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This Date In Transactions History: Athletics Land An Eventual Superstar

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Braves third baseman Josh Donaldson smacked his 200th career home run Sunday, a feat the Cubs were no doubt hoping he’d achieve in their uniform when they selected him 48th in the 2007 draft. The former Auburn Tiger never hit a single dinger for the club, though, and changed organizations a little over 12 months after the Cubs drafted him. It was exactly 11 years ago today, on July 8, 2008, that Chicago dealt Donaldson to Oakland. It’s now safe to say the Donaldson pickup has been among the best of A’s executive Billy Beane’s impressive tenure with the franchise.

Beane sent veteran right-handers Rich Harden and Chad Gaudin to the Cubs, acquiring Donaldson, outfielders Eric Patterson and Matt Murton, and righty Sean Gallagher in return. When the deal was consummated, MLBTR’s Tim Dierkes noted it was the Cubs’ counterattack after the NL Central rival Brewers acquired lefty CC Sabathia from the Indians the day before.

Sabathia just about willed the Brewers to the playoffs in 2008, though the eventual World Series champion Phillies overmatched them in the NLDS. The Cubs did finish well ahead of the Brewers en route to an NL Central crown that season, but they also fell in the NLDS, losing in a sweep against the Dodgers. While Harden struggled during his lone start in that series, the oft-injured hurler was highly effective for the Cubs when he was healthy enough to take the mound. All told, he turned in 38 starts and 212 innings of 3.31 ERA ball with 11.0 K/9 and 4.1 BB/9 as a Cub before leaving for the Rangers in free agency ahead of the 2010 season. Gaudin was nowhere near that productive, logging a 6.26 ERA in 27 1/3 innings with Chicago. He exited via free agency going into the 2009 campaign.

Both Hardin and Gaudin (especially the former) were useful A’s, but the team said goodbye to them despite possessing a 49-41 record at the time. Oakland was six behind the first-place Angels in the AL West and, in an era in which only one team earned a wild card, 3 1/2 back of a playoff spot. Beane insisted at the time it wasn’t a white flag move by Oakland, but the club fell apart thereafter and finished 75-86. However, Beane did say then, “I think we’ve taken a step forward for the next three to five years.”

It took a little longer than Beane wanted for the swap to bear fruit for the Athletics, though. None of Patterson, Murton or Gallagher amounted to much with the team. Donaldson, meanwhile, was a catcher prospect who took a half-decade from the trade to truly make his mark as a major league. While Donaldson did get to the majors in 2010 and then see extensive time with the A’s in 2012, his game took until 2013 to reach star-caliber heights. By then, Donaldson was no longer a catcher. The newly minted third baseman emphatically burst on the scene in ’13 with 7.3 fWAR and a 147 wRC+ in 668 plate appearances. Donaldson finished fourth in the AL MVP voting and helped the A’s to a 96-win, playoff-bound season in the process.

The A’s returned to the postseason in 2014, once again with significant help from Donaldson. He notched another 5.7 fWAR with a 130 wRC+ in 695 trips to the plate to wind up eighth in his league’s MVP balloting. Oakland couldn’t get past eventual AL champion Kansas City in the wild-card round that fall, though. Two months later, the A’s made the stunning decision to send Donaldson to the Blue Jays for Brett Lawrie, righty Kendall Graveman, infielder Franklin Barreto and lefty Sean Nolin.

Just as picking up Donaldson from the Cubs proved to be a steal for the Athletics, the same held true in the Blue Jays’ acquisition of the the player who became known as the Bringer of Rain. Donaldson went on to earn AL MVP honors in 2015, his debut season in Toronto and the first of two straight years in which the club advanced to the ALCS. He remained a force up north through 2017, but injuries marred his 2018, during which the rebuilding Blue Jays waved goodbye to the then-impending free agent in a trade with the Indians in August.

For Oakland, none of Lawrie, Graveman or Nolin delivered as hoped, nor have they produced much at any other major league stops since their stints with the Athletics concluded. The jury remains out on Barreto, just 23 years old, but the former top 100 prospect still hasn’t established himself as a major leaguer. However, perhaps Barreto will eventually realize his potential and make a Donaldson-like impact in the bigs. That seems highly improbable now, but nobody thought Donaldson would evolve into an elite player when Oakland scooped him up on this date 11 years ago.

