I think that Eiland and Adkins, removed from the insanity and pressure that they came into in New York and be far more effective ITTL, plus I think Muelens will develop a more patient bat in Seattle, something a string of poor hitting coaches and, again, pressure to perform at an all-star level right out of Triple A in New York messed with him.
Seattle was (and still is) very good at developing young talent. Take Johnson himself for example. Griffey Jr., Tino Martinez, Jay Buhner, etc...all developed by Seattle into the players they became.
Buhner in TTL developed a bit earlier and more successfully than OTL while staying in New York because of the Chambliss as Piniella's hitting coach and Gene Michael's dedication to building a solid core of young players (TTL: Drabek, Buhner, Morris, Kelly and Leiter) POD and getting steady work in the majors much sooner than he did OTL.
Langston's not the only player leaving Seattle in the 1988-89 off-season...the next player to go is going to bring in a very valuable piece to that puzzle.
It's not Johnson, but it's close...
Meanwhile, the Mets just keep on dealing...
December 23, 1988, the Mets continued the dealing, seeking to fill the hole left in right field by the Strawberry trade and get younger at first base...
Mets get: RF Darrin Jackson and 1B Rafael Palmeiro*
Cubs get: RP Randy Meyers and RP Roger McDowell
Jackson's trade value would never be higher than it was in December of '88: He was 23, coming off a killer season at Triple A Iowa in '87 (.273, 23 HR's, 81 RBIs, 13 steals in 132 games) and a strong showing with the Cubs in 1988 (.266, 6, 20, 4 in 100 games and 188 ABs).
Palmeiro is 23 and coming off a strong season of his own (.307, 8, 53 in 152 games in 1988.) and is a young option with great potential to replace an aging Keith Hernandez at 1st.
Butterfly: Jamie Moyer's staying in Chicago and gets a chance to continue to develop in the same system that made Gregg Maddux the major league stud he became. Palmerio may not 'roid up like he did in Texas. Thing is, being that we now know he's of questionable character, he may very well juice in Queens too. Figure he's 50/50.
One thing's for sure: The Cubbies are going to be
very tough ITTL with Maddux, Moyer*, Sutcliffe, Bielecki and Sanderson in the rotation and Myers and McDowell in the bullpen in '89.
Speaking of the Mariners...
On that same day:
Orioles get: 2B Harold Reynolds#
Mariners get: 2B Juan Bell, P Curt Schilling and OF Steve Finley*.
(See what I meant?

)
And nobody's done trading yet...more trades to come and maybe a few FA's will sign before the 1st of the year.