Omar Minaya Regrets Nixing Zack Wheeler Trade With Yankees

The Yankees almost acquired Zack Wheeler from the Mets before the 2019 trade deadline, but a Subway swap never materialized. It turns out a new member of the Yankees’ front office is to blame.

Former Mets general manager and longtime executive Omar Minaya joined the Yankees as a senior adviser to the baseball operations department on Thursday. While chatting on Zoom, he discussed his past dealings with Yankees general manager Brian Cashman and reflected on the near deal for Wheeler.

Brodie Van Wagenen was the Mets’ general manager at the time, but Minaya, serving as a special assistant, was engaged with Cashman. Minaya said he ultimately backed out of a trade that would have sent the talented Wheeler across town.

"I'm not gonna name the guys, but there was a trade in place, I think,” Minaya recalled between laughs. “I said, 'I don't know. I'm gonna pass on that.' Looking back on it right now, I think... the names that he gave us were guys that maybe we should have taken."

Minaya didn’t divulge any other details, other than to say Aaron Judge wasn’t part of the package.

A deal involving Wheeler, who’s now a member of the Phillies, would have been one of the most significant trades ever agreed to by the New York rivals. Such deals are rare, though the Yankees did send Joely Rodríguez to the Mets for fellow reliever Miguel Castro last April.

Minaya also noted the December 2004 trade in which he sent Mike Stanton to the Yankees for Felix Heredia.