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, who was acquired by the Toronto Mets in the Steven Matz deal on January 27, was sent to Boston 13 days later in the three-team deal that sent Andrew Benintendi to Kansas City and surrendered the Mets outfield prospect Khalil Lee.
Winckowski said he was playing video games with former members of the Blue Jays minor league when he heard it had been negotiated 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 was getting late in the game and it was getting really intense, but I turned around and got two calls from my agent, a voice message and some friends texting me, ‘What’s going on?’
“I’m like, ‘I think something crazy is going on. Can we end this game? ‘So we came in third and I finally checked with my agent and he sure said,’ You were dealt with the Red Sox. ‘ I’m like, ‘No way.’ I mean, I was Met for a week and a half. It was so surprising. You always know it’s a possibility, but … it was really surprising. I expected to play a little bit for Mets, at least. “
Winckowski, 22, grew up in the Fort Myers area, where the Red Sox trains. He received an invitation to major league spring training for the first time in his career.
“At Jays, I really didn’t think it would ever be traded,” said Winckowski. “The initial negotiation of the Jays was super surprising. So the Mets switch to me and you have 20 to 25 calls and you’re just trying to get used to and describe a lot of things. “
The Mets then moved Winckowski and a player to be named later to sign Lee, 22, who was classified as the 8th Royals candidate by the MLB. The field player stole 53 bases in 2019 at Double-A Northwest Arkansas with a .264 / .363 / .374 cut line.