In 2001, the New York Mets and Philadelphia Phillies were pushing for a playoff berth. The Mets were coming off of a National League Pennant. The Phillies hadn’t been to the postseason since losing in the 1993 World Series.

Who better to ask for some help than their fellow NL East contender? 

Four pitchers ended up involved in this July 27, 2001 deal. In retrospect, with both teams missing the playoffs and no one pitching outstandingly well, there wasn’t a clear winner. Maybe if we dive a little deeper we can find someone victorious.

Did anyone win this Mets-Phillies trade deadline deal from 2001?

The Mets sent the Phillies reliever Turk Wendell and Dennis Cook. In return, they received starting pitcher Bruce Chen and prospect Adam Walker. 

A fan-favorite in New York, Wendell was pitching to a 3.51 ERA at the time of the trade. He imploded in Philadelphia, seeing it eject to 7.47 in 21 appearances. He’d end up injured for all of the 2002 season, finally giving the Phillies some satisfaction in 2003 when he threw 64 innings and had a 3.38 ERA. The Phillies didn’t sniff the playoffs with Wendell around.

Cook hadn’t been pitching as well for the Mets at the time of the deal, but had similar results. His 4.25 ERA in New York went up to 5.59 for Philadelphia. He made 19 appearances spanning only 9.2 innings for them in the pre-three-batter-minimum rule era. Together, Wendell and Cook provided Philadelphia with few answers to their bullpen.

Walker never made it to the majors, but Chen was a significant starter for the Mets down the stretch. In 11 starts, he had a 4.68 ERA. It was down from the 5.00 with Philadelphia. Good enough for the back of the rotation, a number that might not immediately jump out helps the case for this to be a Mets win.

Although Chen wasn’t superb, the Mets were 9-2 in the starts he did make for them. Wendell was awarded two losses to his stat sheet alone. Significant enough, this makes the Amazins the winners.

Was it an epic season-changing trade for the Mets? Not even close. A win is still a win even if it’s as much about the othe rteam losing the trade.

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