Just Mets

2014 National League Rookie of the Year Jacob deGrom is currently the ace of a young and incredibly impressive Mets pitching staff, as well as one of the premiere pitchers in all of baseball, but things could have shaken out much differently.

During the 2012 season, the Mets traded reliever Pedro Beato to the Red Sox for veteran catcher Kelly Shoppach in a fairly nondescript deal.

It’s a trade that is mostly forgotten about now three years later, as neither Beato or Shoppach wound up being major contributors to either team. However, this deal has become all-the-more interesting as Peter Gammons of MLB Network writes the original piece going back to Boston for Shoppach was not Beato, but the then 23-year-old prospect deGrom, who had missed the prior season due to Tommy John surgery.

According to Gammons, Mets GM Sandy Alderson originally seemed comfortable with the idea of trading deGrom for Shoppach, but after talking with team personnel in the minor leagues, he had second thoughts and the Red Sox eventually received Beato.

It’s rather incredible to think about. In a trade that I had a hard time even remembering, the Mets nearly altered the future of their franchise in order to get a 32-year-old journeyman catcher in a season where they weren’t even contending for a playoff spot.

Since making his major league debut in May of last year, deGrom is 18-12 with a 2.44 ERA, 1.04 WHIP and 256 strikeouts in 254 innings pitched. His 2.15 ERA in the last 365 days ranks second-best behind only Zack Greinke’s 1.72 ERA. 

Meanwhile, Beato has appeared in 24 major league games in the last four seasons, including none this year, and Shoppach retired after playing 36 games in 2013.

Needless to say, fortunately Alderson did not pull the trigger on this trade.