Mets Acquire McReynolds in an Eight-Player Trade

HOLLYWOOD, Fla. — A baseball scout walked up to Jack McKeon Thursday to ask, “What’s up?” And McKeon told him about Shawn Abner and Kevin Mitchell and Stan Jefferson, three youngsters that happened to belong to the New York Mets.

“You can’t get them all at once, can you?” the scout asked.

“I can,” McKeon said.

“Then, do it!” the scout said.

And he did. McKeon had to trade away Kevin McReynolds, his best power hitter, to do so, but he has suddenly created an almost entirely new team for himself. The 1986 team was slow, but the 1987 team--to quote new Manager Larry Bowa--”will go for it.”

Officially, the trade was this: The Padres sent McReynolds, left-handed reliever Gene Walter and minor league infielder Adam Ging to the Mets for outfielders Abner and Jefferson, infielder/outfielder Mitchell and minor league pitchers Kevin Armstrong and Kevin Brown.

Unofficially, the trade was this: The Padres couldn’t get third baseman Brook Jacoby from the Indians, couldn’t get third baseman Gary Gaetti from the Twins, couldn’t get infielder Danny Tartabull from Seattle. So, if they were ever going to find a third baseman, they’d have to trade McReynolds, who was coveted by so many teams.

The Mets, especially Manager Davey Johnson, liked McReynolds, who batted .288 with 26 home runs and 96 RBI’s in 1986. The Mets won last season’s world championship with pitching and defense, but if they wanted to do the unthinkable--repeat--they needed more offense. So, for McReynolds, the Mets offered Mitchell, a third baseman among other things.

Negotiations dragged, lagged and then suddenly picked up when McKeon learned that Abner--the No. 1 player picked in the entire 1984 summer free agent draft--might be available. But if the Mets were to trade him, they wanted Walter. They got him.

Still, McKeon wanted pitching in return and got Armstrong--17-5 last season at Class A Columbia (S.C.)--and Brown, a Double-A left-hander.

To complete the deal, McKeon threw in Ging, 22, who hit .264 at Class A Reno last season.

And as soon as this was completed, the Mets proclaimed that McReynolds would be in left field on opening day and batting anywhere from third to sixth in the order. And Walter, they said, would be the second left-hander in the bullpen behind Jesse Orosco.

“The East (Division of the National League) I’m sure is mad at Jack McKeon,” said Bowa, who now couldn’t think of an easy out in the Met batting order.

Both McKeon and Bowa expect Jefferson, a 24-year-old switch-hitter and a gifted defender, to start in center field, while Mitchell, who hit .277 with 12 home runs in 108 games with the Mets last season, will start at third base. And Abner, only a 20-year-old and called “the second coming of McReynolds” by Bowa, would be given every opportunity to start in left field.

“I think we’ve instantly made San Diego a contender for ‘87,” the Mets’ Johnson said.

But where’s their power, their home run production?

“Yeah, we had the power last year,” McKeon said, “and we finished last.”

Bowa said: “Baseball people know this is a great trade for the Padres, but the baseball fans will say, ‘Who’s Jefferson? Who’s Abner?’ I’m telling you, this is a great trade. I’d love to have McReynolds and we’ll be short on home runs, but we have ingredients we didn’t have--defense and speed.”

In another trade, the Philadelphia Phillies acquired outfielder Mike Easler and a minor league pitcher from the New York Yankees for pitcher Charles Hudson and a minor leaguer.

Easler, a .294 career hitter who batted .302 with 14 home runs and 78 RBIs last season, had demanded a trade from the Yankees.

The Phillies also acquired infielder Tom Barrett, 26, who hit .267 at Double-A Albany. He is the brother of Boston second baseman Marty Barrett. The Yankees also acquired Jeff Knox, a 23-year-old right-hander who went 2-1 with a 3.60 ERA at Double-A Reading.

Shortly after the Phillie-Yankee trade, Oakland sent infielder Donnie Hill to the White Sox for pitcher Gene Nelson and a player to be named later.