Trades are something that everyone participates in whether we believe it or not. Whether it’s kids in grade school, trading a cookie for someone’s peanut butter sandwich, or MLB managers trading away their team’s future for an All-star slugger. But sometimes trades are unbalanced and pulling off a successful trade can be a challenge for General Managers in any sport. But what about trades that are so outrageous that fans go as far as to say that it ruined their team? Here are ten of the worst trades that ruined an MLB Franchise.
10. Hanley Ramírez and Aníbal Sánchez
Hanley Ramírez and Aníbal Sánchez were new to the world of professional baseball, when they found, themselves being shipped to Florida along with Harvey Garcia, and Jesus Delgado to play for the Marlins. The team that traded the young players was the Boston Red Sox, who soon learned that despite getting three players in return, got the short end of the stick. Ramírez and Sánchez ended up having successful careers in the MLB, with Ramírez collecting three All-Star appearances. The players that the Sox got in return ended up having decent careers but did not exceed expectations like Ramírez and Sánchez.
9. Nolan Arenado Notches Another All-star Appearance
This one may still be a fresh wound for fans of the Colorado Rockies. In 2021, before the start of the season, Nolan Arenado was growing frustrated with Colorado Rockies general manager Jeff Bridich. In lieu of Arenado looking for a way to leave Colorado and finding a potential out in his contract, the Rockies wanted something of value for the third baseman. Fans were expecting a king’s ransom for the then, five-time All-star to make up for losing such a valuable player. But instead of a player to replace Arenado, the Rockies sent him to Saint Louis for Austin Gomber, Eleheuris Montero, Mateo Gil, Tony Locey, and Jake Sommers.
Just two years after the trade, Gomber and Montero are the only players, of the five included in the trade package to still be on the Rockies’ active roster. Arenado has gone on to be named an All-star every year he has been with Saint Louis, and the Rockies have finished last in the NL West for the past two years.
8. Fernando Tatis. Jr. Makes His MLB Debut
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The saying “you don’t know what you have until it’s gone” applies to many things, but it especially applies to sports. Fernando Tatis Jr. is one of the biggest names in professional baseball right now. In 2016, the White Sox needed pitching help, and they traded the rights to then-17-year-old Fernando Tatis Jr. and Erik Johnson, both of whom were minor leaguers at the time of the trade, to the San Diego Padres. In return, the White Sox got James Shields, who went 16-35 as a pitcher for Chicago and retired just three years after being traded to his new team.
Tatis Jr. however, has become arguably the most exciting player in baseball, collecting first All-Star selection in 2021. While he has struggled off the field, the future is bright for Tatis Jr. and the Padres.
7. Pirates Get Robbed
In 2018, the Pittsburgh Pirates traded pitcher, Tyler Glasnow, outfielder, Austin Meadows, and after some haggling, pitcher Shane Baz to the Tampa Bay Rays in exchange for two-time All-Star selection Chris Archer. Since the trade in 2018, Glasnow has notched 23 wins as the Rays’ starting pitcher; Meadows earned his first career All-Star appearance in 2019, and Baz has worked his way up from the minor league to the majors. Archer, however, did not pan out as Pittsburgh wanted, and after going 6-12 as a starting pitcher for the Pirates, was ironically traded back to Tampa Bay in 2021.
6. From Minor-League to Hall of Fame
In 1987, the Detroit Tigers were searching to add more depth in the pitching department, and thought they struck gold when they traded double-A pitcher John Smoltz to Atlanta for experienced veteran pitcher Doyle Alexander. Alexander did earn an All-star nod while in Detroit, but the Tigers whiffed on the trade, and the double-A pitcher they sent to the Atlanta Braves ended up being an eight-time All-star selection and was inducted into the MLB Hall of Fame in 2015.
5. Bagwell Secures The Bag
In 1990, the Boston Red Sox were in the market for a new pitcher. The Red Sox made a trade with the Houston Astros, and received veteran pitcher Larry Anderson in exchange for then, minor leaguer Jeff Bagwell. Bagwell went on to play fifteen years with the Houston Astros before retiring in 2005. During his career, Bagwell was an All-Star four times and was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 2017. Larry Anderson however only played one season for the Red Sox and had only 25 strikeouts, 43 less than he did the previous season.
4. Mets Make a Mistake
Nolan Ryan finished his fifth year in the MLB as a member of the New York Mets before being included in a trade package that sent Ryan, Leroy Stanton, Don Rose, and Frank Estrada to the then-California Angels in exchange for Jim Fregosi. The deal seemed to be fair at the time, but despite receiving an All-Star infielder the Mets certainly got the raw end of this deal. Stanton, Rose, and Estrada did not do much for the Angels, but Nolan Ryan certainly did, becoming an eight-time All-star and a hall-of-fame pitcher. Fregosi played a total of two seasons for the Mets, and his performance was underwhelming. The Mets sure wish they could redo that trade.
3. Brock Rocks!
Lou Brock is known as one of the most successful base stealers in MLB history, and contributed to the Cardinals championship runs in 1964, and 1967. In 1964, Brock was traded from the Chicago Cubs to the St. Louis Cardinals in exchange for Ernie Broglio, who was one of the league’s best pitchers at the time. Broglio only played three seasons with the Cardinals before ending his MLB career. Meanwhile, Brock went to become a six-time All-star with the Cardinals and helped the team win the World Series.
2. Frank Robinson
In 1966 the Cincinnati Reds traded 30-year-old Frank Robinson to the Baltimore Orioles, assuming that his career had already peaked, after already notching six All-Star selections. In exchange the Reds received pitcher Milt Pappas, who played only two years for the Reds; and Jack Baldschun who also played two years with the Reds. Robinson, however, proved to the Reds, and the MLB as a whole that his age was just a number, and added six more All-Star nominations to his name, before retiring in 1976.
1. Woah Babe!
Babe Ruth played for the Boston Red Sox for six years before being traded to the New York Yankees. Babe Ruth is partially credited with turning the New York Yankees into the powerhouse of the 1920s and 30s. The Red Sox faced decades of championship droughts following the Babe Ruth trade, but for the Great Bambino and the New York Yankees, the trade was a match made in heaven.
