In today's installment, Leigh Sprague examines the trades made by Pat Gillick between 1988 (actually 1989, there weren't any trades in 1988!) and 1994. Thanks again to Leigh for making this available as a Pinch Hit. Enjoy!
Part Three : Pat Gillick, Second Movement -- Running To Stand Pat
by Leigh Sprague
April 30, 1989
Toronto trades OF Jesse Barfield to New York (AL) for SP Al Leiter.
Obtained:
Al Leiter, seven seasons in Toronto
Signed as a free agent with Florida on December 14, 1995.
Traded Away:
Jesse Barfield, four seasons in New York
Granted free agency on November 4, 1992.
Synopsis: it is a stretch to say that Captain Blister pitched seven seasons in Toronto. In actuality, there were only three seasons in Toronto during which he exceeded seven innings pitched. Leiter was certainly the better player going forward from the date of the trade, but if you stop the analysis at the dates on which Leiter and Barfield left Toronto and New York, respectively, it looks fairly even. Barfield was good for the Yankees in 1989 and 1990; Leiter was good for the Jays in 1993 and 1995. Barfield cost the Yankees more in terms of salary than Leiter cost the Jays, so perhaps we can use that to tip the scales here. Verdict: slightly advantageous.
July 31, 1989
Toronto trades RP Jeff Musselman and Mike Brady to New York (NL) for OF Mookie Wilson.
Obtained:
Mookie Wilson, three seasons in Toronto
Granted free agency on October 29, 1991.
Traded Away:
Jeff Musselman, two seasons in New York
Granted free agency on December 20, 1990.
Mike Brady did not play for New York.
Synopsis: the 1990 Jays outfield of Bell/Wilson/Felix was turned into the eventual World Series winning outfield of Maldonado/White/Carter before the 1991 season. Mookie's best season in Toronto was that post-trade deadline portion of 1989, and he was likely the best internal option the Jays had for 1990 (the others being a not-yet-productive Glenallen Hill and current White Sox GM Kenny Williams). Verdict: mildly good trade.
August 24, 1989
Toronto trades 1B/C Francisco Cabrera and RP Tony Castillo to Atlanta for RP Jim Acker.
Obtained:
Jim Acker, three seasons in Toronto
Signed with Seattle as a free agent on February 2, 1992.
Traded Away:
Tony Castillo, three seasons in Atlanta
Traded to New York (NL) on August 28, 1991.
Francisco Cabrera, five seasons in Atlanta
Released on November 24, 1993.
Synopsis: Acker was better in the Jays' bullpen over the ensuing three years than Castillo was in the Braves', although giving Acker 88.3 innings in 1991 (he gave up 16 homeruns in those innings) was not wise. Cabrera slugged over .420 from the Atlanta bench during the Braves' neo-competitive era of the early 1990's. The Braves traded Castillo to the Mets in August of 1991 for Alejandro Pena, who would be the Braves closer in 1992. Verdict: even.
December 17, 1989
Toronto trades OF Kevin Batiste and C Ernie Whitt to Atlanta for RP Ricky Trlicek.
Obtained:
Ricky Trlicek, one season in Toronto
Claimed off waivers by Los Angeles on March 16, 1993.
Traded Away:
Ernie Whitt, one season in Atlanta
Released on October 15, 1990.
Kevin Batiste did not play for Atlanta.
Synopsis: Trlicek only pitched 1.7 innings for the Jays, but he only cost them $109,000 in salary. Whitt's 65 games of .172/.265/.250 cost the Braves $1.2 million. Verdict: good trade.
July 27, 1990
Toronto trades 2B Nelson Liriano and OF/DH Pedro Munoz to Minnesota for RP John Candelaria.
Obtained:
John Candelaria, one season in Toronto
Signed as a free agent with Los Angeles on March 25, 1991.
Traded Away:
Nelson Liriano, one season in Minnesota
Released on April 2, 1991.
Pedro Munoz, six seasons in Minnesota
Signed as a free agent with Oakland on January 29, 1996.
Synopsis: only 21.3 innings of 5.48 LOOGY for the Jays from Candelaria. Liriano was decent in 1990: he was third in the AL with nine triples. Munoz was good in the Twins' outfield (or off of their bench) in 1991, 1994 and 1995 (at dh). The Jays could have used Munoz' bat off of the bench in the World Series years; certainly more value there than in the very few innings that they got from Candelaria. Verdict: a moderately poor trade.
September 17, 1990
Toronto trades SP Mauro Gozzo, P Steve Cummings and SP Alex Sanchez to Cleveland for SP Bud Black.
