Jeff Bagwell Traded from Boston To Houston in 1990
In exchange for Bagwell, Houston sent Larry Andersen to Boston. The 1990 season was a decent one for the Red Sox, as they won 88 regular season games, taking home the AL East and falling to the Oakland A's in the ALCS. Boston had plenty of infield prospects at the time, including future heavy hitter Mo Vaughn. What Boston really needed at the time of the trade was help in the Pen, which is where Larry Andersen came into play. He had a 1.23 ERA in his 15 regular season games. It kind of fell apart after that. Andersen left for the Padres the following season. Boston slipped in the standings in 1991, finishing 3rd. Meanwhile, Bagwell shined bright in Houston. HIs first year with the Astros, 1991, Bagwell just so happened to win NL Rookie of the Year. He then went on to become one of baseball's best power hitters during a 15-year career with the Astros in which he belted 449 home runs and won the 1994 NL MVP award. Yeah I say the Red Sox won that deal.
Boston Red Sox get Pedro Martinez from Montreal Expos: Jason Varitek and Derek Lowe from Seattle Mariners in 1997
First there's the Pedro trade. After having four great years with the Expos, including winning a Cy Young, Pedro was on the Move to Boston. Montreal had to ship off Pedro, because of Financial reasons. In return for Martinez, Montreal received a pair of serviceable arms in Carl Pavano and Tony Armas, both of whom had decent runs in Canada. Meanwhile, the Red Sox added a future Hall of Famer, who will go down as one of the most dominant pitchers in franchise history. Martinez won two AL Cy Young awards, finished runner-up for two more in Boston and ultimately served as the ace of the 2004 team that ended an 86-year World Series drought. With the Lowe and Varitek trade, it was Seattle who was in more desperate need than Boston was. Seattle was so desperate for bullpen help that they gave up two solid prospects in varitek and Lowe for Heathcliff Slocumb. Slocumb's time in Seattle wasn't all too memorable, as he left after posting a 5.32 ERA the next season. The two players the Red Sox got back for him certainly were in Boston. Together, Lowe and Varitek combined to make five All-Star teams with the Red Sox and both were members of the 2004 World Series winners, with Varitek also serving as the backstop for Boston's 2007 championship team.
Cleveland Indians get Cliff Lee, Grady Sizemore and Brandon Phillips from Montreal Expos in 2002
Man, the trade deadline hasn't been that kind to the Expos/Nationals franchise. In 2002, Montreal was in the middle of fighting for a playoff spot, hanging around the race for quite some time. Montreal was in turmoil at that time, as they would leave for Washington two years later. The Expos felt that getting Bartolo Colon and Tim Drew would help them get over that hump to make the postseaosn. Colon did his part quite well, going 10-4 with a 3.31 ERA. Eventually Colon was dealt to the White Sox after the 83-win Expos fell well short of a playoff spot. Meanwhile, the three guys who were sent to Cleveland, Cliff Lee, Grady Sizemore and Brandon Phillips, all went on to stardom and have had great careers. Lee would team up with CC Sabathia to make a great one-two punch at the top of the Indians rotation. Sizemore made good on his enormous potential during three consecutive All-Star campaigns in Cleveland before injuries derailed his career. And Phillips became an All-Star caliber second baseman, albeit doing so with the Reds after the Indians inexplicably gave up on the talented infielder and traded him for Jeff Stevens in 2006.
Texas Rangers get Elvis Andrus, Neftali Feliz and Jarrod Saltalamacchia from Atlanta Braves in 2007
At the time the deal was made, the Braves were sitting 4.5 games back in the NL East. Atlanta was trying to reclaim the NL East crown and wanted to make a big move. They did, and it backfired bigtime. Sure they managed to grab up Mark Teixeira, who turned down the Rangers' offer of a long-term deal. Once that happened, he went on the trading block. Atlanta snatched him up. Even though Teixeira hit .317 with 17 home runs in 54 games, Atlanta missed the playoffs in 2007 and he was shipped to the Angels for Casey Kotchman and Stephen Mark midway through the 2008 season. Meanwhile, Feliz, Andrus and Harrison all became key contributors during the Rangers' back-to-back World Series runs in 2010 and 2011. It blew up on Atlant, making them feel worse than when they made the deal.
