On trade deadline day last July, things were "hot and heavy" as far as the Zack Wheeler market was concerned, with the Rays, Yankees, Astros, and Braves among the teams in pursuit.
Instead of dealing the pending free agent, though, the Mets kept him. And Wheeler rode a strong finish to a five-year deal with the Phillies worth $118 million.
The Mets, who were never able to bridge the gap on Wheeler's asking price regarding an extension, received a compensatory draft pick in exchange for Wheeler walking.
But things were almost very different.
According to SNY's Andy Martino, the Mets and Yankees had a tentative agreement in place last July that would have sent Wheeler to the Bronx.
However, concerns about the medicals of another player squashed the deal.
Martino adds that the Wheeler discussions came after other "intensive" talks between Mets GM Brodie Van Wagenen and Yankees GM Brian Cashman about other players, including Jeurys Familia. Like Wheeler, Familia stayed put at the deadline.
With the presence of Wheeler (and Marcus Stroman, who was acquired a few weeks before the deadline with an eye on his being Wheeler's replacement in 2020), the Mets hung in the wild card race until the last week of the season.
Still, it's fair to question whether the Mets would be better off with whatever they would've gotten in exchange for Wheeler via trade than the compensatory draft pick they received when he left as a free agent.
It's not clear which player or players would've been coming back from the Yanks in exchange for Wheeler, but it's highly unlikely that top prospects Deivi Garcia or Clarke Schmidt would've been involved.
The Yankees have a number of other intriguing prospects in their top 10, though, and it seems like the Mets might have been about to get their hands on one of them before things went haywire.
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