It has been a dozen years since the Yankees swung a trade for outfielder Nick Swisher, who paid immediate dividends as part of the franchise and whose acquisition continues to benefit the organization to this day. On Nov. 13, 2008, the Yankees sent two minor league pitchers – Jeff Marquez and Jhonny Nunez – as well as veteran infielder Wilson Betemit to the White Sox for Swisher and young hurler Kanekoa Texeira. Most of the pieces in the swap – Marquez, Nunez and Texeira – failed to pan out in the majors, but the move revived the switch-hitting Swisher’s career and helped him land a sizable payday in free agency down the road.
If we go back to the start, Swisher opened his career as a rather effective member of the Athletics, who chose him 16th overall in the 2002 draft. As a member of the big club from 2004-07, Swisher batted .251/.361/.464 (118 wRC+) with 80 home runs and 10.0 fWAR over 1,924 plate appearances, aiding Oakland in three plus-.500 seasons and a playoff berth. However, almost six years after spending a high pick on him, the A’s sold the affable Swisher, dealing him to the White Sox in January 2008 for a package led by left-hander Gio Gonzalez. That worked out fine for Oakland, which received a couple terrific years from Gonzalez before trading him to the Nationals in December 2011 in yet another notable transaction.
While the A’s profited from Gonzalez’s presence, his career took a bad turn in his first year out of Oakland. The 2008 campaign was one of the worst of Swisher’s time in the game, and he was unable to win the favor of then-White Sox manager Ozzie Guillen as a result. While Swisher was seemingly a solid clubhouse presence in the majors, Guillen thought the opposite. He said in November 2008, a little while after the White Sox parted with Swisher: “To be honest with you, I was not happy with the way he was reacting at the end of the season. He wasn’t helping me either.” Maybe the relationship would have been better had Swisher produced, though he instead struggled to a .219/.332/.410 line (93 wRC+) in 588 PA. But Swisher did pop 24 home runs, his third of nine straight seasons with 20-plus, and Yankees general manager Brian Cashman decided to buy low on him.
To this day, the Swisher pickup looks like one of the most brilliant decisions of Cashman’s lengthy tenure atop New York’s front office. Swisher was a quality contributor throughout his time as a Yankee, including in a 2009 campaign that saw the team win its most recent World Series championship. From that season through 2012, Swisher’s last as a Yankee, he hit .268/.367/.483 (128 wRC+) with 105 HRs and 14.4 fWAR across 2,501 PA, also earning his lone All-Star berth in the process. But the Yankees were not willing to commit to Swisher once he became a free agent before 2013, which, for multiple reasons, was a wise call in hindsight.
In January 2013, the Ohio-born Swisher returned to his native state on a four-year, $56MM contract with the Indians. Unfortunately for Cleveland, it didn’t get anything close to the Yankees’ version of Swisher. Owing in part to knee problems, Swisher slashed a below-average .228/.311/.377 (92 wRC+) with 32 homers and minus-0.5 fWAR in 1,146 PA in an Indians uniform. They dealt Swisher and fellow outfielder Michael Bourn to the Braves for infielder Chris Johnson in August 2015. That proved to be Swisher’s final season in MLB, though he did return to the Yankees on a minor league contract in 2016 before his career came to an end later that year.
The season after Swisher said goodbye to pro baseball, another star was born in New York. Towering right fielder Aaron Judge, a top 100 prospect in his younger days, exploded on the scene in 2017, batting .284/.422/.627 (174 wRC+), smacking 52 homers and racking up 8.3 fWAR. Judge fell short of AL MVP honors then, but he won Rookie of the Year in his league and was part of a club that took the eventual title-winning Astros to a seven-game LCS.
While injuries have somewhat limited Judge’s availability since his initial season, you can’t argue with the production he has managed when he has been able to take the field. Since his second year, Judge has recorded a line of .278/.392/.528 (good for a 146 wRC+) and amassed 54 dingers with 9.7 fWAR.
Judge is now 28 years old, a two-time All-Star and perhaps the face of the Bronx-based franchise, but he may have never gotten there if not for Swisher. Allowing Swisher to depart in free agency entitled the Yankees to a compensatory selection in the ensuing draft. They used that pick, No. 32 in 2013, on Judge – a former Fresno State Bulldog. So, not only did the Yankees benefit from Swisher’s best seasons as a pro, but stealing him from the White Sox 12 years ago is still paying off for them in a big way.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
I did not expect to see the name Wilson Betemit here today.
