July 29, 1996: The Kent-Baerga Trade

Jeff Kent

July 29, 1996, 30 years ago: The New York Mets trade 2nd baseman Jeff Kent and reserve infielder José Vizcaíno  to the Cleveland Indians for 2nd baseman Carlos Baerga and reserve infielder Alvaro Espinoza.

At the time, this looked like a great trade for the Amazin's: Baerga was considered, along with Roberto Alomar, 1 of the 2 best 2nd basemen in baseball; Kent, the most disappointing player at that position. Espinoza was a good backup shortstop who could also play 2nd base and 3rd base. And Vizcaíno was an old-style good-field-no-hit middle infielder. It seemed like a no-brainer.

It was, but not in the way the Mets or their fans expected: Baerga was a flop in Flushing, while Espinoza was near the end of the line.

Carlos Baerga

The Indians, as has tended to happen to the now-Guardians in their history, didn't benefit much from the trade, either: After the season, they traded Kent and Vizcaíno to the San Francisco Giants for Matt Williams. (Each team also included another player that didn't matter much.) Williams helped the Tribe win a Pennant, while Kent helped the Jints win one, reached the postseason 8 times in his career, won the NL Most Valuable Player in 2000, and finished with 377 home runs, 351 of them while playing 2nd base, still a record. (His personality wasn't much, but he could hit.) In 2026, Kent was elected to the Hall of Fame, and his plaque shows him wearing a Giants cap.

The Mets needed to win 1 of their last 5 games in 1998 to get the National League's Wild Card berth. They won exactly none. They lost the 1999 NL Championship Series to the hated Atlanta Braves. They beat Kent and the Giants in the 2000 NL Division Series, but lost the World Series to the even more hated Yankees. Kent could have made a big difference on those occasions.

Oh yeah, about that 2000 World Series: It was essentially decided in the 12th inning of Game 1, on a game-winning single for the Yankees by... Jose Vizcaíno.

Jose Vizcaíno, October 21, 2000

So this might be an even more damaging trade than Nolan Ryan for Jim Fregosi in 1971, because it may have made a difference at a time when the Mets were very good, keeping them from reaching true glory. Certainly, it was more damaging than the trade that brought Kent to the Mets, in 1992 for David Cone.