The Mets have had their share of strange deals over the years, but few can touch the sheer awkwardness of August 27, 2013.
That afternoon, New York sent Marlon Byrd and catcher John Buck to the Pittsburgh Pirates as part of a sell-off from a club that entered the day at 58-71. In return, the Mets landed Dilson Herrera and a player to be named later, with Vic Black later going to New York to finish the transaction.
The timing made the whole thing feel almost comically off. Fans who showed up for the Tuesday night game against the Philadelphia Phillies were supposed to receive a Marlon Byrd t-shirt, even though Byrd had already been dealt earlier in the day.
Byrd had been one of the bright spots in a rough Mets season. He was batting .285 with 21 home runs when he was shipped out, and the move ended up being the start of his best major league year. After arriving in Pittsburgh, Byrd finished at .291/.336/.511 with 24 home runs and 88 RBI.
Buck barely registered in the deal from Pittsburgh’s side, appearing in only 9 games as a backup catcher.
Herrera, meanwhile, became a notable prospect in the Mets’ system. MLB Pipeline ranked him sixth in 2015, though his big-league time in New York was limited.
He appeared in 49 games for the Mets across 2014 and 2015 and hit .215. His career later included 53 games with the Cincinnati Reds in 2018 and three more with the Baltimore Orioles in 2020.
The Mets eventually used him as a key piece in the 2016 trade that sent Jay Bruce to New York from the Reds.
Black gave the Mets a useful short-term bullpen arm. He posted a 3.46 ERA in 2013 and a 2.60 ERA in 2014, and for a while he looked like the kind of mid-20s reliever who could settle into the back end of the bullpen for years.
Injuries changed that quickly. He spent all of 2015 rehabbing in the minors and never returned to the majors.
His last professional pitching came with the New Jersey Jackals of the Independent League in 2018.
In the end, both sides found something in the deal. Byrd was excellent for the Pirates and later hit .364/.391/.591 in the postseason, the only playoff appearance of his career. And because the Mets later flipped Herrera for Bruce, they ultimately came away with the strongest long-term value from a trade that was as awkward as it gets.
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