The following is part of each of the series previews here at BP Mets. “Mets Connections” takes a look at the opposing teams’ rosters and highlights some of the noteworthy or interesting links that can be drawn between those players and the Mets organization. Some of these links may be obvious, such as if an opposing player has formerly played for New York, but some may be lesser known tidbits, such as if a player was previously drafted by the Mets. This version of the series analyzes the Cubs’ roster as they open up a three-game set in New York tonight.
Carl Edwards, Jr. and Justin Grimm: At the 2013 trade deadline, the Cubs sent Matt Garza to the Texas Rangers for a return that included current Cub relievers Carl Edwards, Jr. and Justin Grimm. The player to be named later in that deal was Mets reliever Neil Ramirez.
Wade Davis and Mike Montgomery: Two more Cub relievers can be traced to the Mets through trade. Montgomery was traded to Tampa Bay in the Wil Myers-James Shields deal, while Davis went with Shields to Kansas City. When Myers was later dealt to San Diego in a three-team trade, current Mets backstop René Rivera was also involved.
Jon Lester: In the Athletics’ 2014 push for the postseason, they dealt for free-agent-to-be Jon Lester from the Boston Red Sox. The main part of the return for Boston was Yoenis Cespedes.
Draft Connections: The first round of the 2012 draft has produced strong results so far, and the Mets/Cubs series has a chance to put some of that talent on display. Albert Almora (6th), was the Cubs’ first selection that year. Addison Russell was selected 11th, right before the Mets’ selection of Gavin Cecchini (12th). While he will not play in this series (barring a mid-series call-up), Kevin Plawecki (35th) was also part of that first round draft class.
Kyle Schwarber (4th) and Michael Conforto (10th) were the top two college bats drafted in 2014. Three years later, their careers have had various ups and downs, but they will face off tonight for the first time since the 2015 NLCS.
Hometown Connections: Javier Baez and René Rivera were both born in Bayamon, Puerto Rico.
Photo credit: Scott Kane – USA Today Sports