Lately, the Mets have suffered from baseball’s version of Murphy’s Law. Just when it looks like the team has hit rock bottom, something happens to bring about a new low. Most recently, the Mets decided to eat the final $6 million remaining on the contract of much maligned second baseman Luis Castillo, who then promptly signed with the rival Phillies. Although Sandy Alderson stated that he was fully aware of the possibility that Castillo could resurface in the division, you can bet everyone connected with the Mets cringed a bit at the thought of their albatross rising like a phoenix in Philadelphia.
The Mets finally threw in the towel on Oliver Perez by releasing lefty with $12 million left on his contract.
At some point, the Mets’ luck has to turn, but it almost seems inevitable that Castillo will rebound with the Phillies (although, he didn’t get off to a good start on his first day in camp). About the only thing worse would be if Oliver Perez, another Mets’ castoff who was released with $12 million remaining on his deal, resurfaced in the Bronx.
Almost immediately after the Mets’ decided to waive Perez, a report surfaced on Twitter suggesting that the Yankees had a mild interest in signing the erratic lefty. Just as quickly, however, GM Brain Cashman emphatically disavowed any interest in the Mets’ castoff, allowing both Yankees’ and Mets’ fans to breath a sigh of relief.
It’s easy to understand why the Mets would prefer to keep Perez out of town, but are the Yankees being a little short sighted? After all, taking a gamble on the Mets’ misfortune continuing seems like a pretty safe bet. Then again, karma has a way of meting out justice to those who prey on other’s misfortune, so steering clear of Perez is undoubtedly the way to go.
Whether the Mets are cursed by Murphy’s Law or just the residue of poor decisions, the chances of Perez resurfacing with success are slim to say the least. And, if history is an indicator, the chance of any player having success upon transferring between New York teams isn’t very good. In almost 50 years, there has been very little direct player movement between the cross town rivals, and when it does occur, the transactions are usually very minor in nature.
Cross Town Transfers
| Player | From | Year | WAR | To | Year | WAR |
| Bob Friend | Yankees | 1966 | -0.5 | Mets | 1966 | -0.5 |
| Hal Reniff | Yankees | 1967 | -0.4 | Mets | 1967 | 0.1 |
| Rick Cerone | Yankees | 1990 | 0.9 | Mets | 1991 | 1.4 |
| Lee Gutterman | Yankees | 1992 | -0.9 | Mets | 1992 | -1 |
| Mike Stanton | Yankees | 2002 | 1.8 | Mets | 2003 | -0.1 |
| Karim Garcia | Yankees | 2003 | 0.3 | Mets | 2004 | -0.4 |
| Miguel Cairo | Yankees | 2004 | 2 | Mets | 2005 | -0.3 |
| Player | From | Year | WAR | To | Year | WAR |
| Rafael Santana | Mets | 1987 | 0.3 | Yankees | 1988 | -0.9 |
| Paul Gibson | Mets | 1993 | -0.1 | Yankees | 1993 | 0.2 |
| Robin Ventura | Mets | 2001 | 2.3 | Yankees | 2002 | 3.9 |
| Tony Clark | Mets | 2003 | -0.4 | Yankees | 2004 | 0.4 |
| Mike Stanton | Mets | 2004 | 1 | Yankees | 2005 | -0.2 |
| Miguel Cairo | Mets | 2005 | -0.3 | Yankees | 2006 | 0.5 |
Note: Based on players who had consecutive seasons with at least 100 AB or 30 IP for the Yankees and Mets.
Source: Baseball-reference.com
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