Is that what you said to your wife when you woke up this morning? Lol
I always thought it was like watching someone chop wood when I saw Betemit take an at bat from the right side
He really was a good damn left hand hitter though…. Born too soon, these were before platoon times which probably would have made him an even more valuable player today
Crazy they let him switch hit so long- Career Ops hitting left 819
Right 636
Over 1700 plate appearences batting left handed alone
Platooning wasn’t uncommon before the 21st century.
Betemit’s career was from 2001 – 2013, hardly before platooning. I remember platooning going in the 1980s and 1990s. Did you mean before they made much use of sabermetrics?
Giving someone over 800 plate apps with a 636 Ops doesnt happen today, not even if you are Ozzie Smith-
In 2005 it did apparently…..something changed….they also had computers in the late 70;s as well… how does that relate to today’s computers?
Same here. I was actually somewhat surprised that someone would comment about him.
Ditto
yeah this one hurts as an indians fan. though i do remember his walk off grand slam against the angels. thanks for the memory, swish! oh and my bro-hio shirt too lol.
also, i think he was traded alongside michael bourne, not for him. two bad signings for the indians that make them all the more apprehensive to give any type of semi large FA deal, even to this day.
Yeah I came to say the same; he was traded with Bourn, not for him. I assume it was just a small typo, but it’s worth pointing out.
I remember being so excited when the Indians signed Swisher and Bourn. At the time, it seemed like they made out like bandits (I was also 15 at the time so everything seemed like a steal), and at least they made the wild card game that year. But man, both of those signings really couldn’t have gone much worse than they did.
Thanks, guys. I worded the Swisher/Bourn part improperly. It’s now fixed.
If only they’d been apprehensive then.
Swisher was entering his age-32 season in 2013 and had had widening K vs BB rates for a few years. From the beginning, he was highly unlikely to be productive into the second year of that contract. Bourn is a typical case of two things.
1. How one-dimensional value is ultimately fragile and risky.
2. FA signings implode with great regularity and thus the common perspective of “consistent vets” (relative to young players) isn’t particularly accurate — especially vets available in FA (since the vast majority of them are 30+)
Swishalicious
Wow, it took the whole article to get there but you wrapped it up nicely.
Indeed! Tangentially, I try to temper my hubris when looking at DJ Peters as a Judge-lite.
Reach
I probably owe Nick Swisher a Beer
Guy lived on my fantasy teams when on the Yanks and helped me win quite a bit of money
85/25/85 in the bank, had near a 370 obp in 4 yrs with NYY, and was always drafted in the teen-Rds. for fantasy….. Those were really good numbers for 2010, but he would always go about it in a way where ya just wouldnt really notice it, true grinder
Very under rated career, probably overshadowed by a lot of the bigger names in pinstripes during those times- Shame he really fell off quick in Cle, I thought he’d have a couple more good years at the end
speaking of delays, something’s up with your period button. Nothing for miles, then… boom, five on a row.
“5 in a row” Mets
“Congrats, you found the ‘swypo,’ you sure got me.” LOL “Now to find that period key on your phone/keyboard…”
Who the hell names their kid “Jhonny”?
Mr & Mrs Nunez & Mr & Mrs Peralta.
“Jhonny” was also Harry Caray’s phonetic pronunciation of the more commonly spelled “Johnny” more than a few times (probably after more than a few ice cold Budweisers).
I’ve seen a few “Jhon”s, “Jhonath*n”s and “Jhonny”s born from Latin American parents (whether the individual was from a Latin American.country or born to immigrant parents Stateside)..
While I don’t know for sure, my best guess has been that since ‘J’ is often read like what English speakers think of as an ‘h’ sound, to some from such countries, the “Jh” digraph is read like a ‘hard’ “J” in English.
It was Swisher and Bourn for Johnson, not Swisher for Bourn and Johnson fyi
mark related to k?
With the injury history of Judge. I think Yankees would of been better off taking Cody Bellinger. Especially considering his dad Clay was a Yankee.
Judge is 28 already. This season is sot. Next year he’s 29… already his eclipsing peak years…. He might have a couple good years left in him. That star burnt out quick.
