Sometimes, the seemingly small moves can make all the difference. The ripple effects echo for years down the road, like the Mets’ decision to draft Jon Matlack in 1967 eventually leading to David Wright. Although there were mixed opinions about the Mets trading for Jay Bruce yesterday, it is fascinating to consider that it was Sandy Alderson’s sheer good fortune that even made it possible.
It all started with a simple favor. During the 2012-13 off-season, Marlon Byrd’s career was in shambles. A decade in Major League Baseball spiraled out of control in 2012, as he went 3-for-43 with the Cubs before moving to the wayward Bobby Valentine Red Sox, with whom he struggled until he was cut in June. Then, he was hit with 50-game suspension for PEDs. Byrd was 35 years old. He only wanted a second chance, so in an act of charity, Alderson invited him to Mets Spring Training. Perhaps he could recapture a small semblance of his All-Star 2010 form.
To his credit, Terry Collins was optimistic about Byrd from the get-go. The Mets had very little depth in the outfield, so Byrd would have regular playing time if he could earn it:
“This guy was one of the best players in the National League not too long ago. If he’s the same player he was in Chicago a couple of years ago, we might have found ourselves a right fielder. I know he’s that kind of talent.”
Sure enough, Byrd ended up revitalizing his career under Collins, stunning the baseball world by hitting .285/.330/.518 with 21 homers in 117 games. For a man who had only once hit 20 homers in a season and had just 82 in 1,103 games, it was remarkable.
Somewhat oddly, Byrd was not dealt from the Mets at the July 31st trade deadline, but at the end of August, Alderson found a team for him. He was packaged with catcher John Buck in a trade with the Pirates for reliever Vic Black and a teenage second baseman from Colombia down in Single-A named Dilson Herrera.
The move worked out for the Pirates, as Byrd had an .843 OPS in the last month, and then hit a pivotal homer in the electric one-game Wild Card playoff against the Reds, the Pirates’ first postseason appearance in 21 years. He had another hot series in the NLDS, but St. Louis beat Pittsburgh. Byrd has bounced around four teams in three years since then, and now with another PED suspension, his career is probably over.
Meanwhile, Herrera turned himself into an interesting prospect, working his way into the Baseball Prospectus Top 100 by the beginning of 2015 with some impressive numbers at the plate as he rose into the minors’ higher levels. Although Alderson and Collins seemed oddly reluctant at giving Herrera much of a look in the majors despite a fine .257 TAv in 49 games, the 22-year-old clearly had value.
Then came the 2016 trade deadline. Alderson packaged Herrera and 2015 third-rounder Max Wotell in a deal with the Reds for outfielder Jay Bruce, a three-time All-Star on an affordable contract with an option for 2017. Analysts can debate whether losing Herrera and Wotell was worth Bruce considering the crowded outfield anyway, but either way, Collins now has a 25-homer player to add to the lineup.
Perhaps Bruce will help the Mets to a playoff spot in this year or next. Perhaps not. Nonetheless, the serendipitous path from a favor for a burnout to a key deadline addition three years later is something to behold. One month of an aging Marlon Byrd turned into Jay Bruce. That’s the beauty of baseball.
Photo Credit: Ken Blaze-USA TODAY Sports