By Steven Luker
The MLB trade deadline is a popular time for MLB teams to make a big difference and push towards the postseason. In this write up I am going to explain the best trades that happen during the MLB trade deadline and how it impacted the teams and what trade made each team have great moves during the MLB Trade Deadline.
What is the Top MLB Trade?
The first team we will be taking a look at is the Toronto Blue Jays and their MLB Trade Deadline trade they made for Jose Bautista and this trade didn’t happen at the deadline, it was the second deadline in 2008. The Bluejays acquired Jose Bautista from the Pittsburgh Pirates for Robinzon Diaz who was in the minors. The reason the BlueJays went for Bautista is that they needed a starting third basemen.
Bautista became a star for the BlueJays and hit a record of 54 home runs the next season and he was a great player for them and became a star with the Blue Jays. If I was to rate this trade for the BlueJays I give it a rating of success for making a good move. We saw Batustia bat heat up once he was part of the trade.
The next team we will take a look at is the Baltimore Orioles when they acquired Chris Davis and Tommy Hunter in 2011. When this trade was made it was good for the Orioles because Chris Davis was making great numbers with home runs and Tommy Hunter was lights out. Once Hunter left the Orioles the trade took a steep downfall.
The reason for the downfall is that we see Chris Davis took a mass hit in stats not racking up as many home runs and hitting below the Mendoza Line after the extension. So the trade was good at the beginning then later into the trade it fell apart so this trade gets a meh rating for being a good trade beginning and then downfall at the end of the trade. Still to this day we see the Orioles paying Chris Davis even though he is not playing anymore.
The third team we are taking a look at is when the Rays got Shane Baz, Austin Meadows, and Tyler Glasnow in 2018 This trade was when the Rays sent Chris Archer to the Pirates. You look at this trade closely and you see the Pirates give up three of their prospects at the time to the Rays at this time and these players made big impacts to the team by showing their rookie talent up on the big leagues and they made it all the way to the World Series in 2020.
Also Shane Baz had Tommy John Surgery. Meadows became a two time all star for the Rays. As for Archer he struggled with the pirates in 33 starts he had an era almost at 5. This trade receives a success rating because these players are still doing great with the Rays and they became a successful team and they started this season on one best starts in MLB history.
The fourth team we will take a look at is the 2004 Boston Red Sox trades with the Expos, Dodgers and Twins. The Expos traded Orlando Cabrera to the Red Sox, Dodgers they got Dave Roberts, and from the Twins they got Doug Mientkiewicz. This was the team that went on to win the World Series in 2004. So this trade was rated a successful trade. The reason is that the Red Sox won a World Series in that year and they made a good team for it.
The fifth team we are taking a look at is the New York Yankees and getting David Justice from the Indians. The players the Yankees sent over were Zach Day and Jake Westbrook along with outfielder Ricky Ledee. Westbrook became successful for the Cardinals. The Yankees on the other hand won the World Series that year with the help from Justice that postseason.
The sixth team we will talk about is the Cleveland Guardians and their trade that sent Bartolo Colon to the Expos in exchange for Brandon Phillips, Cliff Lee, Grady Sizemore. At the time of this trade these four players were top prospects for the Expos and people think this trade is lopsided sending three of your best prospects for a young Bartolo. The trade seemed to be great for the Guardians like Cliff Lee had one of the best seasons he had as Guardian in 2008 with 22 wins and 3 losses and Grady Sizemore was healthy for Phillips he probably played a couple seasons there with Guardians before getting sent to Reds.
The seventh team we are going to talk about is the Kansas City Royals and how they acquired Ben Zorbest from the Oakland Athletics for the pitcher we all know today, Sean Manaea. Zorbest and Johnny Cueto are part of the team that won the 2015 World Series for the Royals.
The eighth team we are going to discuss is the Detroit Tigers and getting Doug Fister in 2011. Doug Fister came into Detroit with a 3-12 record and an ERA of 3.33 but when he went to Tigers he turned it around and went 8-1 with a 1.79 ERA. Later in the time with Detroit he was one of the big four in rotation for the Tigers that had Verlander, Scherzer,Fister, and Porcello.
The ninth team we will be talking about is the Minnesota Twins and when they acquired Joe Ryan in 2021 for Nelson Cruz the outfielder not the pitcher one. Joe Ryan became a staple for the Twins bullpen and got two secondary pitches out of this trade. When you look at this trade it was a veteran player for a young player.
The tenth team we will be talking about is the Chicago White Sox and how they acquired Jose Contreras for the 2003 AL Cy Young Award winner Esteban Loaiza. Conteras struggled during the whole 2004 season and when 2005 came around he turned it around and the White Sox made it to the World Series and won it that year as well.
The eleventh team to make the club’s best trade is the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim and got Mark Teixeira from the braves for another first basemen of Casey Kotchman. Teixeira hit .358 for the Angels after being acquired and sadly Angels couldn’t retain him for 2009 season and went to the yankees but they got picked out of it and that pick turned out to be Mike Trout and the rest was history for the Angels. So if this trade didn’t happen Trout would have been a Yankee.
The twelfth team we will talk about is the Houston Astros getting Justin Verlander from the Tigers in 2017. The trade when this happened there was a ton of prospects that went to the Tigers. Verlander found success there with the Astors with their ace Dallas Keuchel at the time. Then in a couple years like 2018 or so the Astros had a lights out rotation with Verlander, Keuchel, Cole and Greinke at the time. The team won two world series together at that time.
The thirteenth team we are going to talk about is the Oakland Athletics getting Jermaine Dye in 2001 in a three team trade. Yes you heard that right a 3 team trade these kinds of trades are the rarest trades that happen in any sport and you hardly hear about these trades. This trade had two other teams the Kansas City Royals and the Colorado Rockies. In this trade Dye went from Kansas City to Colorado and then landed in Oakland. This trade made Dye great for the Oakland A’s and was part of Oakland’s push to the postseason in 2001 and 2002.
The fourteenth best trade comes from the Seattle Mariners getting Luis Castillo the pitcher last season from the Reds in the trade when this was made Seattle ended their postseason drought and they made it all the way to ALDS and Luis Castillo was lights out in the playoffs and the wildcard game he went to help ensure that postseason baseball returned to Seattle for the first time since 2001 via the ALDS against Houston one week later.
The fifteenth best trade and it comes from us from the Texas Rangers getting Elvis Andrus, Neftalí Feliz, Matt Harrison from the Braves in 2007. At the time of this trade these three players were young future stars and prospects for the Braves. This trade sent Mark Teixeira from the Rangers to the Braves that season and then the rest was history. These three players that got traded became stars and helped the Texas Rangers reach the postseason a handful of times.
The sixteenth team that made a great trade for their successful trade for their organization is the Braves getting Joc Pederson, Adam Duvall, Jorge Soler and Eddie Rosario all outfielders. This trade was made since Ronald Acuna Jr. got hurt and had a season ending injury and these outfielders helped the Braves to win a World Series in 2021.
The seventeenth team that made a successful trade is the Miami Marlins and the player the Marlins got was Ugueth Urbina in 2003 is where they send future star 1b Adrian Gonzales who went to the Rangers in this trade. Urbina, at the time the owner of 200 career saves, and the Marlins in this trade became an underdog to win the World Series that year.
The eighteenth trade that happened that was successful is with the New York Mets and they are getting Yoenis Céspedes from the Tigers for Michael Fulmer who became an ace for the tigers rotation. Céspedes became an all star and Home Run Derby Winner and then all the sudden in the later years he fell off.
The next trade that is the nineteenth successful trade is Trea Turner to the Nationals. This trade was also a three team trade and there were over 11 players in this trade. Trea Turner was the player to be named later. Trea Turner was one of the key players for the Nationals World Series in 2019.
The twentieth team was the Philadelphia Phillies making a trade to acquire Cliff Lee from the Indians in 2009. This was the season after Cliff Lee had his 20+ win season and was the Cy Young winner and Comeback player of the year. The Phillies ended up winning the World Series that year.
The twenty first team to make a great trade was the Milwaukee Brewers getting CC Sabathia in 2008 from the Indians. CC went 11-2 with ERA of 1.65 with the Brewers he was a lights out starter for them. Later after this season CC went to the Yankees to become a successful pitcher.
The twenty second best trade that happened in 2002 for the St. Louis Cardinals acquired Scott Rolen from the Phillies and they got rid of Placido Polanco, Mike Timlin and Bud Smith to the Phillies for Doug Nickie and Scott Rolen. Scott Rolen is a hall of famer of the class of 2023. Rolen was teammates with Albert Pujols in that year and was one of the great duos.
The twenty third team that made it really successful is the Cubs getting Jake Arrieta from the Orioles in 2013. People think this trade was a lopsided trade and some think it was a success trade for the Cubs. The Cubs ended up making it in the playoffs in 2016 to end their long streak of like 100 some seasons which was a long time.
The twenty fourth successful trade that was made by the Pirates in 2017 to acquire Oneil Cruz and in return the Dodgers got Tony Watson. Oneil Cruz turned into a top prospect and just recently last season was called up and showed his true potential with the Pirates and helped the young core they have.
The twenty fifth team to make a really successful trade is the Cincinnati Reds acquired Hall of Famer Scott Rolen for the Bluejays in the year 2009 for Edwin Encarnacion. This trade was meant to help leadership of this team and make a safe culture for the team and everyone gets along.
The twenty sixth team to make a successful trade is the Diamondbacks is when J.D. Martinez was acquired in 2017 and the Diamondbacks sent to the Tigers Minor Leaguers Jose King, Sergio Alcantara and Dawel Lugo. Two of the players in this trade have made their debut and one is still in the minor leagues.
The twenty seventh team to make a great splash and successful trade is the Los Angeles Dodgers in 2021 when the Dodgers acquired Max Scherzer and Trea Turner from the Nationals. This trade feels like it was yesterday when this happened. This was another trade under president of baseball operations Andrew Friedman. He also made a trade for Manny Machando in 2018 from the Orioles.
The second to last team to make a really successful trade was the San Francisco Giants in 2012 when they acquired Hunter Pence from the Phillies and they sent Nate Schierholtz and prospects Tommy Joseph and Seth Rosin. Joseph is currently the hitting coach for the Giants in the minor leagues in the Eugene Emeralds. Hunter Pence helped win a World Series that year and Pence also was an inspirational leader for them.
The last team to make a great and successful trade is the San Diego Padres and they acquired Fernando Tatis Jr. from the White Sox in 2016 in exchange for James Shields. At the time Tatis was a top prospect and a complete unknown player. Now we look at the trade today and Tatis became a outfielder for the Padres and was a former shortstop for them and they moved him to the outfielder.
Overall these are the history of successful trades in MLB history and what each team acquired and made really successful trades in the history of the game. What are your thoughts on all these trades? Do you think any of the trades that will happen this trade deadline will make history or not let us know down in the comments.
https://www.mlb.com/news/best-trade-deadline-moves-this-century
