The New York Mets have been rumored to be in the market for another bat for most of the summer. For a brief period, it appeared they found what they were looking for after reportedly agreeing to a deal for Carlos Gomez. MLB trades are agreed to all the time then officially announced later once all the I's are dotted and T's are crossed. This time, however, there was a slight hangup in the final details.
The complete timeline of the tearful Mets-Brewers trade that didn’t happen
It’s been a wild MLB trade season and no deal had more twists and turns than the Mets’ attempt to land Carlos Gomez.
Gomez is not headed to the Mets (at least not as of this moment) and instead all we’re left with is a wild couple of hours. Here is how it all went down.
8:58 p.m. - “It is a done deal”
That is what Joel Sherman of the New York Post tweeted.
It is a done deal #Mets are getting Gomez
— Joel Sherman (@Joelsherman1) July 30, 2015 Andy Martino of the New York Daily News tweeted the same thing a minute later and several other reporters followed with similar tweets. Seemingly every MLB source was saying Gomez was headed to the Mets. A minute later, Sherman followed his first tweet with another saying the deal was only pending physicals. Standard stuff.
Wilmer Flores and Zach Wheeler are reportedly the players headed back to Milwaukee.
8:58 p.m. - 10:53 p.m.: Carlos Gomez is told a deal is happening
The Brewers were confident a deal was going down. So much so, they told Gomez's camp that a deal was happening, according to Sherman. It appears the Brewers, like everyone else, thought the deal was done.
9:46 p.m. - Wilmer Flores starts crying during the Mets game
News of the reported deal spread quickly. Mets fans gave Flores a standing ovation during one of his at bats and he later got emotional while playing defense. Typically, players are pulled from the game when a trade is getting close, but the Mets kept Flores in for whatever reason. This was the result.
Surreal scene. Mets trade Wilmer Flores but leave him in game. Flores then cries on field while playing. pic.twitter.com/0CDpjGpwpS
— Jimmy Traina (@JimmyTraina) July 30, 2015 9:54 p.m. - “No deal is done. The entire world has jumped the gun.”
One official starts to put the brakes on a deal, saying it’s not as far along as reports indicate. This was the first sign, things might not be as easy as they first seemed.
Asked official involved with Gomez trade why Flores is still in game. Reply: "No deal is done. The entire world has jumped the gun."
— Ken Rosenthal (@Ken_Rosenthal) July 30, 2015 10:35 p.m. - Mets manager Terry Collins doesn’t know about a deal and isn’t happy about it
After the game, Collins was asked about a potential deal and why Flores was left in the game. He was not happy about the situation and made that perfectly clear.
Collins: "You guys think this game is easy to play? Play it with s--- like that going on in the background." #Mets
— Anthony DiComo (@AnthonyDiComo) July 30, 2015 10:53 p.m. - A deal “will not transpire.”
Not quite two full hours after the first reports of a done deal, the move was squashed. Not only did Mets GM Sandy Alderson say a deal had not been completed, but he said it would not be completed.
Sandy Alderson says that the trade for Carlos Gomez "will not transpire."
— Jared Diamond (@jareddiamond) July 30, 2015 Speculation immediately began on what may have happened. A failed physical seemed like a likely reason, but there were still questions of who. Wheeler had Tommy John surgery, so some pointed to him.
12:13 a.m. - Reports indicate the Mets backed out of the deal
Sources: #Mets backed out of trade due to concern over hip issue with #Brewers’ Gomez.
— Ken Rosenthal (@Ken_Rosenthal) July 30, 2015 The Mets backing out would make sense to why Flores was left in the game and why Alderson was the one who shot down the deal. If one of the two Mets had medical issues, the teams could discuss other players. But when the main target has a possible medical issue, that ends the deal.
Gomez’s agent, Scott Boras, said Gomez is healthy, but unless the Mets have a change of heart and become unconcerned with whatever hip issue there is, nothing is likely to change.
Gomez was once a Met before being traded. For two hours, it seemed like he would be a Met again. Then he wasn't. That is the baseball trade deadline in a nutshell.
★★★
SB Nation video archives: Baseball’s unwritten rules (2013)
See More:
