Keith Hernandez has seen enough.
In another dreadful bludgeoning of the Mets on Wednesday, where the visiting Cubs won 10-3, the Mets legend made a bold statement about one trade from the past.
In the top of the fifth inning, Cubs star Pete Crow-Armstrong scored the first run for Chicago on ex-Met Michael Conforto’s RBI double. As Crow-Armstrong rounded the bases, Hernandez lamented the trade that sent him to the Windy City on the SNY broadcast alongside Gary Cohen and Ron Darling.
“Oh my goodness. … One of the worst trades in a long while by the Mets,” Hernandez griped.
At the 2021 trade deadline, Crow-Armstrong was traded from New York to Chicago in exchange for shortstop Javier Baez, reliever Trevor Williams, and cash considerations.
“Well, they got six good weeks out of Javy Baez. … Now they’ve gotta watch this guy,” Cohen replied.
It’s true: the Mets did get six good weeks out of Baez. In 47 games with the Mets, Baez batted .299 with nine home runs. But the Mets wound up missing the playoffs that year, and Baez went to Detroit in the offseason.
Crow-Armstrong, meanwhile, is having a great season thus far, batting .287 with 17 homers. The Cubs alreaduy have locked him down until 2033, as his six-year, $115 million extension kicks in next year.
To summarize, the Cubs have a potential superstar on their hands for the next seven years, and the Mets have neither of the players they traded him for.
Heading into Thursday night’s second game of a split doubleheader between the two teams, the Cubs are 42-37 even after skidding as of late.
The Mets are 34-45 with seemingly every day bringing a new challenge to getting back to serious contention in the wild-card race.
Hernandez might not be so far off.