I really should have gotten over the 1971 Nolan Ryan trade by now, but I still can’t help cringing when the Mets trade away a promising young pitcher like Michael Fulmer, who went to the Tigers last summer in the Yoenis Cespedes trade. Of course, Cespedes performed far better for the Mets than anyone could have hoped. But if he had ended up the two-month rental that was expected, I’d be looking at Fulmer’s major league debut tonight with Detroit a lot differently.
(Photo of Nolan Ryan from 1986.)
In 16 games this season, Cespedes is hitting .300 with 6 homers. His 17 RBI and 1.056 OPS lead the Mets. On Tuesday, Cespedes pulled a Willis Reed (I’m dating myself again – I should at least say he pulled a Kirk Gibson) coming off the bench after missing four games – and just after Gary Cohen said he was unavailable – and erasing a 3-0 Reds lead in the seventh inning on the first pitch with a three-run homer. Cespedes got off to a slow start this season after slumping in the postseason, but Tuesday night was a reminder that the Mets are not a World Series contender without him.
With the Mets having one of the best young staffs in recent history, letting someone like Fulmer go would seem to be no big deal. But we all know how quickly pitchers can get hurt. And if these guys all stay healthy and reach their potential, how unlikely it is that the Mets will be able to keep them all.
But if established pitchers are volatile, prospects are that much more so. Fulmer is no sure thing. And even if he makes it, he might not outdo Cespedes.
It’s been almost five years since the Mets traded Carlos Beltran for Zack Wheeler. That still seems like a good deal for the Mets, with Wheeler showing promise and set to return later this season. But since the trade, Beltran has 8.0 WAR according to Baseball Reference, while Wheeler has 2.0 WAR. Not all pitchers who undergo Tommy John surgery make it back. As of now, there’s no assurance that the Wheeler trade will end up the great move for the Mets that it appeared to be at the time.
(It should be noted that while Beltran has outperformed Wheeler over the last few years, he has also been paid about $65 million more.)
Fulmer was brought up to fill in for injured former Yankee Shane Greene. But if Fulmer does well, he could stay in the rotation when Greene returns, bumping a pitcher who was once a top prospect himself, the ninth pick in the 2005 draft, two picks ahead of Andrew McCutchen. Fellow named Mike Pelfrey.
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