Josh Winckowski was a member of the Mets for less than two weeks before being traded for the second time this winter.
The right-handed pitcher, purchased by the Mets in Toronto on January 27 in the Steven Matz deal, was sent to Boston 13 days later in the three-team deal that sent Andrew Benintendi to Kansas City and defeated the Mets outfield has. prospect Khalil Lee.
Winckowski said he was playing video games with former minor teammates in the Blue Jays organization when he learned he was being treated again.
“We were in the middle of the game and I could feel my phone ringing on my desk,” Winckowski told WEEI in Boston. It started later in the game, and it got pretty intense, but I relayed it and had two calls from my agent, a voicemail and some friends who sent me a message: ‘What’s up? ? ‘
“I’m like, ‘I think something’s going on. Can we finish this game? “So we’re coming in like a third place, and I’m finally going to inquire with my agent and surely, he’s like, ‘You were traded to the Red Sox.’ I’m like, ‘No way.’ I mean, I was a Met for a week and a half. It was just so amazing. You always know it’s a possibility, but … it was just really surprising. I was expecting to play at least a little bit for the Mets. ‘
The 22-year-old Winckowski grew up in the Fort Myers area where the Red Sox train. For the first time in his career, he received an invitation for spring training in the major leagues.
“On the Jays, I really did not think I would ever trade,” Winckowski said. ‘The initial trade of the Jays was very surprising. So the Mets trade for me, and you have 20-25 calls and you’re just trying to get used to it and you describe yourself a whole lot. ‘
The Mets later named Winckowski and a player to land the 22-year-old Lee, 22, who was named the prospect of the Royals by the MLB pipeline. The midfielder stole 53 bases at Double-A Northwest Arkansas in 2019 with a .264 / .363 / .374 dash.