Remembering The A’s-Cubs 2014 July 4th Special

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July 4th is always a day of pageantry around the game of baseball, though it’s typically quiet on the trade front. Five years ago today, however, the Athletics and Cubs produced some rare fireworks with a memorable swap that created quite the butterfly effect.

The Oakland organization acquired not one, but two top trade targets of that year’s summer market in Jeff Samardzija and Jason Hammel. Prying both loose nearly a month before the deadline meant coughing up one of the game’s best prospects in Addison Russell, along with a nice secondary piece in Billy McKinney. Pitcher Dan Straily also went to Chicago to help the team fill innings.

This is the swap that forever gives credence to fan and media notions of “packaging” trade chips, a concept that has been mimicked since but remains relatively rare. The Cubs had good reason to put a big asking price on the two hurlers at that stage of the season.

Samardzija, a pitcher long lauded for his talent, had finally come into his own with a 2.83 ERA through 108 innings. He came with another year of arbitration eligibility, leaving ample leverage with the Cubs. The club could have auctioned him closer to the deadline, held him for a winter trade, or pursued an extension over the offseason to come.

Hammel also owned a sub-3.00 ERA at the time the deal came together, making him an excellent rental asset. His $6MM make-good deal worked out better than the Cubs ever could have anticipated. Top Chicago baseball decisionmaker Theo Epstein could plausibly tell his counterpart, Billy Beane of the A’s, that he would be glad to wait to see what he could get for Hammel on July 31st if Oakland wouldn’t pay full retail for both hurlers.

It was easy for the Cubs to pull the trigger when Russell was plugged in as the headliner. He then ranked as one of the dozen or so best prospects in the game. Best of all, he was already playing at the Double-A level, meaning the Cubs had good reason to believe they would get production out of him in the very near term. McKinney was also a significant trade piece, having only just been taken in the first round of the draft in the prior year.

For the Athletics, it goes without saying that this was an all-in move. At the time, the club was dominating the rest of the league, but facing a stern test from the Angels. Oakland’s all-in bid ultimately didn’t quite work out. The A’s went on to make another major summer strike for a starter, adding Jon Lester from the Red Sox. Lester (2.44 ERA) and Samardzija (3.14) threw quite well, while Hammel (4.26) faded but was sturdy enough. But the Athletics were out-raced by the Halos in the AL West. The A’s took a Wild Card slot, but lost one of the most memorable games of recent memory to the eventual American League-champion Royals.

Ironically, after starting that contest, Lester would end up signing with the Cubs in the ensuing offseason. He later said that the trade made it easier for him to imagine playing in a new city after spending his entire career in Boston. He ended up deciding to join Epstein, the former Sox GM, in Chicago….and ultimately played a key role in the club’s curse-breaking championship run.

Russell was also a key contributor in 2016, earning an All-Star nod and finishing the season with 21 home runs in his age-22 campaign. It seemed he was on his way to being a long-term stalwart and perhaps even a Chicago legend. That has all changed since. After some tepid work on the field, Russell was suspended following accusations of domestic abuse. The team has stuck with him since, but the sheen has long since worn off.

McKinney never appeared in a MLB uniform for the Cubs, but he would help the team out in another way. He again featured as a secondary piece in another major trade, going along with another elite infield prospect Gleyber Torres in the 2016 deal that landed the Cubs closer Aroldis Chapman and helped spur the team’s title run. Torres was no doubt seen as somewhat more expendable due to the presence of Russell and other good young infielders (especially Javy Baez, who has eclipsed him at short). But it no doubt stings quite a bit to see Torres starring in pinstripes.

This was also the first of a series of seemingly incongruous moves involving Straily. He was sent out in the ensuing offseason in the deal that brought Dexter Fowler to Chicago, beginning a notable chapter all its own for the Cubs organization. (That trade also involved the dearly departed Luis Valbuena.) Straily was swapped to the Padres in the following spring for journeyman catcher Erik Kratz, only to be claimed off waivers days later by the Reds. After a surprising 2016 campaign, Straily was shipped to the Marlins in a deal that landed the Reds then-prospect and current NL Cy Young candidate Luis Castillo (who was briefly a member of the Pads before being forcibly traded back to the Fish). Straily was released this spring after two useful but uninspiring seasons in Miami.

So, what of the two hurlers that spurred all this movement? Hammel may not have been at his best in Oakland, but that only helped the Cubbies get a deal to bring him back. They brought him in for an affordable $20MM over two years and certainly got their money worth. Hammel ended up throwing 337 1/3 innings of 3.79 ERA ball before he was sent back onto the open market, helping the team reach the World Series — though he did not crack the ’16 postseason roster.

