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3 most notable trades between the Mets and Padres

By Tim Boyle |
New York Mets
New York Mets / Focus On Sport/GettyImages
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The New York Mets and San Diego Padres have actually made a lot of trades over the years. Considering they’ve always played in different divisions, there was slightly less at stake in those earlier years. You also don’t have to see your mistake all that often or hear about it on the radio because of geography.

The results of many of the trades have been mixed. We have deals like the 2005 Mike Cameron for Xavier Nady swap. There are also trades like the May 31, 1991, deal which sent Tim Teufel to the Padres for Garry Templeton. Those two deals didn’t make this list. They’re not quite as notable or impactful.

It’s these three other trades which stand out the most for what they meant for each franchise or simply just how much they can be referenced.

1) NY Mets continue the Midnight Massacre trading Dave Kingman to the Padres

If you know your Mets history, you probably already know the Midnight Massacre is the night the front office tear the roster apart. Aside from trading Tom Seaver to the Cincinnati Reds, the Mets also dealt their top slugger Dave Kingman. It was to the Padres he got traded. He would actually play for two more teams that year. This isn’t so much regarded as a good or bad deal as much as it is one that ties into an infamous line of decisions.

For Kingman, the Mets did pick up Paul Siebert and Bobby Valentine. One has to wonder, if Valentine had not played for the Mets even briefly, would he have ended up having a connection to the franchise? Maybe he never would have become a manager of the organization.

The Kingman trade is one that’s okay to have little opinion on. These other two, on the other hand, are the best and worst the Mets have made with their 2022 National League Wild Card Series opponent.

2) NY Mets pick up Kevin McReynolds in a blockbuster with the Padres

This was a true blockbuster deal with stars, future stars, and a whole bunch of other names thrown in. Taking place on December 11, 1986, the Mets and Padres swapped multiple players with the headliner being outfielder Kevin McReynolds. Adam Ging and Gene Walter joined him in exchange for Kevin Armstrong, Kevin Brown, former first-overall pick Shawn Abner, Stan Jefferson, and future MVP Kevin Mitchell.

When four Kevins are included in a single trade, one of them is bound to do something pretty awesome.

McReynolds was indeed a productive member of the Mets but never an MVP. He did finish third in the voting during the 1988 season behind only Kirk Gibson and teammate Darryl Strawberry.

McReynolds happened to actually be the perfect outfield partner with Strawberry in terms of production. His right-handed power bat went well with Strawberry’s lefty slugger abilities.

Because Mitchell would actually win his MVP Award with the San Francisco Giants, the Mets managed to escape this deal without feeling too bad about themselves. McReynolds was pretty awesome for them during the last days of their success in the 1980s. We can consider this the best trade the Mets have ever made with the Padres. What about the worst one? We finish off with that poorly-designed deal.

3) NY Mets regrettably trade Heath Bell to the Padres

Almost instantly after the Mets traded relief pitcher Heath Bell, he found himself in the Padres bullpen. He had just a 4.92 ERA in 81 games for New York. He tossed 93.2 innings of relief for San Diego in his first season and did it with a 2.02 ERA.

From 2009-2011, Bell was an All-Star closer for San Diego. He racked up 40+ saves in each of those seasons with a league-high 42 in 2009. This, without a doubt, went down as one of the worst trades in Mets history.

What about the rest of the deal? The Mets didn’t just non-tender him and let Bell walk away.

Royce Ring joined Bell in San Diego in exchange for Jon Adkins and Ben Johnson. Adkins and Johnson aren’t a duo we remember as fondly as we do Bell whose short-lived success in MLB was a painful memory for Mets fans.

In an odd coincidence, the trade took place after the 2006 season when the Mets were eliminated from the NLCS. Bell remained in the majors until the Washington Nationals released him in March of 2015. During that whole period, the Mets failed to make the postseason. Is there some sort hex on the Bell trade? A more superstitious person than myself might believe so.

Next. 15 worst trades in Mets history. dark

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