12 worst Mets trades and free agent signings since Steve Cohen took over as majority owner

The best transaction by the New York Mets, maybe ever, was when majority ownership changed from The Wilpons to Steve Cohen. No free agent or trade target has ever been more desired than the current owner of the team in Flushing.

Cohen’s reign has already been much different than it was in the past. He spends big, embraces the team’s history, and connects with the fans every chance he can. As far as owning the team goes, we couldn’t ask for much more. The culture around the franchise is fantastic.

Where the Mets have come up short is on the field. A big part of it are some misses in trades and free agent signings. Not even Cohen’s fat wallet could prevent these mistakes from happening. These are the ten worst Mets trades or free agent signings since Cohen took over as the owner, beginning with an honorable mention.

12) Worst NY Mets trade or free agent signing since Steve Cohen took over: Max Scherzer and Justin Verlander contracts

It’s not over yet but it’s hard to say much positive about the free agent signings of Max Scherzer and Justin Verlander considering their overall performance with the Mets. Scherzer did give us a fantastic 2022 season. However, with how poorly he has pitched in 2023, it’s looking like a potential bust. The same could be said about Verlander except this is his first year in New York and it’s not going well. 

Both players received similar contracts with record-breaking AAVs. Neither has been the star ace the Mets needed.

Eventually, we should know whether or not these two free agent signings move up (or down) the ladder. They’ll end up as two of the most important additions in franchise history or two of the biggest busts. Don’t stop crossing your fingers.

Consider this entry as more of a dishonorable mention. It ain’t over yet but it’s definitely trending toward one of the worst rather than the best.

11) Worst NY Mets trade or free agent signing under Steve Cohen: Joely Rodriguez for Miguel Castro

Joely Rodriguez was a pain to have around in 2022. Part of the blame goes to the roster construction where the team never had a reliable lefty in the bullpen alongside him. Rodriguez came over in a rare trade with the New York Yankees in exchange for righty Miguel Castro. The swap was heavily investigated and referenced by Mets fans throughout the 2022 season. What made it worthy of this list?

Rodriguez was coming off of a 4.66 ERA performance in 2021 split between the Yankees and Texas Rangers. For the Mets, he was only slightly better at 4.47. He had stretches that weren’t so bad so the ERA is definitely a bit deceptive. As a second lefty in the bullpen, he’d be perfectly fine. As the only option for Buck Showalter for much of the season, his weaknesses stood out.

Castro would end up missing a good portion of the 2022 season yet managed to go 5-0 with a 4.03 ERA in his 34 appearances for the Yankees. He had an objectively better year on the mound than Rodriguez. Taking into account his 3.45 ERA and team-leading 69 appearances from the year prior, Mets fans noticed the change from Castro to Rodriguez.

This definitely wasn’t a good trade for the Mets. It also wasn’t a terribly bad one. The verdict here might be the Mets picking wrong with the lefty they swapped Castro for. Someone with minor league options or a better track record would have graded better.

10) Worst NY Mets trade or free agent signing under Steve Cohen: Daniel Vogelbach for Colin Holderman

This is probably much higher on the list for some other Mets fans. Let’s not ignore what Daniel Vogelbach was able to accomplish for the Mets in 2022. In 183 trips to the plate, the left-handed DH slashed .255/.393/.436 with 6 home runs and 25 RBI. It was a more than acceptable output for a mercenary who apparently should’ve stayed as a rental for a couple of weeks.

In order to get Vogelbach the Mets had to give young reliever Colin Holderman. Many fans weren’t happy about this. They have been looking for a pitcher like Holderman ever since he was sent to the Pittsburgh Pirates in this trade. It looked like the Mets could come out on top in this trade in 2022. In 2023, it’s completely different.

Holderman is growing into a trusted big league reliever even more so than the Pirates might have expected him to become. Over in New York, Vogelbach is a poor fit for the roster and easily the most frustrating of everyone who has worn blue and orange this season. Add in a decline to his numbers and we understand why this trade makes a list like this.

The Vogelbach for Holderman trade is currently one of the more painful deadline deals in recent history. Others will bruise more as the pieces the Mets gave up eventually make their MLB debuts.

9) Worst NY Mets trade or free agent signing since Steve Cohen took over: Eduardo Escobar signing

The Mets would have had an easy choice after the 2023 season to buyout Eduardo Escobar. Since joining the Mets in 2022, he hasn’t lived up to expectations. A $10 million payday in 2022 looked like way too much. His $9.5 million this season for a part-time player soured it more.

Mets fans have wanted to love Escobar from the beginning. Signing him prior to the lockout was praised. He seemed like the perfect fit to play third base until Brett Baty was able to take over full-time. The two are sharing some of the duties in 2023 as the rookie goes through growing pains and Escobar fades in the twilight of his career.