Samardzija also ended up in Chicago, but with the cross-town White Sox. That swap allowed the A’s to recoup some of the lost prospect value, and, perhaps, get the last laugh in this whole scenario. In addition to Rangel Ravelo, who reached the majors briefly with the Cardinals, the deal brought in three players that remain in the Oakland organization. Marcus Semien effectively took Russell’s place as the long-term shortstop. That has turned out quite well for Oakland in and of itself, as Semien has easily outperformed Russell of late. He reached 3.7 fWAR last year and has already tabbed 3.1 in a breakout ’19 offensive campaign. The deal also included righty Chris Bassitt and catcher Josh Phegley, each of whom has had some ups and downs but currently features as a key cog for the 2019 A’s.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images

This Date In Transactions History: Cubs Land Jorge Soler

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It has been seven years since the Cubs landed a player they thought would become a long-term linchpin. On June 11, 2012, they won the bidding for free-agent Cuban outfielder Jorge Soler. At least a few teams bid upward of $20MM for Soler, who had just turned 20 a few months prior, but Chicago emerged victorious with a nine-year, $30MM offer. At the time, Soler was seen as a top 50 prospect in the sport.

The power-hitting Soler tore through the Cubs’ minor league system beginning the summer he signed and wound up debuting in Chicago two years later. When the Cubs promoted him late in the 2014 season, Soler was even more of a celebrated prospect. He justified the hype initially, slashing a strong .292/.330/.573 (148 wRC+) with five home runs in 97 plate appearances. Thanks to that run, Soler cemented himself as the Cubs’ everyday right fielder heading into 2015; however, his numbers took a dive that season, during which he hit .262/.324/.399 (95 wRC+) with 10 homers in 404 trips to the plate.

Despite his underwhelming output in 2015, Soler was once again in the Cubs’ season-opening lineup in ’16. The franchise ultimately won its first World Series in 108 years that season, but Soler didn’t play a huge role. While Soler turned in decent production in the regular campaign and the playoffs, injuries helped limit him to 264 PA during the season. After celebrating their championship that fall, the Cubs elected to part with Soler, deciding there was no longer a place for him in an outfield that also had Ben Zobrist, Albert Almora, Kyle Schwarber, Jason Heyward, Jon Jay and Matt Szczur in the fold.

On Dec. 7, 2016, just over a month after it won the World Series, Chicago traded Soler to the Royals for reliever Wade Davis. Although Davis only had another year of control left, the Cubs needed a replacement for departed closer Aroldis Chapman. That helped deem Soler expendable in the Cubs’ eyes, and though Davis lasted just one season in their uniform, they haven’t really missed Soler.

Since he joined the Royals in 2017, Soler has batted .234/.310/.450 (101 wRC+) and swatted 28 HRs in 633 attempts. Soler was particularly subpar during his first year in KC, in which he endured a lengthy minor league demotion, but bounced back in 2018 before suffering a season-ending left toe fracture in mid-June. In his return from that injury, Soler’s once again giving the Royals respectable offensive production this season, though his paltry .293 on-base percentage somewhat overshadows his 17 homers. The same is true of Soler’s defense (minus-7 DRS, minus-2.0 UZR), which has graded negatively for most of his time in the majors.

Considering how much excitement there was when Soler signed with the Cubs, the 27-year-old has posted a somewhat disappointing big league career. Soler may move on to a third team soon, given rumors that the non-contending Royals are open to trading just about anyone on their roster. Wherever he plays next season, it’ll be the final year of the contract Soler agreed to with the Cubs seven years ago.

This Date In Transactions History: One Giant Acquisition

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It was May 29, 2010, nine years ago today, that the Giants made a decision which helped propel them to a National League West title and a World Series championship. Sitting a few games over .500 and facing their seventh straight season without a playoff berth, the club sought a right-handed spark for a lefty-heavy outfield. The Giants found their answer in 33-year-old veteran Pat Burrell, whom they signed to a minor league deal that came with no risk but ultimately paid significant dividends.

Burrell began his career in 2000 with the Phillies, who drafted him first overall in 1998, and wound up enjoying a successful run with the organization. Between his debut and his final season with the Phillies in 2008, Burrell headed to the plate 5,388 times and batted .257/.367/.485 (120 wRC+) with 251 home runs and 16.8 wins above replacement. Burrell’s Phillies tenure concluded with a World Series win over his next team, the Rays.

