The 2018 non-waiver trade deadline is almost here, and the Mets are expected to be active. Here are six huge deals that went down on or around past trade deadlines...

SNY.tv's Matthew Cerrone on four that hit:

June 15, 1969: Donn Clendenon from Expos to Mets for Steve Renko, Kevin Collins and three minor leaguers

The same date the Mets acquired Keith Hernandez, but 14 years earlier, they sent Steve Renko, Kevin Collins and three minor leaguers to the expansion Expos for Donn Clendenon, a right-handed, power-hitting first baseman.

The Mets were nine games behind the Cubs in the NL East at the time of the deal. However, they went 70-36 after acquiring Clendenon, who hit 12 home runs in the second half of the season. He also hit .357 with three home runs and was named World Series MVP as the Mets defeated the Orioles in five games to win their first World Series title.

June 15, 1983: Keith Hernandez from Cardinals to Mets for Rick Ownbey and Neil Allen

"It's not often that you get the chance to acquire someone with the talent of Keith Hernandez,'' Mets GM Frank Cashen said after making the deal with the Cardinals.

Hernandez, who was 29 years old at the time of the trade, was set to be a free agent at the end of that season. He at first had no interest in re-signing with them, but changed his mind after seeing the team's emerging young talent, specifically Darryl Strawberry and Dwight Gooden.

Hernandez eventually rejoined the Mets for what would be the equivalent of a five-year, $25 million deal in today's dollars. In the end, he played seven seasons with the Mets, hit .297 with a .387 OBP in 880 games played, won five Gold Gloves, helped lead them to one World Championship, and made the playoffs twice as the Mets had winning seasons every year from 1984-1989.

July 28, 2011: Zack Wheeler from Giants to Mets for Carlos Beltran

In January of 2005, Beltran signed a seven-year, $119 million contract to join the Mets. In the final year of his contract, and with the Mets nearly 10 games out of first place, Beltran waived his no-trade clause and agreed to be dealt to the Giants.

In the deal, the Mets got back top pitching prospect Zack Wheeler, who was the sixth overall draft pick in 2009.

Beltran played in 839 games with the Mets, during which he hit .280 with 149 home runs and made the All-Star team five out of seven years. He has the sixth-best OBP in franchise history, is 10th in total bases, sixth in doubles, home runs and RBI, and has the third-highest WAR.

Wheeler went 18-16 with a 3.50 ERA during his first two seasons with the Mets before missing two years recovering from Tommy John surgery. This season, he's 5-6 with a 4.11 ERA in 20 starts, though he's pitched exceptionally well since late June. However, a free agent after next season and with his value on the rise, multiple contending teams have expressed interest in trading for him just as teams wanted Beltran seven years ago...

July 31, 2015: Yoenis Cespedes from Tigers to Mets for Michael Fulmer and Luis Cessa

Six weeks after being below .500 with John Mayberry Jr. and Eric Campbell batting cleanup, the Mets reportedly closed a deal to acquire Brewers OF Carlos Gomez. However, the deal fell through, forcing then-Mets GM Sandy Alderson to turn to Plan B and acquire Cespedes in the final minutes of the trade deadline.

Cespedes slugged .604 with 17 home runs for the Mets through the end of that season, helping them win the NL East and advance to their first World Series since 2000.

By the way, rumor has it in Detroit that Tigers owner Mike Ilitch did not want Cespedes to be traded. However, then-GM Dave Dombrowski disagreed and executed the deal without approval. This may explain why Dombrowski was fired six days later, after which he immediately accepted an offer to become President of Baseball Operations for the Red Sox.

SNY.tv's Danny Abriano on two that missed:

June 15, 1977: Tom Seaver from Mets to Reds for Pat Zachry, Doug Flynn, Steve Henderson and Dan Norman

In a deal that was later referred to as 'The Midnight Massacre,' the Mets dealt Seaver to the Reds after more than a decade in Flushing. The move came after then-owner M. Donald Grant and Seaver developed bad blood after the Mets and Seaver couldn't agree on a renegotiation of his contract.

The Mets, who had reached the World Series four years prior, were in the midst of one of the darkest times in franchise history -- which they started to emerge from in 1983 after trading for Keith Hernandez.

Seaver went on to pitch nine more seasons, including a triumphant return to the Mets in 1983.

July 31, 2004: Scott Kazmir from Mets to Devil Rays for Victor Zambrano

It can be argued that the 2004 Mets shouldn't have traded Scott Kazmir under any circumstances. But the fact that they traded him for Victor Zambrano took this deal from being a simple head-scratcher and turned it in to one that was viewed as one of the most lopsided the Mets ever made.

Kazmir, who was 20 years old at the time, was one of the best prospects in all of baseball -- a fireballing left-hander who was dominating in Double-A. By the end of the season, he was up with the Devil Rays. He became one of the best pitchers in baseball from 2005 to 2008, when injuries and inconsistency began to slow him down.

Meanwhile, Zambrano -- who was 28 years old at the time -- had a 4.42 ERA and 1.49 WHIP in 201.2 innings in parts of three seasons with the Mets.

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