Obtained:
Bud Black, one season in Toronto
Signed with San Francisco as a free agent on November 9, 1990.
Traded Away:
Mauro Gozzo, two seasons in Cleveland
Signed by Minnesota as a free agent on January 7, 1992.
Steve Cummings did not pitch for Cleveland. He was traded to Detroit on May 21, 1991.
Alex Sanchez did not pitch for Cleveland. He was traded back to Toronto on November 6, 1990.
Synopsis: Toronto gave up virtually nothing and got virtually nothing. Verdict: innocuous.
November 6, 1990
Toronto trades P Willie Blair to Cleveland for SP Alex Sanchez.
Obtained:
Alex Sanchez did not pitch for Toronto (subsequent to this trade).
Traded Away:
Willie Blair, one season in Clevland
Traded to Houston on December 10, 1991.
Synopsis: Sanchez, a Jays first round pick in 1987, did not pitch for Toronto subsequent to the trade. Blair pitched terribly for the Indians in 1991 and was traded to Houston that winter with Eddie Taubensee for Dave Rohde and Kenny Lofton. Lofton delivered to Cleveland five seasons of excellent centrefielder and leadoff hitter from 1992 to 1996. Verdict: a bad trade, indirectly.
November 6, 1990
Toronto trades Ken Rivers, OF Junior Felix and 2B Luis Sojo to California for OF Devon White, RP Willie Fraser and RP Marcus Moore.
Obtained:
Devon White, five seasons in Toronto
Signed with Florida as a free agent on November 21, 1995.
Willie Fraser, one season in Toronto
Taken by St. Louis off of waivers on June 26, 1991.
Marcus Moore did not pitch for Toronto. He was selected by Colorado in the 1992 Expansion Draft.
Traded Away:
Ken Rivers did not play in California.
Junior Felix, two seasons in California
Selected by Florida in the 1992 Expansion Draft.
Luis Sojo, two seasons in California
Traded back to Toronto on December 8, 1992.
Synopsis: White was adequate to good offensively and fantastic defensively as the Jays centrefielder during the World Series years. He won a Gold Glove in each of his five seasons in Toronto, and was an all-star in 1993. He was great (.444/.464/.667) in the 1993 ALCS vs the White Sox. Sojo and Felix were slightly less than adequate as quasi-regulars for the Angels in 1991 and 1992. Verdict: great trade.
December 5, 1990
Toronto trades 1B Fred McGriff and SS Tony Fernandez to San Diego for 2B Roberto Alomar and OF Joe Carter.
Obtained:
Roberto Alomar, five seasons in Toronto
Signed with Baltimore as a free agent on December 21, 1995.
Joe Carter, seven seasons in Toronto
Signed with Baltimore as a free agent on December 12, 1997.
Traded Away:
Fred McGriff, three seasons in San Diego
Traded to Atlanta on July 18, 1993.
Tony Fernandez, two seasons in San Diego
Traded to New York (NL) on October 26, 1992.
Synopsis: this trade is the big one. Carter and Alomar enjoyed World Series titles in 1992 and 1993 in Toronto. Carter only managed a .252/.282/.445 line in 29 playoff games as a Jay, but of course we are forever greatful for The Homerun. Carter was an all-star in five of his seven seasons in Toronto and finished third in AL MVP voting in 1993. It was problematic that Carter was the highest paid player in the AL in 1991, 1993 and 1994, but again: The Homerun made it all worthwhile.
Alomar was fantastic as the Jays' secondbaseman from 1991 to 1995. In each of those five seasons, he won a Gold Glove and was an all-star. He finished sixth in AL MVP voting in each of 1991, 1992 and 1993. My fondest memory of him is the homerun he hit off of Eckersley in the 1992 ALCS, in which he was the MVP. Alomar stepped up his production in the playoffs (unlike Carter, who has been falsely reputed to have done so): Alomar's post-season line as a Jay is .373/.435/.492, and he created 25 runs while only causing 78 outs (that's 8.65 rc/27).
Tony Fernandez had two decent seasons in San Diego, including his all-star 1992. He was traded after the 1992 season to New York (NL) for Raul Casanova, D.J. Dozier and Wally Whitehurst. Oops. McGriff had two and a half very good seasons in San Diego, including 1992, when he lead the NL with 35 homeruns. He was traded to Atlanta in July of 1993 for Melvin Nieves, Donnie Elliott and Vince Moore. Oops.
Verdict: by virtue of the facts that Carter and Alomar contributed to back-to-back World Series glory in Toronto, and San Diego squandered McGriff and Fernandez in poor subsequent trades, Toronto is the big winner here.
