NEW YORK, NY - SEPTEMBER 15: Pitcher Zack Wheeler #45 of the New York Mets looks on from the dugout during the seventh inning of a game against the Los Angeles Dodgers at Citi Field on September 15, 2019 in New York City.
(Photo by Rich Schultz/Getty Images)

Although the New York Yankees and New York Mets rarely engage in trade talks, they nearly had a deal for Zack Wheeler in 2019.

According to SNY’s Andy Martino, there was a tentative deal in place to send Zack Wheeler across town to the New York Yankees last season. The New York Mets were moving forward with the deal, but medical issues with another player put a stop to it.

“Because they actually did agree on a trade last July. Zack Wheeler was going to the Bronx,” Martino wrote. “I wish I had the entire deal for you but can say confidently that the teams had a tentative agreement in place before concerns about the medicals of another player squashed it.”

Ultimately, this deal fell through and the Mets held onto Wheeler through the rest of the season. The team let him walk in free agency and he cozied up with the division  Philadelphia Phillies after feeling slighted by the Mets.

New York baseball fans will have to wait for the next trade between these two, but it certainly feels like a possibility in the future.

Mets general manager Brodie Van Wagenen doesn’t seem to be wary of trading with his crosstown rival and his Yankees counterpart—Brian Cashman—would never turn his nose up at the right deal. Noah Syndergaard, Steven Matz, and once upon a time even Jacob deGrom was the subject of Yankee rumors in recent years.

With all this said, the Yankees and Mets haven’t engaged in a trade involving any significant MLB players since Mike Stanton was shipped from Flushing to the Bronx for Felix Heredia in 2004.

Although a blockbuster between these two seems possible, until it happens again, most people won’t believe the rumors. Perhaps that will change in the near future.

NY/NJ hoops reporter (NBA/NCAA) & sports betting writer for XL Media. Never had the makings of a varsity athlete.