Tampa Bay brought Burrell in on a two-year, $16MM contract in January 2009, but the deal proved to be an unmitigated disaster for the franchise. Burrell was among the majors’ worst players in Year 1 of the deal; after Burrell got off to a similarly poor start through 24 games in 2010, the Rays designated him for assignment before releasing him with $9MM left on his contract.

Tampa Bay likely figured Burrell was shot when it parted with him. Little did the Rays know he’d end up as a dirt-cheap contributor on a title-winning club just a few months later. San Francisco owned a 29-24 record when it promoted Burrell to the majors on June 4, and it went 63-46 the rest of the way to win its division by two games over San Diego. Pat the Bat played an instrumental role in the Giants’ narrow defeat of the Padres. During a 96-game, 341-plate appearance renaissance, Burrell slashed .266/.364/.509 (136 wRC+) with 18 HRs and 2.8 WAR as the Giants’ primary left fielder.

Burrell’s numbers dropped in San Francisco’s playoff series wins over the Braves, Phillies and Rangers, but it didn’t faze the Giants. The franchise took home its first championship since 1954, back when it was the New York Giants, and went on to win two more in the ensuing four seasons. Burrell wasn’t part of either of those 2012 or ’14 clubs, but he did return to the Giants for his final season in 2011 – this time on a major league contract – and log solid production in 219 trips to the plate. Almost a decade after the Giants first signed Burrell, it’s fair to say he still ranks as one of the best in-season minor league signings ever.

Recent Christmas Day Transactions

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Happy Holidays, MLBTR readers! We hope you’re all enjoying the season of giving. December 25th is typically a quiet day for transactional news, but it’s not altogether uncommon for teams to make small moves. Since the turn of the millenium, there have been a few players to receive Christmas presents in the form of minor league contracts, and even one who earned a major league deal. Here’s a quick recap of the Christmas Day signings since the year 2000…

2016

  • The Tigers signed left-fielder Quincy Latimore to a minor league deal.
  • The Red Sox inked third baseman Heiker Meneses and left fielder Brian Bogusevic to minors pacts, the latter of whom was extended an invitation to spring training camp.

2013

  • The Yankees reached a deal with right-hander Yoshinori Tateyama on a minor league contract that included a spring training invite.

2012

  • The Cubs signed right-hander Jaye Chapman to a minor league deal with an invitation to spring training.

2007

  • The Giants signed right-hander Keiichi Yabu to a minors pact with a spring training invite.

2004

  • The Cardinals signed Abraham Nunez, a utility infield type, to a minor league contract and invited him to spring training.
  • The Royals signed right-hander Jose Lima to a major league contract. The club also added infielder Luis Ugueto on a minor league deal with a spring training invite.

 

This Date In Transactions History: November 23

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It was on this day in 1888 that the New York Giants arranged to sell future Hall-of-Famer John Montgomery Ward to the (NL’s original) Washington Nationals for $12K, then a record sum.  Whereas no-trade clauses give players control over their movement in today’s era, Ward had a simpler solution back in the 19th century — he simply refused to play for Washington unless he got a share of that $12K.  As a result, the Nationals pulled out of the deal and Ward remained with the Giants for another season.  Ward was one of the game’s earliest pioneers for players’ rights, with a resume that included co-founding the first sports labor union in history in 1885, founding the short-lived “Players’ League” in 1890, and then often representing players in his post-retirement career as a lawyer.

Let’s take a trip down memory lane for a look at some notable deals that were actually completed on November 23…

