No, it's not. Again, you could have required a key middle reliever for much less than your HOF minor league pitcher. You could have gotten that key middle reliever for your 10th best prospect, but instead because "whatever you did to acquire players who contributed" to a championship thinking, you've grossly overpaid.

By overpaying, you've reduced your chance at winning in the future and made no change to your chance of winning in the present.

Hopefully the Mets aren't actually run this poorly.

I think there is a difference between a trade being "worth it" and being a "good trade" on paper.

Again, in answering the original question, the winning has happened. IF you've already won, then ANY deal for anyone who contributed is worth it. Or you can chase maybes for another 20 years.

To repeat, at the time of the trade, the must make sense. But if the trade is in the past (Cano), then AFTER you win, all's good.

That depends on just how much Cano and Diaz contribute. If Cano is actually hitting and Diaz becomes at least a competent closer, then sure you can make the case the ends justify the means even though it's hindsight thinking since no trade guarantees a title. If we're talking about a team that wins in spite of Cano and Diaz being 2019-ish level or worse that's another story.

I did say, "anyone who contributed

So what you're saying is that in retrospect, my hypothetical 35 year old middle inning reliever for the #1 prospect and future HOFer is a good trade if the team wins? And in retrospect it was a terrible trade if they lose game 7 of the WS in 18 innings?

Good management is about getting each decision right, regardless of outcomes which dependent on a range of variables not least of which is luck.

If they win the World Series I don't care how they got there

FWIW:

The Mets were named Baseball America's "Organization of the Year" in 1995. When they made the playoffs in 1999 for the first time in 11 years, only three of the top ten prospects on the list (Rey-O, Fonzie, and Payton) where on the roster. In fairness, Preston Wilson was part of the package that landed Piazza.

Of that list, only Fonzie had an MLB career of any real note. The rest where either injured pitchers, or outfielders with low OPS. Some OK careers, but nothing spectacular.

While organizational kudos are nice, no one (except me apparently) remembers them. It's the pennant over the stadium that's the only thing that matters. And by any means necessary.

AJ Burnett was in the Al Leiter trade- and had a run where he was considered a #2-3 type SP.


But that was a great trade for the Mets and AJ's prime years weren't even with Florida.

But they didn’t win a championship

I’ll take getting to the LCS or World Series too, even if we don’t win it. It’s why the Cespedes trade was worth it for me even if Fulmer had ended up becoming a Cy Young.