Mets trade rumors: Medical concerns reportedly kill deal for Carlos Gomez

Tom Gatto

Mets trade rumors: Medical concerns reportedly kill deal for Carlos Gomez image

The Mets have been rumored to be in the hunt for a "big bat" ahead of Friday's MLB non-waiver trade deadline. They appeared to have bagged one Wednesday night. Word then came that they hadn't. 

New York reportedly was set to acquire outfielder Carlos Gomez from the Brewers in exchange for right-hander Zack Wheeler and infielder Wilmer Flores, pending physicals. Those physicals proved to be deal-breakers.

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First, Mets general manager Sandy Alderson stunned the media after New York's game against San Diego when he said the reports of a trade were premature.

The deal reportedly fell through after a review of those medical records. Wheeler is recovering from Tommy John surgery and Gomez has had a hamstring strain and discomfort in his hip this year.

“I can’t get into any of the physicals,” Melvin told Tom Haudricourt of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel late Wednesday night. “I was confident the deal would get done but there was a level of discomfort that came up and so it didn’t work out.

"Sandy and I thought the trade would work out and we thought it was a good trade for both teams. All trades are contingent on medical information being exchanged and they aren’t official until that is done and we announce it."

Gomez's agent, Scott Boras, moved swiftly to protect his client's value.

USA Today's Bob Nightengale reported the Brewers are still expected to trade Gomez in the next two days.

Before the deal collapsed, a poignant scene played out in New York. Flores was not removed from Wednesday's game, as is customary when trades are about to be completed, until the bottom of the ninth inning, which drew criticism from fans and the media. Fans at Citi Field gave him a standing ovation when he came to bat in the bottom of the seventh inning. An emotional Flores then went out to the field for the eighth inning.

An angry Mets manager Terry Collins told reporters he kept Flores in because he hadn't been informed of a trade. 

Alderson told reporters he apologized to Flores after the game.

Gomez and the Brewers played Wednesday afternoon in San Francisco; he and his teammates were on their flight back to Milwaukee when reports of a potential trade reached them.

Maldonado, the Brewers' backup catcher, later corrected himself:

Gomez, 29, would have represented a significant offensive upgrade over current Mets center fielder Juan Lagares. Entering Wednesday's game, Gomez had a .266/.332/.423 slash line with eight home runs and 43 RBIs in 74 games. Last season he slashed .284/.356/.477 and hit 23 home runs. 

Wheeler, 25, compiled a 3.54 ERA, a 1.33 WHIP and 187 strikeouts in 185 1/3 innings last season. He came to the Mets from the Giants on July 28, 2011, in a deadline trade for Carlos Beltran.

Flores, who will turn 24 on Aug. 6, can play all four infield positions but likely would have become the Brewers' everyday third baseman in place of the traded Aramis Ramirez. He is third on the Mets with 10 home runs and has driven in 40 runs this season.

The Mets were rumored to be pursuing slugging outfielders such as the Padres' Justin Upton, the Reds' Jay Bruce, the Rockies' Carlos Gonzalez, the Brewers' Gerardo Parra and the Tigers' Yoenis Cespedes in addition to Gomez. All can help New York's offense, which is last in the majors in runs scored.

The trade would have represented a homecoming for Gomez. The Mets signed him as an international free agent out of the Dominican Republic in 2002. He was part of the package New York sent to the Twins in exchange for left-hander Johan Santana in February 2008.

This article has been updated with Alderson and Melvin saying no deal will be completed, and the reported reasons why.

Tom Gatto

Tom Gatto Photo

Tom Gatto joined The Sporting News as a senior editor in 2000 after 12 years at The Herald-News in Passaic, N.J., where he served in a variety of roles including sports editor, and a brief spell at APBNews.com in New York, where he worked as a syndication editor. He is a 1986 graduate of the University of South Carolina.