The Mets tried something unusual at the 2017 trade deadline: even as they were clearly in sell mode, they still made a move to bring in a player who could help right away and beyond. On July 28, with the deadline still a few days away, New York dealt with the division rival Miami Marlins for AJ Ramos, a reliever coming off a 40-save season and an All-Star nod the year before.
At the time, the fit made sense on paper. Ramos was 30, had a 2.78 ERA over 327.1 major league innings with Miami, and came with a full year of control in 2018. Even though his ERA sat at 3.63 when the Mets acquired him, the hope was obvious: add a proven arm now and get a bullpen piece who could matter the next season too.
It never really clicked.
Ramos threw 19 innings for the 2017 Mets and finished with a 4.74 ERA. By the following year, he was moved into a setup role with Jeurys Familia back healthy, but the results only got worse.
In 28 games, Ramos logged just 19.2 innings and posted a brutal 6.41 ERA. He also had serious trouble throwing strikes, walking batters at a 6.9 BB/9 clip.
His final outing for the Mets came on May 26, when he was charged with three earned runs in just 0.2 innings. It was his second straight day on the mound.
The day before, he had entered in the 10th inning and walked both hitters he faced, with the second walk coming with the bases loaded. That ended the game.
The back end of Ramos’ Mets stint was where the damage piled up. He made 10 appearances on zero days of rest and was tagged with a 15.00 ERA in those games. He also had 10 appearances on one day of rest, and in those outings he posted a 1.08 ERA.
In terms of the return, the Mets gave up Ricardo Cespedes and Merandy Gonzalez. Cespedes never got past High-A in affiliated ball and continued his career in the Independent League and foreign leagues. Gonzalez threw 22 innings for the 2018 Marlins, put up a 5.22 ERA, and never reached the majors again after that.
So while it was a smart-looking deadline buy for a team that was otherwise selling, the Ramos trade simply didn’t deliver. And with so little else going right for the 2018 Mets, from Mickey Callaway downward, the whole thing fit right into a season where plenty went off the rails.
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