Late yesterday afternoon, there were ramblings surrounding the Mets and the possibility that there was a momentous trade in the works.
During yesterday’s game against the Padres, it had been reported by Mets beat writers, Brewers beat writers, and national writers that the Mets and Brewers had agreed in principle, to a trade that would send 2-time All-Star Carlos Gomez to the Mets in exchange for Zack Wheeler and Wilmer Flores, pending a physical.
Deal with #Brewers is done pending physicals. Gomez to #Mets
— Joel Sherman (@Joelsherman1) July 30, 2015
Zack Wheeler and Wilmer Flores going to #Brewers for Carlos Gomez, according to Daily News.
— Adam Rubin (@AdamRubinMedia) July 30, 2015
ESPN's Jim Bowden confirms Carlos Gomez for Zack Wheeler and Wilmer Flores. #mets #brewers
— Adam Rubin (@AdamRubinMedia) July 30, 2015
It seemed that the trade was done. Carlos Gomez and Milwaukee Brewers teammates had even began to tweet and post farewell photos together while on the team plane.
The trade hadn’t been reported officially by anyone in the Mets brass, but very credible sources all said the deal was done. The Brewers wanted to conduct a physical on Zack Wheeler, as he underwent Tommy John surgery in the Spring and is estimated to return around July 2016.
Fans, as expected, began to run away with the trade. Fans had been pleading for Sandy Alderson to trade for a legitimate bat and it seemed that Sandy did just that. Twitter might as well have exploded with #MetsTwitter raving about the trade. But the one issue many fans had, was that the Mets hadn’t pulled Wilmer Flores from the game and continued to play until the 8th inning. Adding to what was already a bizarre situation, Wilmer Flores began to cry as he learned about the trade. On his walk back to the dugout, the fans gave Flores a standing ovation.
In a game that the Mets were losing, it was a surprise that Flores was kept in the game since usually when players are traded, they are immediately removed from the game to avoid any possibility of injury and ruining the deal. Flores not being taken out of the game, left many fans wondering what exactly was going on with the deal and Sandy clarified all the rumors.
During the post-game presser, Sandy Alderson dropped the hammer on the fan-base.
“There is no trade, nor will there be one. Unfortunately social media, etc., got ahead of the facts, and it may have had an adverse effect on one of the players rumored to be involved [Flores]. It’s one of those things that happens today with modern communications, etc. It’s an unfortunate situation, but whatever has been speculated over the course of the evening has not and will not transpire.”
Terry Collins, the skipper of the team, also expressed his frustration with the media and fan base as he had no idea that Wilmer hadn’t been traded but the perception was that he had. “Someone came to me and said, ‘Wilmer’s crying,’ ” Collins told reporters, revisiting a conversation in the dugout during the game. “I said, ‘Why?’ Well, he got traded. To who? For what?”
Terry expressed his frustration because had there been a move, someone from the organization would have informed Terry Collins and he would have moved forward and taken Flores out of the game. But that wasn’t the case.
So, for now, Wilmer Flores remains a Met. Flores has been a project for the Mets at SS as he has shown some power with his bat, but defensive abilities at the position are still in question. Flores has been with the organization ever since he was sixteen years old, and the only organization that he knows is his Mets.
Zack is in St. Lucie, FL, rehabbing from Tommy John.
It was believed that the deal didn’t go down, after the Brewers backed out from the deal once they received Zack’s physicals from the team and decided that it wasn’t a good deal. But later in the night we learned that it was, in fact, the Mets that had backed out of the deal. Reports surfaced that the Mets were turned off by a hip-issue Carlos Gomez had been dealing with and caused the Mets to back out. Scott Boras, Carlos’ agent, went on a rant defending his client and his condition, claiming that, “There is nothing at issue with Carlos Gomez’s health. He is playing every day. That is the proof of his health. He is fine.” Gomez, .262/.328/.751, has hit 8HR & 43 RBI.
For now, the Mets and Wilmer Flores must continue to play baseball, as the Mets host the Padres in an early afternoon game.
Other Morning News:
Travid d’Arnaud is back in New York with the team. After catching nine innings in back-to-back games, d’Arnaud will have this afternoon’s game off and will be available tomorrow.
Wilmer Flores is not in the lineup for this afternoon’s game.
Marc Craig, writer for Newsday, tweeted that it seems that the Mets ‘aren’t done trying to get a bat.’ So at least we know the team is still trying to acquire a bat. The trade deadline ends in about thirty hours.
