The Mets had every reason to think they were ready to move on from Ray Knight before the 1986 season. He had been a disappointment in his first full year with New York, and after hitting well in 1984, he slumped to .218/.252/.328 with 6 home runs in 290 plate appearances in 1985. The club had already brought in Howard Johnson the previous winter and was using him in a platoon with Knight at third base.
Knight was also a year from free agency, which made him an obvious name to shop. The strange part is that the deal the Mets were exploring never happened - and the player they wanted in return eventually ended up in New York anyway, just not through a trade.
That near-miss centered on Lee Mazzilli. Before 1986, the Mets had planned to send Knight to the Pittsburgh Pirates for the former Mets fan favorite, who had turned in a strong 1985 season as a part-time player in Pittsburgh.
Mazzilli hit .282/.425/.376 that year, filling the kind of pinch-hitting role the Mets had once gotten from Rusty Staub. On paper, it made sense.
Instead, the whole thing unraveled. Mazzilli’s 1986 season with the Pirates was much rougher, as he batted .226/.392/.301.
Pittsburgh released him on July 23, and on August 3 he signed with the Mets. The trade that never happened suddenly became reality in a different form.
And Mazzilli wasn’t done. He hit .276/.417/.431 in 72 plate appearances for New York and came through in the postseason with several big hits.
In Game 7, he singled and scored the first run in the Mets’ comeback. Knight, of course, answered with a home run to put them ahead an inning later.
The irony is hard to miss. Keeping Knight around for 1986 paid off in the regular season and the playoffs, and it also delayed Johnson’s move into the everyday lineup until the Mets needed it. Johnson then broke out offensively in 1987 after Knight left in free agency, a move that was unpopular but made sense based on what happened on the field.
If the trade had actually gone through, Mets history could have looked very different. Knight wouldn’t have been there in the regular season, and he certainly wouldn’t have been there in the World Series. Mazzilli might have followed the same path he did in Pittsburgh and stumbled through the first few months in New York.
In Other News...
Mets Suddenly Have A New Reason To Love The David Peterson Trade
The David Peterson trade looked like a straightforward swap when the Mets sent the left-hander to the Cubs for Cole Mathis, a prospect who had not yet taken the field in the minors for New York. But the early read on the deal has started to shift, thanks to the way Mathis has been viewed inside the organization and the sense that the Mets may have added a player with more long-term upside than the return initially suggested.
Peterson, meanwhile, has already had a mixed start in Chicago, which has only added to the second-guessing around the move from both sides. For the Mets, the real question now is whether Mathis can turn that promise into production once he gets his first chance in the system, because the trade is beginning to look like one of those deals that could age very differently than it did on draft day. [Read more 🡒]
Mets Have One Rookie They Should Lock Up Before Another Selloff
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Ewing is the one who stands out as the most sensible candidate to prioritize for a long-term deal, not just because of his age but because of the way he fits the roster. His consistency, running and defense give him a different kind of value, and center field carries a premium that can make a young player especially worth securing early. For a Mets club trying to build around its next core, locking in one of these rookies before the next wave of roster churn would send a clear message about where the future is headed. [Read more 🡒]
Mets May Have Drawn A Firm Line On Luke Weaver Trade Talks
Luke Weavers strong work out of the bullpen has made him one of the more interesting names to watch as the trade market starts to take shape around the Mets. Even with New York open to listening, this is not the kind of move the club appears eager to make lightly, especially with Weaver giving the staff a reliable late-inning option and the front office still sorting out how to balance present value with longer-term depth.
The Mets stance seems to be that any serious conversation would have to bring back a meaningful package, not just a collection of pieces to fill out a deal. There is also a sense that the club wants flexibility after the deadline to keep evaluating both pitchers and position players, which means Weavers name could linger in the background for a while before anything gets resolved. [Read more 🡒]