Definitely not burned out, unless you honestly believe that a player with 9.7 WAR in his last <1000 PA is.
He's had a couple injury-shortened, but still HIGHLY productive years in a row. While his future trajectory can be questioned due to his current health status, his current absolute floor is "superstar when healthy".
I’ve actually taken this further in the past. A lot further lol. I’ll show you what I came up with…Betemit was acquired for Scott Proctor. Proctor and Bubba Crosby for Robin Ventura. Ventura for David Justice. Jake Westbrook part of Justice deal. Westbrook was part of Hideki Irabu deal. Irabu part of deal for Ruben Rivera (who stole Jeters glove his second time around with Yankees). Rivera was signed as an amateur FA in 1990…other names in these deals Ricky Ledee, Zach Day, Ted Lily and Homer Bush…there’s another branch that may lead back to 1986 and Andy Stankiewicz that includes names like Steve Sax. Gerald Williams. Javy Vasquez. David Wells. Randy Johnson and Roger Clemens. But it’s easier and more appealing to say they turned Ruben Rivera into Aaron Judge
This trade technically goes back to the year 2000 and Jake Westbrook and Ricky Ledee
Westbrook and Ledee were traded for David Justice.
David Justice was traded for Robin Ventura.
Robin Ventura was traded for Scott Proctor.
Scott Proctor was traded for Wilson Betemit.
Wilson Betemit was traded for Nick Swisher.
Now that’s impressive great job to Ruh and Onecrazy
These articles actually got me thinking, what’s the furthest back you can trace a current player on a roster through trades? Would be interesting to know, since this one easily traces back to 2000 (and earlier if you really dig). Would be cool to be able to find that out. There’s some great ones out there.
I’m a bit confused. I’m assuming the comp pick New York got for Swisher ended up being Judge, but I don’t see where that’s specifically stated in the article.
Otherwise, I don’t see the link between Swisher and Judge. Also, the Indians sent Swisher and Bourn to Atlanta for Chris Johnson.
Nevermind, I see it. Talk about burying the lead, though.
I guess this was just all those words to tell us they used the comp pick for Swisher on Judge?
White Sox got screwed on both ends of that trade. The trade for him and trading him away.
Yeah. They were desperate when they bought and decided to sell low on what was (clearly to all on the outside) nothing more than a low-BABIP season.
Trading for and trading away Nick Swisher set the White Sox back years. It still makes me mad.
The White Sox swung and missed on the deal with the As, but did right by shipping him out. He was a flop down the stretch and in the playoffs and was widely regarded in the clubhouse (and in an SI players poll) as one of the phonies players in the game, evidenced by his over the top Brohio mugging for the camera, and constant pouting off camera. A shame as he was pretty fan friendly.
The title of the article is quite misleading since the Yankees didn’t trade for Swisher nor did they trade him away and receive players in return. So how exactly are the Yankees benefiting from an unknown trade involving Swisher 12 years later? There’s no direct correlation.
Did they not trade for Swisher?
Google it. He was traded to the Yankees. Then read the article. It doesn’t say he was traded away from the Yanks. It says the comp pick they got when he left in free agency is how they got Judge.
You are correct, but this piece has omitted these critical pieces of information.
Manager Ozzie Guillén was knowledgeable, won a WS for the White Sox, but he was also outspoken about his players and with the media in Chicago. What a character! He is truly missed in the game of baseball…
Wasn’t just ozzie. Swishes look-at-me tomfoolery persona did not mesh at all in the Sox clubhouse which was pretty tight. Swish was Adam Eaton 1.0.
I rather have Adam Eaton.
Brohio.
Just read the last paragraph. The rest is about a mediocre player who was a fan favorite.
Coincidentally the same idiot who signed Swisher in Cleveland, is the same idiot who let Edwin go and was able to draft Nate Pearson.
Trade tree-type pieces like this are among my favorites. The highlight the continuity of the game – a welcome reminder right now – and how much we don’t know at any given moment. Who “won” a trade is almost impossible to know for many years.
Mookie was a 5th round draft pick; maybe the Dodgers will nab the next Mookie Betts with the comp pick they get if they lose him in free agency.
Great post, Bert.
I love these writeups, nicely done! If they ever deal Judge someday for a lions reward of players we can still chock it up to that fun little player with dimples that made baseball fun in the bronx.