Grading the Mets’ Most Impactful December Trades: A Winter Meetings Walk Through History

These days, Mets fans can get their fix of trade rumors easily. There is nothing that quite gives fans the hope of getting through the winter like a good rumor. Back in the day, before sports talk radio and the internet, I remember a two-inch blurb in the Daily News that perked me up! It simply said, "Mets Closing in on Trade For Foster"

George Foster? Dominant MVP, 50 home run dynamo from the Reds? I must have read those few sentences 15 times. Well, the Foster the Mets did eventually get was not the Cincinnati powerhouse, but more like a broken down, 13 home run version.

The Mets have usually been active during the Winter Meetings, which start Sunday. Let's look back at some of the most impactful Winter Meetings/December trades in Mets history, using chronological order. And since my day job, and my other passion besides writing about the Mets is teaching, I’ll be handing out letter grades from a Mets perspective, of course.

December 15, 1967. Mets get CF Tommie Agee and INF Al Weis from the White Sox for Tommy Davis, Jack Fisher, Buddy Booker, and Billy Wynne.

The Mets had never had a power/speed player like Agee in their early history. Tommie set the Met record for stolen bases with 31 in 1970. It would take another seven years before Lenny Randle would break it in 1977 with 33. Agee also had the Mets record for runs scored in a season with 107. In the first 25 years of Mets history, no one scored more than 107 until Darryl Strawberry in 1987 with 108!

Of course, Agee's impact was with the 1969 World Champions. The 1970 Gold Glover will remain in the hearts of Mets fans in part due to the two incredible catches in the Series.

In addition to Agee, the Mets picked up "light-hitting" Al Weis. Look up what light hitting means. Al's picture is next to it. He hit a robust .172 in 1968! Yikes! But shockingly in the 69 Series, Mike Piazza (oops, I mean Al Weis), hit .455 with a key home run. Truly a miracle.

Tommy Davis had some terrific years before with the Dodgers (230 hits, 153 RBI, and a .346 average in 1962), and garnered some MVP votes with the 1967 Mets and as a DH with the 1973 and 1974 Baltimore Orioles, but this trade helped the Mets win the World Series. TEACHER SAYS A+

December 7, 1984. Mets get 3B Howard Johnson from the Detroit Tigers for RHP Walt Terrell.

Let's start with Terrell. Walt spent four years with Detroit, and was quite underrated. In three of those years, he won 15, 15, and 17 games. Today, he might get $20 million! He had 35 complete games in those 4 years. Mets fans know he was acquired with Mets Hall of Famer Ron Darling for newest Mets Hall of Famer Lee Mazzilli.

HoJo spent 8 years in the orange and blue and is himself in the Mets Hall of Fame. Although he didn't do much in the '86 season except hug Ray Knight as Ray crossed the plate in Game 6, Johnson had three 30-30 seasons for the Mets when that was a really rare thing. Interesting HoJo fact: He was 1- 26 (.038!) in his post-season career. That's only one more hit than you would have gotten.

TEACHER SAYS A

December 10, 1984. Mets get C Gary Carter from Montreal Expos for SS Hubie Brooks, C Mike Fitzgerald, OF Herm Winningham, and RHP Floyd Youmans.

I remember getting home late that night and I called Sports Phone to see if there was any Met news. I couldn't believe what I heard (maybe it was Howie Karpin!). I screamed at 2:00 AM "The Mets have just won the World Series!" How many of you also did that when you heard about this trade?

Carter was the Hall of Fame caliber player the Mets needed to lead that pitching staff. He had already piled up five seasons with MVP votes. He was to finish sixth in 1985 and third in 1986. His 105 RBIs in 1986 tied Rusty Staub's team record that stood for 11 years. Although Carter's final three years as a Met started to show the wear and tear of a catcher, his job was done.

Brooks spent 5 years in Montreal with two All-Star campaigns. He later returned to the Mets in 1991 and drove in 50 runs as a right fielder. Youmans had a short career due to injuries, but won 13 games in 1986 with 202 strikeouts in 219 innings. Wouldn't the Mets love that production in 2026 from their rotation?

TEACHER SAYS A+

December 6, 1989. Mets get LHP John Franco from the Cincinnati Reds for LHP Randy Myers.

Franco is the All-Time Mets saves leader with 276. His 424 saves is presently 7th all time in Major League Baseball, just two ahead of Hall of Famer Billy Wagner as the most saves from a lefty. I think Franco has had a love/hate relationship with Mets fans. His 3.10 career Mets ERA in 695 games is spectacular. The 695 games is the most in Mets history, over 200 more than second place Perpetual Pedro Feliciano (thanks, Gary Cohen). But Franco seemed to make every inning a nail biter. His WHIP rate as a Met was 1.365. For comparison, Edwin Diaz had a 0.874 WHIP last year. Was it me, or did every inning with Johnny start with a leadoff walk?

Myers had a stellar career himself. He was the closer for the "Nasty Boys" bullpen with the 1990 World Champion Reds and had 347 total saves. But he never seemed to stay with a team more than two years. He had a 38 save season with San Diego, a 53 save season with the Cubs, and had two excellent seasons in Baltimore. (31 and 45 saves, with the 1997 45 save season coming with a 1.51 ERA!). So why was he moved so much? Personal story: As a young reporter with the Associated Press, Randy must not have liked a question I asked, so he mooned me in the Mets locker room! Maybe that's why I became a teacher.

TEACHER SAYS B.

December 20, 1996. Mets get 1B John Olerud from the Toronto Blue Jays for RHP Robert Person.

The three most underrated seasons by a Mets first baseman in their history. From 1997 to 1999, Olerud averaged .315 as a Met, with a club record .354 in 1998. Cleon Jones's .340 had stood for almost 30 years! He drove in 291 runs in the three years and held the club record for walks with 125. That record was just eclipsed by Juan Soto last year. He averaged almost 159 games a season for them. There are numerous Mets enthusiasts who feel the 1999 Mets was surely one of the best in their history. (Stop blaming Kenny Rogers! Franco and Armando Benitez both blew saves in that last Braves game).

Younger fans might see photos of Olerud wearing a batting helmet at all times. He suffered a brain aneurysm in college and had brain surgery. He had to wear it for protection. A famous Rickey Henderson story goes that when Rickey saw John on the Mets, the Man of Steal said, "I played with a guy in Toronto who also wore a helmet all the time!".

TEACHER SAYS A+

HONORABLE MENTION: Should any of these December trades have broken into my top five? Let me know. Key word is IMPACTFUL!

1975: Rusty Staub for Mickey Lolich

1978: Jesse Orosco for Jerry Koosman

1983: Sid Fernandez for Bob Bailor and Carlos Diaz

1986: Kevin McReynolds for Kevin Mitchell

And if all this trip down December Deal Lane has you craving even more Mets trade history, I’ve got good news. In the coming weeks, I’ll be rolling out a new weekly feature called Trade Tracker Thursdays, where we’ll dig into the Amazins’ trading history with one franchise at a time. We’ll relive the blockbusters, revisit the busts, and yes because I never leave home without my grade book I’ll be handing out report cards for every deal. Please have your parents sign them and return them promptly. I don’t want to have to make any calls home.