The 3 worst Mets trade deadline fire sales and why each was so horrible

2017 NY Mets trade deadline fire sale

The 2017 Mets were supposed to be much better than they were. Where have we heard this before? Some horrible and injured starting pitching (again, sound familiar?) helped eat them alive. They were clearly not going to make a third consecutive playoff appearance. With several veterans on expiring contracts, it was time to unload.

There was a whole lot of moving and shaking at this trade deadline. Rather than rehash all of the names, let’s recap this a little more simply.

The Mets traded away Curtis Granderson, Lucas Duda, Addison Reed, Neil Walker, and Jay Bruce. Four everyday players and the closer were all on the move. The Mets must’ve gotten something good in return, right?

Even all of these years later, the most significant piece they acquired was Drew Smith in the Duda deal with the Tampa Bay Rays. Each deal was essentially a veteran for a young relief pitcher or bundle of them. It was essentially a repeat of the 2003 trade deadline where the Mets failed to acquire anything of significance.

What made this even more frustrating was how locked in the Mets were to keep competing. The 2003 trade deadline fire sale was bad but it was mostly dead weight they cut off. In 2017, the Mets traded away a couple of much better players and came away with very little in return. It seems like they just chose all of the wrong players. Jacob Rhame and all the rest.

Most puzzling of all, the Mets added AJ Ramos to the bullpen in a trade with the Miami Marlins. It wasn’t a bad idea but a 5.59 ERA in 49 games between 2017 and 2018 confirms it actually was.