  • It was just a year ago that the Mariners and Diamondbacks swung a big five-player trade that saw Taijuan Walker and Ketel Marte head to the desert in exchange for Jean Segura, Mitch Haniger, and lefty reliever Zac Curtis.  It’s still too early to pass judgement on the deal (especially since Segura, Haniger, and Walker all missed significant time due to injuries in 2017), though it looks like it may be a win-win for both teams.  Segura and Haniger performed well when they did play and will be counted on as important everyday contributors for the Mariners.  Walker, meanwhile, delivered very good numbers in Arizona’s rotation, though Marte has yet to firmly establish himself in the Diamondbacks’ crowded middle infield pictures.
  • While not a player transaction, it was two years ago today that the Dodgers officially named Dave Roberts as their new manager.  Serving as a first-time manager after a long career as a player and coach, it’s hard to argue that L.A. didn’t make the right call — Roberts has led the Dodgers to an NLCS berth and then an NL pennant (finishing just a game away from the World Series title) in his first two years running the dugout.
  • The Yankees made one of their signature free agent splashes when they signed Brian McCann to a five-year, $85MM deal on this day in 2013.  McCann didn’t hit up to his usual standard, posting a .235/.313/.418 slash line over 1565 PA as a Yankee, and he became expendable due to Gary Sanchez’s emergence as a future star behind the plate.  This led New York to deal McCann and $11MM in salary relief to the Astros last offseason for a pair of well-regarded right-handed pitching prospects (Albert Abreu and Jorge Guzman).
  • The Tigers signed Victor Martinez to a four-year, $50MM free agent deal on this day in 2010.  Though Martinez missed all of the 2012 season due to a torn ACL, the signing was overall a win for Detroit, as V-Mart hit .321/.381/.487 over 1904 plate appearances over the life of the contract.  A huge 2014 season led to another four-year deal with the Tigers that had proven to be less successful, as Martinez has struggled with injuries and perhaps just late-30’s decline.
  • It was also on this day in 2010 that the Giants, basking in the glow of their World Series victory, re-signed Aubrey Huff to a two-year, $22MM deal.  Huff had signed just a one-year, $3MM contract with San Francisco the previous winter that turned into a huge bargain, as the veteran’s tremendous season helped lead the Giants to the championship.  While it could certainly be argued that the overall $25MM investment in Huff worth it for his 2010 performance alone, Huff’s subsequent deal ended up being a bust, as he didn’t deliver much at the plate and Brandon Belt eventually took over the first base job.
  • The Braves signed two-sport star Brian Jordan to a five-year contract on this day in 1998.  This was Jordan’s first stint with the Braves but not his first time in Atlanta, as he had previously played for the NFL’s Falcons as a defensive back.  Jordan hit well over three years for the Braves before being traded to the Dodgers as a part of a three-player package for Gary Sheffield in a January 2002 blockbuster.
  • The Yankees signed Steve Sax to a three-year deal on this day in 1988, reinforcing the keystone with the longtime second baseman for the just-crowned world champion Dodgers.  Though Sax hit well in two of his three years in the pinstripes, he joined the Yankees at a rare down point in club history, as the team didn’t even post a winning record from 1989 to 1992.  Sax’s time in New York also led to some unfounded accusations from Chief Wiggum and company in The Simpsons’ legendary “Homer At The Bat” episode.
  • The Yankees made yet another big November 23 signing back in 1977 when they inked future Hall-of-Famer Rich Gossage to a six-year, $2.75MM free agent deal.  The Goose provided immediate dividends, recording a league-best 27 saves and posting a 2.01 ERA over 134 1/3 relief innings as the Yankees went on to win the 1978 World Series.  Gossage posted a 2.10 ERA and 150 saves during his time with the Yankees, though, like many in the “Bronx Zoo” era, he had his share of clashes with manager Billy Martin and owner George Steinbrenner.

This Date In Transactions History: Derek Jeter

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On November 1st of 2013, the Yankees did one of the most natural things imaginable for the organization, deciding once again that Derek Jeter would be the shortstop for the following season. At the time it wasn’t clear, but it turned out to be the final time the organization would make that call, as Jeter announced just before 2014 Spring Training that it would be his final campaign.

The one-year, $12MM contract struck between the Yanks and their aging franchise icon kicked off a dramatic farewell tour, brought Jeter’s fantastic career to a close, and wrapped up an interesting transactional history between the two sides. His first big contract — ten years, $189MM — came one year after the sides had seemingly agreed to a lesser deal that ultimately wasn’t consummated by owner George Steinbrenner.

In the 2010-11 free agent period, Jeter was already a Yankee legend but was coming off of a poor season as he entered the open market. It took a bit of gamesmanship — MLBTR’s Mark Polishuk called it a “tug-of-war” before the month of November was out — before the sides finally agreed to a three-year, $56MM deal. (GM Brian Cashman said this on November 23, 2010: “He should be nothing but a New York Yankee,” Cashman said. “He chooses not to be.”) There was drama even after that deal was struck, too, with chatter about moving Jeter to the outfield (see here and here) and discussion of hurt feelings.

