Just Mets

Two days ago, the Mets and Brewers had a deal which would have sent Zack Wheeler and and Wilmer Flores to the Brewers in exchange for Carlos Gomez, but the deal fell apart because the Mets reportedly took exception to Gomez’s medical report from their own team physicians.

A day later, after Brewers GM Doug Melvin took major exception to to the Mets backing out of the deal, it was reported the Mets might have backed out of the deal due to financial reasons, and not necessarily because of Gomez’s health, according to Tim Haudricourt of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.

According to Haudricourt, the Mets originally wanted the Brewers to take Juan Lagares over Wilmer Flores to help off-set the money owed to Gomez. When the Brewers said no, the Mets then asked for a competitive balance pick in the 2016 draft. Milwaukee declined that request as well.

Then, according to Haudricourt, the Mets evidently asked the Brewers to kick in money to off-set Gomez’s deal, and the Brewers declined once again.

“It was only then, according to the source, that the Mets came back and said they were calling off the deal because of concerns over Gomez’s medical records,” Haudricourt said.

Gomez, agent, Scott Boras, maintains his client is completely healthy. That claim is supported by the fact Gomez was subsequently dealt to the Astros for a package of prospects on Thursday evening.

According to Mike Vorkunov of the Star Ledger, Boras contacted Mets COO Jeff Wilpon early Thursday to gain an understanding of exactly why the Mets backed out of the deal at the last minute, but he apparently didn’t learn anything new from that discussion.

“The Brewers medical staff is as expert and qualified as this reports,” Boras told NJ Advance Media. “It’s just apparently in New York they understood it as being cheese head medicine, I don’t know. All I know the reports were specific that this is a very healthy player.

“The New York doctors with the Mets disagree now what we know with two clubs, the Brewers and the Astros,” Boras continued. “So anyone that suggests that this player is a health risk or medical risk is absurd and without evidence.”

Alderson maintained the club’s position over concerns regarding Gomez’s medicals.

“It’s very simple,” Alderson told reporters, including Vorkunov. “Our doctors felt the health risk was too great. Houston’s doctors apparently feel otherwise. That’s it.”

I’m willing to bet both the issues over the medicals and the money were there, but both coincided with one another.

Remember, the money and players are agreed upon before the deal is agreed to in principle. Its only then the medicals are exchanged and the teams review them with their team physicians. Perhaps team doctors in New York took exception to something they saw on the medical report, and the Mets used that information to try and get more out of the Brewers, be it a compensation pick in next year’s draft, or more money in return.

In a way, it would serve as a small insurance policy for the Mets. But, as Peter Gammons of MLB Network recently said, the Brewers balked at that proposal, and the Mets walked away.

In the end, whoever is right or wrong, the Mets lost out on a very good fit in Gomez, who would have solved a lot of problems for their lineup. That’s really all that matters, aside from what happened with Wilmer Flores, which was far worse and embarrassing for the Mets.