Year one with Escobar essentially included one hot month at the end of the season and a bunch of bad ones prior. He finished the year with 20 home runs and a .240/.295/.430 slash line. We would've gladly taken those numbers or at least the pace of home runs from him in 2023.

We won't get the chance to see some sort of magic turnaround as he is now a member of the Los Angeles Angels via trade. His 2023 campaign in Flushing came to an end with the veteran infielder slashing .236/.286/.409 in 120 plate appearances.

Compared to the Mark Canha and Starling Marte free agent signings which happened on the same day, this one is far and away the worst.

8) Worst NY Mets trade or free agent signing since Steve Cohen took over: Steven Matz to the Blue Jays

Prior to the 2021 season, the Mets traded longtime starter Steven Matz to the Toronto Blue Jays. It was seemingly a very “nothing” trade with the Mets upgrading the rotation with other additions to replace him. They had Taijuan Walker now. He’d make up for the loss of Matz, right?

Matz would go on to have one of his best seasons with Toronto. In 29 starts during the 2021 campaign, Matz went 14-7 with a 3.82 ERA. It was his best ERA since the 3.40 he posted in 2016.

The Mets did actually manage to get a decent haul in exchange for Matz even with one year of control remaining and a poor 2020 season. Yennsy Diaz, Sean Reid-Foley, and Josh Winckowski were all acquired. The first two would see action with the Mets before eventually getting DFA’d. Winckowski was traded before the season began in a deal which may or may not make this list. You’ll have to stick around to find out. Spoiler alert: it’s coming up shortly!

The fact that the Mets didn’t get much of anything except for two mop-up relievers makes this a losing deal for New York. If they had kept Winckowski, the story completely changes. There’ll be more on him and his success with the Boston Red Sox in a little while. First, let’s talk about the time the Mets traded a dollar for an outfielder.

7) Worst NY Mets trade or free agent signing since Steve Cohen took over: Cameron Maybin for a dollar

The 2021 Mets were desperate for outfield help. The best player they’d find off the scrap heap was Billy McKinney. Remember the love affair Mets fans had with him briefly?

At one point the injuries piled up so much they turned to the Chicago Cubs for help. They traded a single dollar for veteran outfielder Cameron Maybin who was riding out the year in the minor leagues.

Maybin would end up going a ridiculously awful 1 for 28 in 9 games for the Mets. Let’s check that again. That can’t be correct. The hit even came in his final game for the Mets.

If you stuck around throughout the 2021 season, you’ll recall how contagious the slumping was. The team was getting hurt often. The perfect example of this was Maybin’s first game on May 19. He started in left field and hit third for the Mets while striking out 3 times. His outfield partners were Johneshwy Fargas in center field and Khalil Lee in right field.

Yes, it only cost the Mets a dollar. The Cubs wouldn’t even accept a player from the Mets because they knew they’d get nothing out of Maybin. Nonetheless, it’s hard to ignore this trade due to how bad the numbers turned out to be.

6) Worst NY Mets trade or free agent signing since Steve Cohen took over: Trading Pete Crow-Armstrong

This is debatable and it involves the Chicago Cubs again. It’s not their last appearance either, sadly.

The 2021 Mets trade deadline swing for the fences cost them their 2020 first-round draft pick, Pete Crow-Armstrong. It’s his presence in this trade that makes it one of the worst since Steve Cohen took over as the owner.

In exchange for PCA, the Mets received slugging second baseman Javier Baez and struggling starter Trevor Williams. The need for Baez came due to a slumping offense and an injury to shortstop Francisco Lindor. The plan was to move Baez to second base when Lindor returned from the IL. It worked out well except the two were united in giving the fans a thumbs down as a response to the boos constantly pouring down from the stands at an underachieving ball club.

Baez was a productive yet ill-received member of the Mets for about two months. It was all his own making. The .299/.371/.515 he hit in 47 games isn’t what he is remembered for most when it should be because all of those numbers trounce career totals.

The best part of this deal turned out to be the addition of Williams who still wasn’t worth giving up Crow-Armstrong. This trade only had one way of becoming a victory for New York. It would have required the Mets to win a championship with Baez. They didn’t and now we wait for PCA to become a Wrigley Field legend. If he meets expectations, this could turn into the worst move of the Cohen Era.

4) Worst NY Mets trade or free agent signing since Steve Cohen took over: Joey Lucchesi trade

It’s ironic that this is the one move I almost forgot to include and it’s one of the earliest made by the Mets under Cohen and continues to have an effect on the club; or at least it could. In January of 2021, the Pittsburgh Pirates sent Joe Musgrove to the San Diego Padres and they sent David Bednar the other way. A couple of other players were involved in the deal, too. The Mets poked their head in and now look like the biggest losers of all.