Toronto Blue Jays get Jose Bautista from Pittsburgh Pirates in 2008
A small part of you has to feel bad for the Pirates on this one. Now granted, there's no way of knowing for a fact that a player will have THIS kind of a breakout, but come on now. At the time it looked like nothing, but now it looks like a really big deal from a Jays perspective. In 2008 Pittsburgh decided to give up on the man they call Joey Bats. Pittsburgh decided to pick up catcher Robinzon Diaz, who played just 43 games with the Pirates in 2004 and 2005. A six-time All-Star in Toronto, Jose Bautista became the first player in franchise history to hit 50 homers in a season in 2010 and is in the midst of his sixth straight 20+ HR season in 2015. Pittsburgh thought they were getting the better end of the deal in getting Diaz. Bautista finally got regular playing time and found a home and a calling in Toronto. The rest is history.
Minnesota Twins get Joe Nathan, Francisco Liriano from San Francisco Giants in 2003
Both the Twins and Giants had fine years in 2003, winning each of their respective division (San Francisco won 100 games to claim the NL West, while the Twins won 90 to claim the AL Central). San Francisco was looking to make upgrades at the catcher position, which is why they brought in A.J. Pierzynski. AJ was coming off back-to-back seasons of hitting over .300 for the Twins at the time of the deal. To get him, they parted with a trio of pitchers in reliever Joe Nathan and prospects Francisco Liriano and Boof Bonser. San Francisco quickly tired of Pierzynski and released him following the 2004 season, his only one with the club. Minnesota won out on this trade. While pitching for the Giants, Nathan was a middle of the pack reliever who hadn't really made a name for himself. Once getting to Minnesota, he earned the role of closer, Nathan went on to save 260 games and made four All-Star teams before leaving to sign with the Rangers following the 2011 season. Though Boof Bonser didn't work out for Minnesota, Francisco Liriano gave the Twins another gem in the deal by quickly becoming one of the best pitching prospects in baseball and winning 47 games in the majors from 2005-2011. Yeah I'd say the Twins made out like bandits in this trade.
Blue Jays pick up Edwin Encarnacion in 2009
Edwin Encarnacion, Josh Roenicke and Zach Stewart went to Toronto, while the Reds were able to pick up Scott Rolen. Not a bad deal from a Reds point of view. During his first year with the Reds, in 2010, Rolen hit 285 with 20 home runs and 83 RBI while providing Gold Glove defense at third base. Chronic shoulder issues limited him to 157 games over the next two years, during which he hit a combined .245 with only 13 home runs and 75 RBI. He was out of baseball after the 2012 season. Josh Roenicke and Zach Stewart ever amounted to anything in Toronot. It took until 2012 for things to really take off, but they did for Encarnacion, who today is one of the premier power hitters in all of Major League Baseball.
Diamondbacks pick Up Curt Schilling in 2000
While Travis Lee and Vicente Padilla provided Philadelphia with some decent performances, what Curt Schilling did in Arizona makes them almost irrelevant. From 2001 to 2002, Schilling would go 45-13 with a 3.10 ERA, 1.02 WHIP and a ridiculous 609 strikeouts over 516 innings of work, walking only 72. He was equally impressive during the playoffs in 2001, going 4-0 with a 1.12 ERA, 0.64 WHIP and 56 strikeouts over 48.1 postseason innings. After an injury-filled 2003 campaign, Arizona shipped Schilling to Boston for a package that included right-hander Casey Fossum and lefties Jorge De La Rosa and Brandon Lyon. Schilling was so dominate during his time in Arizona, it made the other guys in the deal that went to Philly totally pointless.
Thee are just some of the most lopsided deadline deals in MLB history
(Thanks to ESPN and Bleacher Report for help with this article)
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