Heading into 2013, it seemed that Jeter might again command a multi-year pact. He was fresh off of a productive and healthy 2012 in which he slashed .316/.362/.429. But the aging star managed to appear in only 17 games in 2013, with a variety of leg injuries keeping him off the field.

Complicating matters was a player option that was ultimately valued at $9.5MM by operation of incentives provisions. Negotiations weren’t contentious this time around, but nevertheless proved as complicated as anything the sides had previously arranged due to CBA considerations that still seem unclear in retrospect. (Want to have a crack at understanding it? You can check out all the contemporaneous reporting right here.)

Ultimately, the deal didn’t pay off from an on-field perspective. Though Jeter made his 14th All-Star game, that was an honorary nod — albeit one that delivered some memorable moments. He did still play nearly every day, wrapping up his career with a .256/.304/.313 batting line over 634 plate appearances. And New York’s second place finish in the AL East wasn’t enough to snag a Wild Card spot.

Of course, that tepid finish did little to change the fact that Jeter enjoyed an unbelievable run with the game’s most iconic franchise. All told, he took over 12,000 plate appearances over two decades and compiled a lifetime .310/.377/.440 batting line with 260 home runs. He helped lead the organization to five World Series titles, and racked up 71.8 wins above replacement by measure of both fWAR and rWAR. Jeter is a surefire first-ballot Hall-of-Famer, with the only question now is whether he’ll become the first player to receive unanimous support in his first year of eligibility.

This Date In Transactions History: April 17

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April 17 is an important day for firsts in baseball history.  Roberto Clemente, Frank Robinson and Don Drysdale all made their MLB debuts in games played on April 17, while Alexander Cartwright (the man often considered to be the creator of baseball’s modern rules) was born on April 17, 1820.  It could also be said that pro baseball itself has an April 17th birthday, as the very first professional game was played on this day in 1869.  The Cincinnati Red Stockings defeated the Cincinnati Amateurs by a 24-15 score, and in case you’re wondering, Bartolo Colon didn’t pitch.  Here are some notable early-season transactions that have taken place on April 17th…

2013: The Brewers signed Francisco Rodriguez to a minor league deal that ended up paying him more than $2MM thanks to his time on their MLB roster.  K-Rod’s stint in Milwaukee is almost worth a Transactions History post unto itself, as he was dealt to the Brewers from the Mets in July 2011, rather surprisingly accepted a one-year, $8MM arbitration offer from the club for the 2012 season, then returned on this minor league deal after posting only decent numbers in 2012.  Rodriguez posted a 1.09 ERA over 24 2/3 innings for the Crew before being traded to Baltimore in a July deal for Nick Delmonico, and the veteran reliever then re-signed with the Brewers in February 2014 on a one-year, Major League contract.  All told, Rodriguez signed four different contracts over his four-plus years in Milwaukee — accepting the arb offer, a one-year minors deal, a one-year Major League deal and a two-year, $13MM contract.

2012: Johnny Damon signed a minor league deal with the Indians (with a $1.25MM base salary in the majors), ending a rather unexpectedly long stint on the open market for the veteran.  Though Damon was entering his age-38 season, he hit 16 homers and slashed a respectable .261/.326/.418 over 647 PA with the Rays in 2011, yet was unable to land a Major League contract.  Cleveland may have only been interested in Damon as a fill-in for Grady Sizemore, who was recovering from back surgery.  As it happened, 2012 ended up being Damon’s last season, as he managed just a .610 OPS over 224 PA with the Tribe and was released in August.

2000: Not a player transaction but rather a franchise transaction, as Major League owners approved the sale of the Kansas City Royals to David Glass from Ewing Kauffman’s estate for $96MM.  This wasn’t the largest bid made for the team, though Glass’ bid was considered to be the most stable and he was the only one committed to keeping the Royals in Kansas City.  Many Royals fans have criticized Glass for the team’s small payrolls and lack of success over much of his ownership reign, yet obviously that general opinion has begun to change in the wake of the team’s World Series win and back-to-back AL pennants.  The Royals began this season with a payroll of just under $131.5MM, easily the highest in club history.