January 15, 1991
Toronto trades Ron Blumberg to California for SS Rene Gonzales.
Obtained:
Rene Gonzales, one season in Toronto
Signed by California as a free agent on January 10, 1992.
Traded Away:
Ron Blumberg did not play for California.
Synopsis: the biggest trade in Blue Jays history was followed (chronologically) by one of the smallest. Toronto rented Gonzales for a year less five days from the Angels, for little cost and with little return. Verdict: innocuous.
June 27, 1991
Toronto trades SP Denis Boucher, OF Glenallen Hill and OF Mark Whiten to Cleveland for SP Tom Candiotti and OF Turner Ward.
Obtained:
Tom Candiotti, one season in Toronto
Signed with Los Angeles as a free agent on December 3, 1991.
Turner Ward, three seasons in Toronto
Taken of waivers by Milwaukee on November 24, 1993.
Traded Away:
Denis Boucher, two seasons in Cleveland
Selected by Colorado in 1992 Expansion Draft.
Glenallen Hill, three seasons in Cleveland
Traded to Chicago (NL) on August 19, 1993.
Mark Whiten, two seasons in Cleveland
Traded to St. Louis on March 31, 1993.
Synopsis: Candiotti pitched well for Toronto down the stretch in 1991, and deserved better than a 6-7 record. Turner Ward split the leftfield duties with Darnell Coles for Toronto in 1993 until Rickey Henderson showed up. Boucher, from Montreal, never got much a chance to pitch for Cleveland, but Hill and Whiten played semi-regularly. Hill was later traded to the Cubs for Candy Maldonado, and Whiten to the Cardinals for Mark Clark. Clark gave the Indians 46 starts of above-average pitching over three seasons, which is enough to have made this trade a good one from Cleveland's perspective. Verdict: even, as both teams got what they wanted.
July 14, 1991
Toronto trades OF Shawn Jeter and RP Steve Wapnick to Chicago (AL) for OF Cory Snyder.
Obtained:
Cory Snyder, one season in Toronto
Released on October 28, 1991.
Traded Away:
Shawn Jeter, one season in Chicago
Steve Wapnick, one season in Chicago
Synopsis: Snyder, unlike Candiotti, was unable to make much of a contriubtion to the Jays' 1991 pennant drive. It was a shot in the dark, and Gillick didn't give much up, so it is tough to fault him. Verdict: innocuous.
August 9, 1991
Toronto trades 2B William Suero and Rob Wishnevski to Milwaukee for OF Candy Maldonado.
Obtained:
Candy Maldonado, two seasons in Toronto
Signed as a free agent with Chicago (NL) on December 11, 1992.
Traded Away:
William Suero, two seasons in Milwaukee
Granted free agency on August 8, 1993.
Rob Wishnevski did not play for Milwaukee.
Synopsis: Maldonado was above-average as the Jays' everyday leftfielder in 1992. Although his defence was less than stellar, Candy did his part to help the Jays in 1991 and 1992; he hit two homeruns in the 1992 ALCS vs. Oakland. He was a bigger component on the 1992 team than you might think; runs created per 27 outs of the Jays 1992 outfield: Carter: 5.14, White: 4.01, Maldonado: 5.67. Suero contributed little from the Brewers' bench, although his rate stats from 1993 look decent. Verdict: very good trade.
July 30, 1992
Toronto trades C Greg Myers and OF Rob Ducey to California for RP Mark Eichhorn.
Obtained:
Mark Eichhorn, two seasons in Toronto
Signed as a free agent with Baltimore on December 14, 1993.
Traded Away:
Rob Ducey, one season in California
Signed as a free agent with Texas on December 18, 1992.
Greg Myers, four seasons in California
Signed as a free agent with Minnesota on December 8, 1995.
Synopsis: before he was our beloved Crash, the Jays dealt Myers with Canadian Ducey in order to obtain the former Jay who should have been the 1986 Rookie of the Year. As Ward took over Henke's role for the 1993 season, Eichhorn took over Ward's; and admirably so. Myers was missed in late 1992 and 1993 as his role was taken over by Randy Knorr, who did not command enough of management's confidence to take a significant amount of at bats away from Pat Borders. If Myers had been Borders backup in 1993 (when Borders amassed over 500 plate appearances), would the extra rest have resulted in a better line than .254/.285/.371 for Borders? It's a minor point, but perhaps worth thinking about. At any rate, Eichhorn was excellent. Verdict: good trade.
