Victor Zambrano and Kris Benson – New York Mets
Here’s a two-for-one special the Mets likely wish they could undo. Deciding to make an improbable push for the playoffs in 2004, they made a pair of big additions to their rotation on the day before the trade deadline, acquiring Victor Zambrano from the then Tampa Bay Devil Rays and Kris Benson from the Pittsburgh Pirates. The club hoped the two hurlers would help lighten the load for 38-year-olds Tom Glavine and Al Leiter.
In the forgettable early years of the Devil Rays franchise, Zambrano was pretty much as good as it got when it came to starting pitching. The right-hander led the team with nine wins and a 4.43 ERA upon being traded. He made only three starts for the Mets in 2004 before elbow trouble shut him down for the rest of the year.
Upon returning in 2005, he managed a mediocre 4.17 ERA in 31 appearances, and in 2006 he was limited to five outings and a bloated 6.75 ERA before a torn flexor tendon ended his season. By the next year, he had signed a minor league contract with the Blue Jays.
Benson wasn’t much better, putting up a 4.23 ERA and 1.25 WHIP in parts of two seasons with the Mets in 2004-2005. In January 2006, he was shipped to the Orioles amidst rumors that team officials had grown tired of his model wife’s antics.
The most maligned part of the whole ordeal is that the Mets gave up top prospect Scott Kazmir in the Zambrano trade. It took a little while for the coveted lefty to establish himself at the major league level, but by 2008 he was a two-time All-Star with a career 3.61 ERA and a World Series appearance under his belt.
While the Mets certainly aren’t lacking for talented young arms right now, they surely would have preferred to have Kazmir back then over the lackluster combination of Zambrano and Benson.
Next: Fading Hall of Famer