3 most notable trades between the Mets and Padres

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.