August 28, 1992
Toronto trades 2B Jeff Kent and OF Ryan Thompson to New York (NL) for SP David Cone.
Obtained:
David Cone, one season in Toronto
Signed as a free agent with Kansas City on December 8, 1992.
Traded Away:
Jeff Kent, five seasons in New York
Traded to Cleveland on July 29, 1996.
Ryan Thompson, four seasons in New York
Traded to Cleveland on March 31, 1996.
Synopsis: ostensibly, this trade does not look good. Cone went 4-3, 2.55 down the stretch in 1992 and 1-1 3.23 in the playoffs. Thompson never quite reached replacement level (an amazing 94 strikeouts in 334 at bats in 1994). The Mets traded Kent to the Indians with Jose Vizcaino in exchange for Carlos Baerga and Alvaro Espinoza during the 1996 season. After the trade, Kent improved while Baerga declined; it might be fair to say that the Mets' trade of Kent was worse than the Jays'. Thompson was also traded to Cleveland, in exchange for SP Mark Clark, who gave the Mets two seasons of slightly above-average starting pitching. Pro: Cone pitched well in 1992; Kent may not have gotten regular playing time in Toronto during the World Series years; Thompson never produced as expected. Con: the Jays only got 53 innings (plus playoffs) from Cone; Kent would become a star after leaving New York; Thompson brought a decent pitcher to New York in a subsequent trade. Verdict: disadvantageous.
December 8, 1992
Toronto trades 3B Kelly Gruber to California for 2B Luis Sojo.
Obtained:
Luis Sojo, one season in Toronto
Signed as a free agent with Seattle on January 10, 1994.
Traded Away:
Kelly Gruber, one season in California
Released on September 7, 1993.
Synopsis: neither played 20 games in 1993; Gruber was slightly more productive. The pivotal difference is that the Angels paid Gruber $4.33 million in 1993, whereas the Jays paid Sojo $290,000. Like Ernie Whitt, Gruber was a good Jays regular who was shipped off for one unproductive and costly season with another team. It is sad to think of Whitt and Gruber - two of my boyhood idols - as commodities, but Gillick did the right thing with each: getting out before the formerly productive player's contract became an albatross. Verdict: a good trade, because of the money saved.
March 30, 1993
Toronto trades OF Derek Bell and Stoney Briggs to San Diego for OF Darrin Jackson.
Obtained:
Darrin Jackson, one season in Toronto
Traded to New York (NL) on June 11, 1993.
Traded Away:
Stoney Briggs did not play in San Diego.
Derek Bell, two seasons in San Diego
Traded to New York (NL) on December 28, 1994.
Synopsis: Jackson was unproductive in two months as a Jay, and his salary was $2.1 million (although I cannot find the information with regard to how much of that contract was picked up by the Mets subsequent to the June 11 trade). Derek Bell helped the Padres in two ways: firstly, by being very productive in the strike-shortened 1994 season, and secondly, by being involved in a whopper of a trade three days after Christmas, 1994. The trade saw Derek Bell, Doug Brocail, Ricky Guitierrez, Pedro Martinez (no, not that Pedro Martinez), Phil Plantier and Craig Shipley go from the Padres to the Mets in exchange for Ken Caminiti, Andujar Cedeno, Steve Finley, Roberto Petagine, Brian Williams and Sean Fesh. From Caminiti, the Padres got four excellent seasons, including an MVP campaign in 1996. From Finley, they got four very good seasons including an all-star appearance in 1997. Even without considering that huge trade with the Mets, this Bell/Jackson trade was lop-sided; but when Bell's integral status in that big Mets trade is considered, the Bell/Jackson trade outrageously favoured the Padres over the Jays. Verdict: either bad or very bad, depending on the degree to which Bell was needed to obtain Caminiti and/or Finley.
June 11, 1993
Toronto trades OF Darrin Jackson to New York (NL) for SS Tony Fernandez.
Obtained:
Tony Fernandez, one season in Toronto
Signed as a free agent by Cincinnati on March 8, 1994.
Traded Away:
Darrin Jackson, one season in New York
Signed as a free agent by Chicago (AL) on December 28, 1993.
Synopsis: Toronto's prodigal son - Tony - returns for the first of three times. The difference between Tony Fernandez and the three headed shortstop monster of Schofield/Griffin/Cedeno was huge for the 1993 Jays. Schofield got 46% of the non-Fernandez shortstop plate appearances, Griffin 36% and Cedeno 18%. If you give them those proportions of Fernandez' plate appearances, and increase their runs created and outs proportionately, and then add them together, you get this: 390 pa, 304 outs, 18 rc. That is what I call FrankenTony, or contextualized replacement level. That is what those three would have produced given Fernandez' plate appearances. Fernandez actually did this with the Jays: 390 pa, 272 outs, 56 rc. That is quite a difference. Verdict: very good trade.
