Hoffberger requested Cashen to leave the Orioles and return to the Carling National Brewery as senior vice president of marketing and sales.

In 1981, Cashen promoted Hubie Brooks and Mookie Wilson to the majors for spring training and then traded for brash home run hitter Dave Kingman.

In 1982, Cashen delighted New York fans by trading for former unanimous MVP, George Foster, who then signed a five-year, $10 million contract with the club.

[3] While Cashen was largely credited for building the Mets into the 1986 World Champions, he was quickly vilified for dismantling the franchise when a dynasty never materialized.

In return, the Mets received the hugely disappointing Juan Samuel as well as Frank Viola (who won 20 games in 1990 but was otherwise only average in less than three seasons with New York), Jeff Musselman (out of baseball after 1990), and four players who never played in the majors.

Hernandez, Carter, and World Series MVP Ray Knight were either released or granted free agency in the years following the championship.

[1] After stumbling to a fifth-place finish in 1991, Cashen stepped down as the Mets' general manager, just five years after the franchise won the title.

[1] Following his tenure as general manager of the Mets, Cashen continued working with the team in various capacities, including chief operating officer in 1992 and consultant in 1993.

[8] In November 1998, the Mets general manager, Steve Phillips, took time off to address a sexual harassment lawsuit and Cashen was named interim GM for a week.

[9][10] Cashen was inducted into the New York Mets Hall of Fame[3] on August 1, 2010, alongside Davey Johnson, Dwight Gooden, and Darryl Strawberry.