4 times the Mets overpaid for a rental in a trade deadline deal

The MLB trade deadline is the last point of the season at which players can be traded from one club to another. It can sometimes be considered to be a mid-summer Christmas morning for teams who are still in the hunt for the postseason. It's the dream of every New York Mets fan for them to be buyers at that point of the season.

Players whose contracts will expire at the end of the season are made available by teams who are considered out of contention and shopped to the teams whose dreams may still be alive. Teams are usually not going to trade much for the services of a player for only two or three months, but it gives the trading team the opportunity to get something back for a player who was about to walk away without any compensation.

Every once in a while, there is a bidding war for certain players as teams try to attain that missing piece to bring them to the promised land. While this is usually a positive process for both team, it can get out of hand. Impatience on the part of some GM's can also be a cause of some teams trading far too much for short term help. There are even a few times that the Mets paid far too much for such little return. I’m sure you’ll remember them all.

1) NY Mets trade for Kenny Rogers was an overpayment

The 1999 Mets were in the thick of the pennant race for the first time in over a decade. They were in a nip and tuck battle with the Cincinnati Reds for the last playoff position. The team decided that they needed more starting pitching to fortify their staff for the stretch run. On July 23, 1999, the Mets traded prospect Leo Vazquez and their 1994 first round selection, the 20th overall pick of the amateur draft, Terrence Long to the Oakland Athletics for pitcher Kenny Rogers.

While Rogers did help the team in their drive towards the playoffs, going 5-1 in his short tenure, he is best remembered for his walk-off-walk that forced in the winning run for the Atlanta Braves in Game 6 of the 1999 NLCS, thus ending the Mets post season and providing the Braves with the chance to move on to the World Series. Leo Vazquez would never make it to the major leagues, but Terrence Long went on to have an eight year major league career with the Athletics, Padres, Royals, and Yankees. He finished second in the 2000 American League Rookie of the Year voting, slugging 18 HRs, 80 RBIs, and hitting .288 that season.

The 1999 season may be remembered by some Mets fans for Al Leiter pitching a 2 hit, 5-0 shutout against the Cincinnati Reds in the one game Wild Card playoff to reach the post season. It may also be known to some fans for Todd Pratt’s walk off home run against the Arizona Diamondbacks that propelled the Mets into the NLCS. But the 1999 season is probably best remembered for Kenny Rogers throwing ball four to Andruw Jones on a 3-2 count with the bases loaded forcing in the winning run, sending the Braves to the World Series and sending the Mets home. It’s one of those memories that if you close your eyes, you can still picture it. Kenny Rogers became a free agent following the 1999 season and signed with the Texas Rangers.

2) NY Mets trade for Kris Benson was an overpayment

The 2004 trade deadline was not kind to the Mets and their GM Jim Duquette. After a 2003 record of 66-95, Duquette decided that it was time for the Mets to do something dramatic to try to salvage their season and perhaps save his job. On July 30, the Mets acquired a young Jose Bautista in a trade with the Kansas City Royals and then turned right around and included him in another trade that sent Matt Peterson, Ty Wigginton, and Bautista to the Pittsburgh Pirates for free agent to be pitcher Kris Benson. Benson would go 4-4 in 11 starts for the Mets that season before becoming a free agent. Jose Bautista would have a 15 year major league career, slugging 344 home runs and 975 RBI’s.

The Mets also made another trade that day and although it wasn’t for a free agent to be, it is a trade that is infamous in Mets lore as the team’s all-time worst deal. On the same day, the Mets traded Jose Diaz and their best pitching prospect in Scott Kazmir to the Tampa Bay Devil Rays for Bartolome Fortunato and pitcher Victor Zambrano. Zambrano was known to have had some difficulties but Mets pitching coach Rick Peterson famously claimed that he could fix any of Zambrano’s flaws in 10 minutes. Zambrano only pitched in three games for the Mets before arm trouble caused him to be shut down for the remainder of the season.

In his three-year Mets career he would go 10-14. Scott Kazmir would go on to pitch in three All-Star games and win 108 games in a 13 year major league career. Zambrano, who had been averaging 6.8 walks per nine innings at the time of the trade and despite being in the National League for the final two months, still led the American League in walks.

The Mets would finish at 71-91 that year. Jim Duquette would be replaced as GM by Omar Minaya. Free agent Kris Benson would sign with the Mets in 2005 but was traded to the Baltimore Orioles the following year.

3) NY Mets trade for Mike Bordick was an overpayment

The Mets once again were active at the trade deadline of 2000. Shortstop Rey Ordonez suffered a broken arm in May and was lost for the season. The Mets had post season aspirations and knew that they needed a replacement shortstop. The Mets first agreed to a trade with the Cincinnati Reds that would have sent future Hall of Fame shortstop Barry Larkin to New York for a package that included top minor league outfielder Alex Escobar and pitchers Eric Cammack and Jason Saenz.

However, there was a problem. Barry Larkin had a no-trade clause in his contract, a contract that was about to expire at the end of the season. In order for him to waive his no-trade clause, Larkin insisted that his new team had to be willing to sign him to a contract extension. Mets GM Steve Phillips refused to commit to Larkin beyond the 2000 season. Larkin refused to waive his no-trade clause. No deal.

Still in need of a quality shortstop replacement, the Mets turned their attention to the Baltimore Orioles’ Mike Bordick. The slick fielding Bordick was having a good season with 16 home runs, a .297 batting average, and an appearance at the 2000 All-Star game. The Mets and Orioles agreed to a trade that would send Mike Bordick and his expiring contract to New York for infielder Melvin Mora and minor leaguers Mike Kinkade, Pat Gorman, and Lesli Brea.

Mike Bordick’s time in New York was disappointing at best. In 56 games with the Mets, he hit only .260 with four home runs while committing seven errors in the field. He became a free agent and left at the season’s end, only to return to Baltimore. Melvin Mora went on to have a 13 year major league career, spent mostly with Baltimore. He had a lifetime batting average of .277, one Silver Slugger Award and two All-Star game appearances. Mike Bordick retired in 2003.