Padres Did What Mets Were Afraid To Do

With the Mets opening up a series in San Diego tonight, it behooves us to look back at the trade deadline and the actions of both teams. In the end, the Padres did what the Mets were seemingly afraid to do.

When the sun rose on July 31, both the Mets and Padres were seven games over .500, coming off hot streaks and tied for the final two Wild Card spots. They were a half-game behind the stumbling Braves, a half-game ahead of the surging Diamondbacks and two games ahead of the Pirates and Cardinals. It was a mess, but basically, all three Wild Card slots were there for the taking.

The Padres decided to take one. They traded three of their top five prospects for All-Star closer Tanner Scott. A few days earlier, they sent two of their top 10 prospects away for another high-end reliever, Jason Adam. The result? Since then, the Padres have gone 14-5 and are tied with the Diamondbacks for the top Wild Card spot, each four games ahead of Braves.

The Mets, on the other hand, chose not to deal any of their top prospects. Instead, David Stearns operated on the margins, picking up a few serviceable relievers without sacrificing any players of note. The result? Since then, they have gone 9-11 and are on the outside of the playoff hunt, a game and a half behind the Braves and five and a half behind the Padres and Diamondbacks.

So it looks like the Padres aggressiveness is paying off, and the Mets timidity is not. So what happened here? Well, the Padres have been in “go for it” mode for several years, and even after the death of owner Peter Seidler, who desperately wanted to bring a World Series title to San Diego, they are still apparently in that mode.

But you could argue the Mets have also been in “go for it” mode ever since Steve Cohen bought the team (remember, he promised a championship within five years? This is year four, by the way.). So why didn’t Stearns seize the moment when nobody seemed to be taking control of the Wild Card chase?

It’s impossible for us to answer that. Maybe Cohen didn’t want to add payroll (unlikely). Maybe the asking prices were high and Stearns did not want to surrender his top prospects (very possible). Or maybe, just maybe, Stearns does not believe in this team and didn’t think a deep October run was possible, even if they managed to make the playoffs (my guess).

But here’s the reality — a spot in the playoffs was within reach (and still is). Reinforcing the team with meaningful players could have put them over the top, as the Padres have exhibited. And once you get into the playoffs, anything can happen, as the Phillies and Diamondbacks have shown us the past two postseasons.

Stearns could have and maybe should have grabbed the bull by the horns and gone for it. But he chose not to for whatever reason. Which leaves the Mets scrambling to get into playoff contention when it could have been easier.