1960: It’s very rare to see a blockbuster deal take place so early in the season, yet the Tigers and Indians collaborated on a headline-grabbing trade on April 17, 1960.  Detroit sent reigning batting champion Harvey Kuenn to the Tribe for Rocky Colavito, who led the league with 42 homers in 1959.  Cleveland fans were upset at losing the popular Colavito, especially after Kuenn only lasted one (All-Star) year with the Tribe before being dealt again, this time to San Francisco.  Colavito, meanwhile, hit .272/.364/.502 with 173 homers over the next five seasons before returning for another stint with the Indians in 1965.  Terry Pluto of the Cleveland Plain Dealer suggested in a 1994 book that the so-called “Curse Of Rocky Colavito” may have been behind the Indians’ mostly-terrible play from 1960 until the mid-1990’s.

This Date In Transactions History: January 10

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Let’s take a look back at some notable trades and signings that have taken place on January 10…

2015: It was exactly one year ago that the Rays sent Ben Zobrist and Yunel Escobar to the Athletics in exchange for John Jaso and prospects Daniel Robertson and Boog Powell.  It’s a sign of how busy both those franchises have been over the last year that today, four of those five players (Robertson excepted) have again moved on to new teams.  Zobrist and Escobar, in fact, have both switched uniforms twice since that initial deal; the A’s flipped Escobar to Washington just four days after acquiring him from Tampa.  Given all of the new talent that joined the rosters in subsequent deals, it may be several years before we can definitively declare a winner of the five-player swap.  It could really turn into a comparison of Robertson and lefty Sean Manaea, the top pitching prospect who the A’s acquired in the deadline deal that sent Zobrist to Kansas City.

2012: One of the key names of the 2015-16 free agent market first came to Major League Baseball on this day four years ago when Wei-Yin Chen signed with the Orioles after four tremendous seasons in Japan.  Chen signed a three-year deal worth $11.388MM in guaranteed money, plus a $4.75MM club option for the 2015 season.  That contract ended up being a terrific bargain for the O’s as Chen was a key contributor to their two playoff teams over his four years in Baltimore.  Needless to say, Chen’s next deal will be a much more expensive one, as he and agent Scott Boras are looking for a five-year, $100MM contract on the open market.

2010: The Giants signed Aubrey Huff to a one-year, $3MM contract that, at the time, drew some poor reviews from executives from around the game.  Huff had been a very solid contributor over his first nine seasons but was coming off a down year in 2009 in his age-32 season.  Critics wondered why the Giants would sign a seemingly declining veteran when they had an up-and-comer (Brandon Belt) and a superior defender (Travis Ishikawa) as internal first base options.  As it turned out, the Giants guessed wisely that Huff would bounce back, as he rebounded with a big .290/.385/.506 line and 26 homers over 668 PA to help lead San Francisco to a World Series title.

1991: Cover your eyes, Orioles fans.  It was on this day 25 years ago that the O’s sent Curt Schilling, Steve Finley and Pete Harnisch to the Astros in exchange for Glenn Davis.  While Davis had been one of the game’s better and more underrated sluggers in Houston, injuries curtailed his production in Baltimore and he didn’t play again after the 1993 season.  WAR-wise, it’s not pretty from the Orioles’ perspective — Davis generated just 0.7 bWAR over his three seasons in Baltimore while Harnisch and Finley combined for 24.1 bWAR from 1991-94.  As for Schilling, it could be argued that the Astros didn’t really know what they had in him either, as he was dealt to the Phillies for Jason Grimsley in April 1992.  It wasn’t until he came to Philadelphia that Schilling put it all together and exhibited his superstar form.

1928: Rogers Hornsby hit a whopping .361/.448/.586 with 26 homers for the New York Giants in 1927, but it was Hornsby’s off-the-field issues that led to the Giants trading the Hall-of-Famer to the Boston Braves for catcher Shanty Hogan and outfielder Jimmy Welsh.  Hornsby was one of the most disliked players of his era, unpopular with both teammates and management, and he was also a big bettor on horse racing.  These issues reportedly led to his departure from New York for a relatively meager return, though Hogan ended up posting good-to-very good numbers as the Giants’ semi-regular catcher until 1932.  As for Hornsby, he won the “slash line Triple Crown” by leading the league in average, OBP and slugging in 1928 and even managed the Braves for much of the 1928 season.  He didn’t last long in Boston either, however, as the Braves dealt him to the Cubs for five players and $200K after the season.

