NEWSLETTER
The Mets and Brewers agreed to a significant deal last night, which would have sent Carlos Gomez to the Mets (before the Brewers started a four-game set with the Cubs today, mind you) in exchange for rehabbing young starter Zack Wheeler and young infielder Wilmer Flores.
Word broke on the deal and spread quickly, and it was just one of many big trades going down last night.
Except it didn’t go down.
During the review of medical information that comes after a deal is agreed to, the Mets reportedly decided to pull out over concerns about Carlos Gomez’s hip. Gomez’s agent, Scott Boras, immediately denied that there are any concerns with Gomez’s health, but the cat is probably already out of the bag. This will be an issue to address when Gomez reaches free agency after next season, and now it’s something to address if the Brewers try to deal Gomez before tomorrow’s Trade Deadline. (Other reports hinted that it was Wheeler’s post-Tommy John medical reports that scuttled the deal.)
Will some other team try to swoop in and take advantage of the situation? The price on Gomez already didn’t seem too steep.
As for the Mets, they may move on to another deal for a bat or they may not. But they’ve got an issue on their hands either way:
https://twitter.com/Lahlahlindsey/status/626569545298374656
As the game was playing out and word of the deal was spreading, folks noticed that the Mets kept sending Flores back onto the field, inning after inning. It was tough.
So, on the one hand, because the deal did in fact fall through, it wasn’t ever quite done, and the Mets may have been justified in leaving Flores in the game.
On the other hand, once it became clear that Flores knew about the deal – however it is that he found out – and was having trouble dealing with it on the field, he should have immediately been pulled from the game. Not only was it close to a blowout anyway, and not only is he probably not going to help you win at that point anyway, but it’s also just a matter of being compassionate.
The Brewers are probably right now pressuring the Mets to send them Flores for Gerardo Parra. Might be a little tough for Flores to get past this.
As for Gomez and the Brewers, Martin Maldonado had posted a farewell picture and tweet before the deal fell through. Then he posted later instead:
https://twitter.com/Machete1224/status/626594121856061440
It would have been nice for the Cubs to avoid Gomez in this series – I suppose that could still happen, but putting together a big deal like this takes so much time and fit that I doubt the Brewers now move him. I also was unimpressed with the Brewers’ return in the deal, so that was probably good in the long term for the Cubs.
Then again, I didn’t really want to see the Mets improving for the stretch run. So … it’s a wash, I guess? #MildTakes
