Mets Trade David Cone -- Jays Seek To Shore Up Pennant-Drive Pitching

NEW YORK - National League strikeout leader David Cone, who rejected a $17 million, four-year deal from the New York Mets in spring training and appears headed for free agency, was traded today to the Toronto Blue Jays.

Cone, who led the league in strikeouts in 1990 and 1991 and had 214 this year, is 80-48 with a 3.13 ERA in his career and 13-7 with a 2.88 ERA this year. In exchange for the right-hander, the Mets got infielder Jeff Kent and a minor-leaguer to be named later, rumored to be outfielder Ryan Thompson.

"This trade came out in a very abrupt manner," said Cone, 29. "To me, this signals the end of an era. I'm sort of the last link to the arrogant Met image that we had."

Toronto, leading the AL East with a 72-55 record, two games ahead of Baltimore and 4 1/2 games ahead of Milwaukee, has been troubled by weak pitching lately and sought help down the pennant stretch.

"It's not any secret that the reason we haven't pulled away in this race from the Brewers and Orioles is that we've played very poorly since the All-Star break," Toronto General Manager Pat Gillick told ABC Radio Sports. "Most of that's attributed to our starting pitching. We've been searching for a pitcher."

With the Mets out of the pennant race, management began examining its options. New York, which began the season with the highest payroll in the majors at $44.4 million, has a 56-67 record, 14 games behind NL East-leading Pittsburgh.

"I felt I had to make the deal," Mets General Manager Al Harazin said. "At best, we'd have a 50-50 chance of signing David at the end of the season and that could even be optimistic."

Cone, whose best year was 20-3 in 1988, has a salary of $4.25 million after winning in arbitration. He said he didn't know if he wanted to sign a long-term deal with Toronto, or if he would attempt to negotiate with the Blue Jays before the end of the World Series, when the free agent filing period begins.

Cone said he still would consider signing a long-term deal with the Mets, and make a thinly veiled reference to the possibility of signing with the New York Yankees.

He said the trade may be a reflection of the Mets' change from former manager Davey Johnson's team in the mid-'80s to a new era under manager Jeff Torborg.

"The people now are more of a comfort nature in terms of personality," he said. "They're looking for a family nature. In the '80s it was anything but that. We had a lot of individuals and a lot of personality, and Davey let them express that."

Toronto has had has only two complete games in its last 44 outings, and Blue Jays starters had an ERA of 7.85 in 22 games prior Todd Stottlemyre's one-hitter against Chicago last night. That was a factor in the deal for Gillick, who called Cone one of the top five pitchers in the NL.

Toronto's staff has had problems since the All-Star break, when Juan Guzman went on the disabled list with shoulder trouble after building a 12-3 record. Only veteran Jack Morris (16-5) has performed to expectations.

Cone was available because the Mets were fearful of signing another pitcher to a big deal.

Kent, 24, is a rookie who can play second and third base. He's hitting .240 with eight home runs and 35 RBI in 65 games. He makes the minimum salary of $109,000.

Toronto has made a habit in recent years of trading for pitching late in the season. The Blue Jays got Bud Black from Cleveland in 1989, John Candelaria from Minnesota in 1990 and Tom Candiotti from Cleveland in '91. None of them re-signed with the Blue Jays for the following seasons.