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Worst baseball trades thread, or, why did the Cubs trade Lou Brock?

Discussion in 'Sports and News' started by novelist_wannabe, Jan 31, 2009.

  1. Piotr Rasputin

    Piotr Rasputin New Member

    1994: L.A, Dodgers trade Pedro Martinez for Delino DeShields, straight up.

    A year after he led a mediocre Dodger team with 10 wins out of the bullpen, LA(sorda?) felt Pedro lacked the frame and stamina to be an effective starting pitcher. The team needed more speed.

    Pedro became Pedro in almost no time. DeShields spent his entire LA tenure bitching about his role and batting lower than his then-.277 career average.

    Sports Illustrated's 1994 MLB preview had a whole article dedicated to the trade, calling it "that rare baseball trade: the kind that helps both teams."

    A close second in recent Dodger history is when they traded in their self-respect to sign JD Drew.
     
  2. outofplace

    outofplace Well-Known Member

    It was Aramis Ramirez AND Kenny Lofton for Bruback, Hernandez and Hill (who was a player to be named later).

    Bruback was cut by the Pirates a few weeks later. They released Hernandez after the season. Hill managed to do very little with 326 at-bats over the next two seasons. He was limited by injuries, but that is no excuse for the Pirates because they knew he was hurt when they got him.

    I can't think of a more blatant and disgraceful salary-dump trade in the last 20 years. Whatever your thoughts on the finances of baseball and the stupidity of the Pirates, this one trade perfectly sums up everything that franchise has been since Sid Bream beat Barry Bonds' throw home.
     
  3. Piotr Rasputin

    Piotr Rasputin New Member

    I'd have to doublecheck, but I have no doubt something the 1993-1994 Padres did might compare.
     
  4. Ben_Hecht

    Ben_Hecht Active Member

     
  5. outofplace

    outofplace Well-Known Member

    That's why I said I can't think of one. I'm still trying to remember if there has been one that was worse. The Pirates had to know Bruback was useless or they wouldn't have cut him so quickly. Hernandez was just a space-filler at third base for the rest of the season. Hill was the only player in they got with any ability at all, but he had been hurt most of his career and was dealing with another injury at the time of the trade.

    Lofton was playing well. He was going to be a free agent, but he was very useful to a contender. Ramirez was a big-time talent who finally seemed to be getting his act together. Either should have brought a good return. The Pirates got nothing in the deal and I am fairly certain that they knew it as they pulled the trigger.
     
  6. outofplace

    outofplace Well-Known Member

    The Padres did dump Fred McGriff to the Braves in 1993, but one was Melvin Nieves, who was a pretty good prospect at the time if I remember correctly.
     
  7. Steak Snabler

    Steak Snabler Well-Known Member

    Yeah, there was serious debate at the time whether or not Nieves was a better prospect than Ryan Klesko.
     
  8. RickStain

    RickStain Well-Known Member

    Some people have already defended Brock for Broglio, but some context I like to mention is to look at the career of Lou Brock up to that point in his career, and Corey Patterson up to the same age.

    They are so similar it's eerie, and not a Cubs fan alive would have complained if Patterson had been traded for a top-notch starting pitcher in his late 20s.
     
  9. novelist_wannabe

    novelist_wannabe Well-Known Member

    As with many of the trades mentioned here, there is a caveat, and in this case it was more important than the principals involved. The Braves had to make a choice -- keep money free to get new deals with Glavine and Maddux, or spend that money on Grissom and Justice. They happened to get a leadoff hitter (Lofton) in the process, but the trade was, in effect, Grissom and Justice for Glavine or Maddux, because they weren't going to be able to keep all of them. Seeing how they won five more division titles with Glavine and Maddux, I'd say the deal worked out pretty well for Atlanta. There are those (hi prhack!) who disagree, but personally I wouldn't put the Grissom/Justice deal in the bad trade category.

    As you pointed out, the Butler/Barker deal was not up for dispute. Someone else mentioned Smoltz/Alexander. I'm not sure I'd put that one in the bad trade category. The Tigers got exactly what they wanted out of that deal. The Braves obviously got more than they hoped for from Smoltz, but I think the principals involved would make the trade again if they had the chance.

    The Red Sox dealing Bagwell to Houston has to be in this conversation, I'd think.
     
  10. Batman

    Batman Well-Known Member

    At least us Phillies fans got to see Glennbo routinely gun guys down at first on would-be singles for a few years. That was always fun.

    And speaking of the Phillies, they made up a lot of ground on the bad trade front in one day -- June 18, 1989.
    They sent an over-the-hill Steve Bedrosian to the Giants for Terry Mulholland, Dennis Cook and Charlie Hayes. The same day, they shipped Juan Samuel to the Mets for Lenny Dykstra and Roger McDowell.
    Not exactly hall of famers, I know, but Dykstra and Mulholland ended up being key players on the '93 World Series team. McDowell, Hayes and Cook had a couple of productive seasons each for them.
    Bedrosian, meanwhile, was never a dominant closer again and Samuel left the Mets at the end of the '89 season.
     
  11. RickStain

    RickStain Well-Known Member

    George Bell for Sammy Sosa
     
  12. 93Devil

    93Devil Well-Known Member

    Philadelphia Phillies trade Larry Bowa and Ryne Sandberg to the Chicago Cubs for Ivan DeJesus.

    Not a trade, but wow.
    Roberto Clemente, drafted by the Pittsburgh Pirates from the Brooklyn Dodgers in the 1954 rule 5 draft.
     
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