So back in December 2007, the Mets traded Lastings Milledge for Ryan Church and Brian Schneider. A trade of the future for the present. How’d that work out?

Well, in the case of Church, the Mets didn’t get very much, between an injury-plagued 2007, a middling 2008, and the power hitter with no power, Jeff Francoeur.

As for Brian Schneider, the trade actually produced a negative. Earlier this year, the Mets would have loved to cut bait on Schneider- but were forced to deal Ramon Castro instead, because Schneider makes $4.9 million, and is neither an offensive or defensive standout.

That latter point is the one that surprises me. I knew his reputation in Washington was one of a strong defensive catcher. Sorry, but it hasn’t been the case in New York. Case in point was last night, when a 3-2 game became 3-3, despite a strong relay throw from Alex Cora, because Schneider didn’t block the plate.

And this seems to happen a lot with Schneider. Check his numbers: his caught-stealing rate hovers in the low thirties, which is fine, but nothing special. He has a generous supply of passed balls and wild pitches each season. In short, if you hit like Brian Schneider, you can’t field like Brian Schneider and be worth anything close to $4.9 million.

So now we know what the present was: a dissappointing, overpaid catcher and a decent right fielder dealt for a 25-year-old with no discernable hitting skills other than swinging hard.  (For fun, contrast Milledge’s .380 slugging percentage as a 21-year-old-his lowest in any big-league season- with Francoeur’s .359 last season and .353 this season.)

Milledge hit a pair of home runs in a rehab stint this past Wednesday, with a single and a double Thursday, and will join the Pirates soon. We’ve seen the present; now Mets fans get to watch the future. And with the small return they got from Church and Schneider, anything Milledge provides is going to tip the deal against New York.

(As for Mike’s contention that Derek Lowe looked like a top of the rotation starter last night-well, I’ll save it for the Sunday show. We’ll agree to disagree for now!)

Howard Megdal is the Editor-in-Chief of The Perpetual Post. He covers baseball, basketball and soccer for Capital New York, MLBTradeRumors.com, New York Baseball Digest and has written for ESPN.com as well as numerous other publications. He is the Poet Laureate for SBNation New York. His book about Jewish baseball players, “The Baseball Talmud,” is available for purchase on Amazon.com and wherever books are sold. His next book, "Taking The Field", is available for pre-order on Amazon.com and will publish in May 2011.

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Tags: Brian Schneider, Jeff Francoeur, Lastings Milledge, New York Mets, Ryan Church