This Date In Transactions History: November 26/Thanksgiving

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This may be a bit of a cheat on the “this date” headline but it wouldn’t be the first time I’ve bent the rules at Thanksgiving — it’s anything goes when my family plays our post-dinner game of Rummoli.  (Nothing says Thanksgiving like bluffing your grandma out of a nickel.)  Here are some of the notable transactions that have occurred both on November 26th and also transactions that took place on past Thanksgiving Days…

2014: It was a year ago today that the Diamondbacks signed Cuban star Yasmany Tomas to a six-year, $68.5MM contract that contained a player opt-out clause after the fourth season.  Between defensive struggles and a .273/.305/.401 line with nine homers over 426 PA, Tomas posted a below-replacement -1.3 fWAR in 2015.  Arizona signed Tomas without having a clear idea of where he would play, and a year later, that’s still an open question — Tomas struggled badly at third and the corner outfield spots have now been filled by David Peralta and Ender Inciarte.  Tomas will get his share of at-bats against southpaws since both Peralta and Inciarte are left-handed hitters, but the D’Backs certainly expected more from their investment than a platoon bat.  It’s still too early to render a verdict, however, since Tomas just turned 25 and should now be more fully acclimated to American baseball.

2012: Three years ago today, the Rays made an even bigger commitment to the face of their franchise by agreeing to a contract extension with Evan Longoria.  The Rays guaranteed (and increased the value of) three club option years for 2014-16 they held on Longoria from his pre-existing contract, paid him a $1MM signing bonus, then guaranteed him $94MM covering the 2017-22 seasons.  Tampa also has a $13MM club option on Longoria for 2023 with a $5MM buyout, which made the total value of the extension worth $100MM in new money for Longoria.  It was a surprising deal at the time since Longoria was coming off an injury-shortened season and because the low-payroll Rays had never splurged on a nine-figure contract.  Longoria posted superstar numbers over his first six seasons but has slowed down over the last two years, hitting .261/.324/.419 with 44 homers over 1370 PA in 2014-15.  If Longoria is already slowing down as he enters his age-30 season, this contract could end up being a major albatross for the revenue-strapped Rays.

2005: One of the biggest blockbuster trades of the 21st century was finalized on Thanksgiving Day 2005 when the Marlins traded Josh Beckett, Mike Lowell and Guillermo Mota to the Red Sox in exchange for Hanley Ramirez, Anibal Sanchez and right-handers Jesus Delgado and Harvey Garcia.  The Marlins were eager to move Beckett and Lowell for payroll reasons, and they ended up hitting it big on their haul of minor leaguers as Ramirez lived up his reputation as a blue chip prospect and Sanchez eventually developed into a big piece of the Marlins rotation.  Beckett had something of an up-and-down tenure in Boston that saw him generate 14 WAR from 2007-09 but also featured a couple of rough seasons and a role in the infamous “chicken and beer” controversy that clouded their 2011 September collapse.  Lowell was coming off a down year in 2005 but rebounded for four more good seasons with the Red Sox.  The trade became an instant win for the Red Sox in 2007 when they won the World Series, with Lowell being named Series MVP and Beckett winning the ALCS MVP Award in the previous postseason round.

2005: Only the Marlins would finalize two payroll-slashing mega-trades on the same Thanksgiving.  The Marlins’ swap of Carlos Delgado to the Mets for Yusmeiro Petit, Mike Jacobs and minor league infielder Grant Psomas was also made official ten years ago today.  (The Fish also sent along $7MM to help cover some of the $48MM remaining on Delgado’s contract.)  Delgado hit .267/.351/.506 with 104 homers as a Met in what ended up being the last four years of his Major League career.  The Marlins’ return wasn’t quite as impressive in this trade, though Jacobs had some solid power numbers in his three years in Florida.  Psomas never reached the bigs and Petit only had one season as a Marlin.  Petit never truly established himself until emerging as a dominant swingman option for the Giants in recent years.

1997: The Blue Jays signed Randy Myers to a three-year, $18MM free agent contract on this day 18 years ago, signing the former Nasty Boy away from their division rival in Baltimore in the wake of Myers’ excellent 1.51 ERA, 45-save season with the Orioles in 1997.  Myers wasn’t nearly as effective in Toronto, however, posting a 4.46 ERA and just a 6.5 K/9 over 56 2/3 innings as a Jay.  Fortunately for the Blue Jays, they were able to unload Myers to the Padres in a waiver deal in August 1998.  San Diego only put in the claim to block Myers from going to Atlanta and didn’t actually plan on landing the reliever (or his remaining salary).  Myers didn’t pitch again after 1998 due to injury, so the Padres ended up paying him over $13MM in 1999-2000 with no return on their investment.

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