to the Mets. In exchange for Geoff Goetz, Ed Yarnall, and Preston Wilson (the only good big leaguer of the three), the Mets were able to land a superstar catcher like no other in franchise history. Gary Carter had a few good seasons with the Mets but nothing quite compared to Piazza’s utter dominance.

In parts of eight seasons with the Mets, Piazza slashed .296/.373/.542 with 220 home runs. Some of his numbers didn’t quite measure up to his Los Angeles Dodgers days. However, it was with the Mets where he would reach a new level of popularity and cement his Cooperstown legacy.

Piazza’s importance to the franchise helped make them perennial contenders for several years. Beloved by many, it’s one of several important deals the Mets made with the National League East rivals.

Honorable mention Mets trades with the Marlins

There are a couple of Mets trades worth mentioning. Even the first, Robert Person for Steve Long, eventually brought them John Olerud. But we don’t have to dive into those. Several trades directly helped the Mets immediately.

In February of 1998, the Mets landed Al Leiter in a trade with only A.J. Burnett having an impactful big league career with the Marlins. Leiter was one of the best pitchers of that era and in club history.

In 2005, the Mets made trades only a few weeks apart with the Marlins. First, they picked up Carlos Delgado with Mike Jacobs as the headliner headed to Florida. Not much later, they landed Paul Lo Duca in a deal for two lifetime minor leaguers.

As important as those deals were, it’s the Piazza trade that may forever remain the best the Mets made with the Marlins.