Five years ago to this day, the New York Mets were in the middle of a game against the San Diego Padres when news began to trickle out about a trade involving young infielder Wilmer Flores.
Flores was just 23 years old at the time, and had started the game at shortstop. As the night wore on, reports hit social media saying that there was a done deal between the Mets and the Milwaukee Brewers to bring Carlos Gomez back to Queens. Gomez, a former top prospect for the Mets, had spent his career playing for the Twins and the Brewers, after being traded for Johan Santana in 2008.
The Mets were in desperate need of a starting center fielder and Gomez was coming off a pair of All-Star seasons at the time. Milwaukee agreed to send Gomez back to New York in exchange for Flores and Zack Wheeler, who was still recovering for Tommy John surgery.
As the night wore on, fans began to see the details of the trade through social media and they brought that story into the game. Fans let Flores know he was traded with standing ovations, yet manager Terry Collins never pulled him from the game. This culminated in one of the most remembered moments in Mets history, as Flores was seen crying in the field, thinking he was about to leave the organization he had signed with at just 16 years old.
After all of the drama that had unfolded on the field, Mets GM Sandy Alderson met with the media following the game to dispute the reports of a finalized trade. Instead he said that the medical records on Gomez were not to the Mets liking and the trade was nixed, keeping both Flores and Wheeler on the Mets.
While this non-trade may have always been remembered, what transpired over the next few days is what really made it one of the most infamous moments in Mets history.
Two days after the failed trade with the Brewers, Alderson swung a deal right before the trade deadline to acquire Yoenis Cespedes from the Detroit Tigers. Then later that same night, Flores became a forever fan-favorite, when he hit a walk-off home run against the Washington Nationals in the 12th inning.
Cespedes would go on to propel New York to their first division title since 2006 and an eventual run to the World Series. Meanwhile Flores and Wheeler continued to be steady contributors with the Mets for years to come.
Flores is still the franchise’s all-time walk-off leader, with 10 game-ending hits across his six-year Mets career.
