The underlying benefit of the Mets trading players for cash considerations

Although easy to forget, the New York Mets made a lot of trades under David Stearns where a player was either acquired for or sent away for cash considerations. Over the last week alone, the Mets traded Michael Tonkin to the Minnesota Twins, Yohan Ramirez to the Baltimore Orioles, and acquired catcher Joe Hudson from the Chicago Cubs. Each deal was for the root of all evil: money.

Throughout the offseason and now even into the regular season, the Mets have actively gotten involved in the market where fringe MLB players were exchanged for these cash considerations. It’s how the Mets landed Ramirez in the first place.

Are these mostly meaningless trades or is there something more to it? By trading the player, both sides benefit beyond just the immediate results on the field.

David Stearns trading players away for and acquiring others in exchange for cash considerations helps build relationships

Stearns is no rookie. His time with the Milwaukee Brewers helped establish him as one of the more well-known baseball executives. A highly-respected one too, he came to the Mets with plenty of existing relationships.

This aspect of baseball can sometimes go overlooked. It’s not something that shows up in the box score. We often don’t even know publicly how one general manager may feel about another. Known resistance from some owners at the prospect of Steve Cohen taking over the Mets already put the organization in a position where we were right to wonder if anyone would ever do business with them short of a steal.

Why help out a club with a ruthlessly wealthy owner capable of stumping all over your team?

Cohen has spent loads of cash, but has played nice with other owners. Teams have been willing to make deals with the Mets no matter who the GM was. The bigger problem with the Mets has been the lack of familiarity in the front office as they’ve gone through multiple executives during Cohen’s reign. Stearns is meant to provide stability and more importantly, be a different face for the organization.

It’s a small favor to trade a player for cash considerations instead of letting him get claimed off waivers by someone else higher on the list.

Think of it in The Godfather terms. 

Someday, and that day may never come, Stearns will call upon those other teams to do a service for him. It doesn’t need to be an offer they cannot refuse.

Don’t think of it in A Bronx Tale way.

It is better to be loved than feared; at least in your first year at a new job.