On July 30, 2006, almost exactly nine years ago, the Mets lost valuable setup reliever Duaner Sanchez when he separated his shoulder in a taxi accident. With just a day to go before the trade deadline, the Mets scrambled to find a replacement, trading starting rightfielder Xavier Nady for reliever Roberto Hernandez and a struggling starting pitcher named Oliver Perez.
At least this time around, Sandy Alderson already had a replacement lined up when Jennry Mejia was suspended again for PEDs. I wasn't sure why Alderson was worrying about the bullpen with the lineup in such disarray, but perhaps he knew the Mejia suspension was coming.