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BMW · 10-05-2021, 11:45 PM

I stumbled on ex-Met Joe Smith and I wanted to see where landed on the best middle relievers of all time (less than 5% games started and less than 5% of games saved).

I found that of the top 4 middle relievers of all time (https://stathead.com/sharing/1juDw), three of them have dubious Mets connections.

The top guy is Steve Reed. The Mets got him (and Jason Middlebrook) for 24 games. Admittedly a good 24 games. What this they give up for him? Well, not many people know this, but the Mets had Jason Bay twice. They got a steal of a deal trading Lou Collier for Bay while he was an Expos minor leaguer. But instead of keeping him, the Mets sent him away at the trade deadline for that rarest of commodities, right-handed middle relief. The Mets were in the wild card hunt and then proceeded to go 20-35 after acquiring Reed, who then left that winter as a free agent.

Bay would then go in to win a ROY and hit 139 home runs for the Pirates. The Mets would of course get Bay back, paying him $42 million for his debacle (while he produced three all-star seasons over 7 years for $20 million prior to that.)

Of course the Padres "gave up" on Bay too. But instead of 1/3 a season of Steve Reed, they got 7 pretty decent seasons of Brian Giles in return (17+ WAR).

The second guy on the list is Darren O'Day. The Mets pulled off a steal getting O'Day from the Dodgers in the Rule 5 draft. But just a few days into the season, they needed to get Nelson Figueroa on the roster to fill in for Mike Pelfrey for one start, and O'Day was put on waivers. 12 years and a 2.37 ERA over those 12 seasons, O'Day is still pitching.

The third guy on the list is Jeff Nelson. There is a very slight Mets connection here. When the Yankees brought Nelson back for the end of his career, they dealt away Armando Benitez to get him. This was just after they had acquired Benitez from the Mets for three right handed middle relief "prospects."

The fourth guy on the list is Joe Smith. After two good seasons with the Mets, the Mets included him with Endy Chavez, Jason Vargas and Aaron Heilman for... Right handed middle relievers JJ Putz and Sean Green (and OF Jeremy Reed who hit like Rey Ordonez while playing a crappy LF). Smith is still pitching.

10-05-2021, 11:45 PM	#1259
BMW Hall Of Famer Join Date: May 2003 Location: New Jersey Posts: 2,030	I stumbled on ex-Met Joe Smith and I wanted to see where landed on the best middle relievers of all time (less than 5% games started and less than 5% of games saved). I found that of the top 4 middle relievers of all time (https://stathead.com/sharing/1juDw), three of them have dubious Mets connections. The top guy is Steve Reed. The Mets got him (and Jason Middlebrook) for 24 games. Admittedly a good 24 games. What this they give up for him? Well, not many people know this, but the Mets had Jason Bay twice. They got a steal of a deal trading Lou Collier for Bay while he was an Expos minor leaguer. But instead of keeping him, the Mets sent him away at the trade deadline for that rarest of commodities, right-handed middle relief. The Mets were in the wild card hunt and then proceeded to go 20-35 after acquiring Reed, who then left that winter as a free agent. Bay would then go in to win a ROY and hit 139 home runs for the Pirates. The Mets would of course get Bay back, paying him $42 million for his debacle (while he produced three all-star seasons over 7 years for $20 million prior to that.) Of course the Padres "gave up" on Bay too. But instead of 1/3 a season of Steve Reed, they got 7 pretty decent seasons of Brian Giles in return (17+ WAR). The second guy on the list is Darren O'Day. The Mets pulled off a steal getting O'Day from the Dodgers in the Rule 5 draft. But just a few days into the season, they needed to get Nelson Figueroa on the roster to fill in for Mike Pelfrey for one start, and O'Day was put on waivers. 12 years and a 2.37 ERA over those 12 seasons, O'Day is still pitching. The third guy on the list is Jeff Nelson. There is a very slight Mets connection here. When the Yankees brought Nelson back for the end of his career, they dealt away Armando Benitez to get him. This was just after they had acquired Benitez from the Mets for three right handed middle relief "prospects." The fourth guy on the list is Joe Smith. After two good seasons with the Mets, the Mets included him with Endy Chavez, Jason Vargas and Aaron Heilman for... Right handed middle relievers JJ Putz and Sean Green (and OF Jeremy Reed who hit like Rey Ordonez while playing a crappy LF). Smith is still pitching. __________________