Ranking the 6 best Mets players acquired via trade with a division rival

Trades with a division rival were once commonplace in Major League Baseball simply because the league was divided only by American League and National League. Eventually, both leagues were split into East and West. In 1995, we were introduced to the Central Division, too. The New York Mets have stayed put in the National League East since 1969 when the league was first split and we were introduced to an expanded playoffs.

Division rivals for the Mets have changed over the years. The Atlanta Braves spent plenty of years in the NL West despite playing in Georgia which borders the Atlantic Ocean. For example, the St. Louis Cardinals, despite being all of Alabama and half of Mississippi further west than the Braves, were an NL East rival of the Mets.

Whether geography made sense or not, the Mets were able to add some pretty important players in swaps with a division rival. These are the six best players they’ve picked up ranked from the bottom to the top.

6) NY Mets trade with the Marlins for Paul Lo Duca

Paul Lo Duca may be more of an honorable mention for a list like this. He did spend only two years with the Mets but they were a pair of productive seasons. Lo Duca came to the Mets via trade with the Florida Marlins. A deal that took place on December 5, 2005, the price was a pair of minor leaguers who never did reach the big leagues.

Lo Duca’s first year with the team came at the right time. The 2006 Mets were a win shy of making it to the World Series. His big year was a reason why they went so far.

He hit .318/.355/.428 with 39 doubles in the regular season. Against the Los Angeles Dodgers in the NLDS, Lo Duca batted .455/.500/.545.

There was a little bit of history repeated with this deal. The Mets were no strangers to making big deals with the Marlins. In fact, the next player on our list came from them, too.