For the Mets, they acquired Padres pitcher Joey Lucchesi while giving up minor leaguer Endy Rodriguez. They were the least active team in this trade and the obvious bronze medalist.

Lucchesi wasn’t a particularly good pitcher for the Padres and hasn’t been one for the Mets either. He made a handful of starts in 2021 before Tommy John Surgery cut his year short. He returned to big league action in 2023 and has a role as one of the starting pitcher depth pieces. We saw him make a couple starts in early 2023 with a similar outcome as when they used him in 2021.

Acquiring Lucchesi wasn’t a bad move. Having Rodriguez become the player they gave up is what stings. He’s a top 100 prospect in baseball. His 2023 season hasn’t been incredible but the Pirates have room for some patience. He clobbered more than 20 home runs and hit over .300 in the 2022 season. This trade will only get worse.

3) Worst NY Mets trade or free agent signing since Steve Cohen took over: Khalil Lee trade

Another more under the radar trade by the Mets was a twin of another deal they made. Maybe the Mets need to stay away from three-team deals because this one had them coming out on the bottom as well.

The Mets, Boston Red Sox, and Kansas City Royals decided to swap players prior to the 2021 season. The Mets sent Freddy Valdez and Josh Winckowski to the Red Sox for Royals outfield prospect Khalil Lee. It seemed like a fine move at the time. It has turned into a mess.

Lee saw limited big league action with the Mets and had an atrocious stretch for them in 2021 full of strikeouts. He eventually pieced it together in the minors but struggled in 2022. His time with the Mets eventually came to an end in 2023 following another bad start to the season and a lingering domestic abuse accusation which initially led to him getting designated for assignment by the team in the preseason.

Over in Boston, Winckowski has become a good bullpen arm for the Red Sox after failing as a starter. Valdez, a somewhat forgotten piece in the deal, hasn’t done much in the minors. This won’t help make Mets fans feel any better about the trade. It’s a clear win for the Red Sox or Royals. Again, the Mets take the bronze.

2) Worst NY Mets trade or free agent signing since Steve Cohen took over: James McCann free agent

The first major free agent signing by the Mets after the Wilpons got the boot turned out to be a very Wilponian move. Free agency offered teams two catchers to choose from. It was a debate between James McCann and J.T. Realmuto. The Mets went with McCann.

The four-year deal already looked lengthy for a guy in his 30s. A complete career turnaround with the Chicago White Sox turned out to be deceptive as McCann immediately reverted back to his woeful offensive numbers he had with the Detroit Tigers early on.

McCann hit .232/.294/.349 in his first season with the Mets. In year number two, a season where he played just 61 games due to injury and splitting more time with Tomas Nido, McCann batted .195/.257/.282.

The Mets saw enough of him and with two years left on his deal, they unloaded him in a trade with the Baltimore Orioles. They’re still paying for a part of his contract. 

Maybe, though, this trade does turn out to reward the Mets in the future. They landed a young prospect named Luis De La Cruz in the move. We’ll have to pay attention if he ever does anything. It might be worth the pain of two years of McCann giving the team very little.

1) Worst NY Mets trade or free agent signing since Steve Cohen took over: Darin Ruf trade

Sorry Francisco Lindor haters. If you were hoping to see the trade for him on this list, you’re out of luck. Plus, this doesn’t include extensions or waiver claims. This list is reserved only for trades (even if it was a swap of money for a player). You had to know this one was coming. There is no defending the Darin Ruf trade.

It feels like it’s impossible to mention the Mets and bad moves without seeing Ruf deliver another hitless performance. Nothing about this trade with the San Francisco Giants made much sense. The Mets gave up a quality MLB bat, J.D. Davis, plus three prospects. When trades are first reported, sometimes information is incorrect. This one was very right and it felt incredibly wrong before the plane tickets for the players involved were booked.

Ruf hit .152/.215/.197 without a single home run for the Mets in 2022. He completely deflated the lineup whenever they faced a lefty. The limitations of Daniel Vogelbach were partly to blame, however, Ruf’s performance deserves the ridicule.

For those keeping score at home, Ruf didn’t hit a home run in any of his 57 plate appearances this season for the Giants or Milwaukee Brewers. He’s currently on the 60-day IL. It could be over for him and his big league career.

What’s not over is how well Davis has done with the Giants. Plus we have Carson Seymour and Nick Zwack to worry about becoming big league arms that could’ve worked for the Mets. Even Thomas Szapucki had a 1.98 ERA in 13.2 innings for the Giants last year. 

From beginning to end, this trade has stink all over it. Let’s hope it never gets surpassed by any trade or free agent signing.