Wilmer Flores has been far better than Carlos Gomez since the trade deadline

Let's flash back for a second. It's July 29 and Wilmer Flores is standing out at shortstop with tears rolling down his cheeks. He just heard that he is being shipped to the Milwaukee Brewers with Zack Wheeler for center fielder Carlos Gomez. Flores is leaving the only organization he has ever known, as he has been with the Mets since he was 16 years old. Mets fans are elated to be adding the power bat of Gomez to the middle of their order, which is need of a big bopper.

As we all know by now, the deal fell through with the Mets and Brewers pointing fingers at one another over who backed out. Gomez was subsequently dealt to the Houston Astros with teammate Mike Fiers.

However, we've all heard the old baseball adage that sometimes the best trades are the ones you don't make; case in point, since the non-trade Flores has been on fire, hitting a ridiculous .343 to go along with four home runs, 14 RBIs, and a .993 OPS. Not to mention, Flores's defense has picked up as well. Just last night he made a terrific diving stop in a defensive shift against Ryan Howard and threw him out.

Now for Carlos Gomez. As a member of the Houston Astros, Gomez is batting a paltry .181 with only one home run and four RBIs. His OPS is .459. Instead of Gomez, the Mets went out and acquired Yoenis Cespedes, who is batting .312 with six home runs since the trade. Cespedes has knocked in 18 runs in only 20 games with his new team.

Over the long-term, Carlos Gomez is probably a better bet than Wilmer Flores. For now, though, the Mets are perfectly happy to have Flores and Cespedes, who have helped them build a five-and-a-half-game lead in the NL East.