Before there was Jarred Kelenic, there was Scott Kazmir.

Like Kelenic, Kazmir was a top Mets prospect who was traded for an underwhelming return in an attempt to turn things around quickly and make a postseason run.

The Kazmir trade went down right before the trade deadline of 2004, when he was shipped off to the Tampa Bay Devil Rays for starting pitcher Victor Zambrano.

The Mets were 49-53 at the time of the trade, so even if they did go on a run, it would have required playing a game of catch up and playing at a high level that they hadn’t even proven they could that season anyway.

Zambrano pitched in just three games for the Mets after the trade in 2004, while Kazmir went on to debut for the Devil Rays and became one of their premier pitchers over the next few seasons.

Zambrano pitched in 31 games for New York in 2005 and had 1.4 fWAR on the campaign. The right-hander pitched briefly in ’06 for the Mets but was hurt and pitched in just five games.

The 2006 Mets were special. They mixed marquee pickups with homegrown talent and reinvigorated a fan base that didn’t have a lot to be excited about for several years.

Their Achilles’ heel, however, was their pitching situation.

The rotation was led by ace Pedro Martinez, followed by veterans Tom Glavine and Orlando Hernandez. After that, the corps took a bit of a dip.

Regardless, they had a potent offense and a back end of their bullpen that featured Duaner Sanchez and Billy Wagner.

Going into the postseason though, Martinez and Hernandez were absent after getting hurt and Sanchez was out for the year after being involved in a taxi accident prior to the trade deadline.

The team went into the playoffs with a decimated rotation and a bullpen that now leaned heavy on their closer.

We all know how things played out. The Game 7 heartbreak that sent even the most rugged and stoic fans home in tears.

The Cardinals, who by all means were an inferior team to the Mets, upset the blue and orange then went on to beat the Tigers in the World Series.

As an 11-year-old, I always wonder what could have been. That Mets team was special and those guys were like superheroes to me. If they just had enough pitching, could they have had the stamina to win it all?

Obviously, it’s not always that simple, but imagine a Mets team that year that also packed a punch by having Kazmir in the rotation.

Things could have looked a lot different that postseason if the team hadn’t traded Kazmir a couple years prior.

With the Devil Rays in 2006, a team that lost 101 games, Kazmir put up 3.6 fWAR. Had he been on the Mets that kind of production would have led the rotation.

In the NLCS that year, Glavine and John Maine pitched two games apiece, while Oliver Perez (acquired after Sanchez got hurt) pitched two to mixed results and Steve Trachsel got lit up in his one start.

Having Kazmir would have softened the blow of losing both Martinez and Hernandez and would have given them more stability for a stretch run.

Of course, it’s hard to ignore that it’s always a team effort and the Mets were flawed in several aspects, so who knows if Kazmir would have made a difference, but when you consider what he went on to do and what Zambrano did, it’s a tough pill to swallow.