July 31, 1993
Toronto trades OF Jose Herrera and P Steve Karsay to Oakland for OF Rickey Henderson.
Obtained:
Rickey Henderson, one season in Toronto
Signed as a free agent with Oakland on December 17, 1993.
Traded Away:
Jose Herrera, two seasons in Oakland
Steve Karsay, three seasons in Oakland
Traded to Cleveland on December 8, 1997.
Synopsis: this trade was not "the greatest of all-time". Henderson was unspectacular in Toronto, going .215/.356/.319 in the regular season and hitting .170 in the post-season. Karsay, a Jays first round pick in 1990, would become a good reliever after leaving Oakland. Karsay did fetch Mike Fetters for the A's in a 1997 trade with Cleveland, but Fetters left after only one season. Verdict: a poor trade.
March 29, 1994
Toronto trades 1B Domingo Martinez to Chicago (AL) for OF Mike Huff.
Obtained:
Mike Huff, three seasons in Toronto
Granted free agency on October 15, 1996.
Traded Away:
Domingo Martinez did not play for Chicago.
Synopsis: Huff was very good as the Jays starting leftfielder in 1994, and his salary was only $222,000. In 1995, Joe Carter moved back to left from right with the emergence of Shawn Green, thus ending Huff's days as a regular; his production fell off. Domingo Martinez never played for the ChiSox. Verdict: good trade.
Part Three : Pat Gillick, Second Movement -- Running To Stand Pat
by Leigh Sprague
April 30, 1989
Toronto trades OF Jesse Barfield to New York (AL) for SP Al Leiter.
Obtained:
Al Leiter, seven seasons in Toronto
Year ip w l era
1989 6.7 0 0 4.05
1990 6.3 0 0 0.00
1991 1.7 0 0 27.00
1992 1 0 0 9.00
1993 105 9 6 4.11
1994 111.7 6 7 5.08
1995 183 11 11 3.64
Signed as a free agent with Florida on December 14, 1995.
Traded Away:
Jesse Barfield, four seasons in New York
Year avg./obp./slg. gms rc fld/rf
1989 .240/.360/.410 129 65 -/+
1990 .246/.359/.456 153 77 -/+
1991 .225/.312/.447 84 39 +/+
1992 .137/.210/.221 30 4 -/-
Granted free agency on November 4, 1992.
Synopsis: it is a stretch to say that Captain Blister pitched seven seasons in Toronto. In actuality, there were only three seasons in Toronto during which he exceeded seven innings pitched. Leiter was certainly the better player going forward from the date of the trade, but if you stop the analysis at the dates on which Leiter and Barfield left Toronto and New York, respectively, it looks fairly even. Barfield was good for the Yankees in 1989 and 1990; Leiter was good for the Jays in 1993 and 1995. Barfield cost the Yankees more in terms of salary than Leiter cost the Jays, so perhaps we can use that to tip the scales here. Verdict: slightly advantageous.
July 31, 1989
Toronto trades RP Jeff Musselman and Mike Brady to New York (NL) for OF Mookie Wilson.
Obtained:
Mookie Wilson, three seasons in Toronto
Year avg./obp./slg. gms rc fld/rf
1989 .298/.311/.370 54 27 +/-
1990 .265/.300/.355 147 63 +/+
1991 .241/.277/.349 86 22 -/-
Granted free agency on October 29, 1991.
Traded Away:
Jeff Musselman, two seasons in New York
Year ip w l sv era
1989 26.3 3 2 0 3.08
1990 32 0 2 0 5.62
Granted free agency on December 20, 1990.
Mike Brady did not play for New York.
Synopsis: the 1990 Jays outfield of Bell/Wilson/Felix was turned into the eventual World Series winning outfield of Maldonado/White/Carter before the 1991 season. Mookie's best season in Toronto was that post-trade deadline portion of 1989, and he was likely the best internal option the Jays had for 1990 (the others being a not-yet-productive Glenallen Hill and current White Sox GM Kenny Williams). Verdict: mildly good trade.
August 24, 1989
Toronto trades 1B/C Francisco Cabrera and RP Tony Castillo to Atlanta for RP Jim Acker.
Obtained:
Jim Acker, three seasons in Toronto
Year ip w l sv era
1989 28.3 2 1 0 1.59
1990 91.7 4 4 1 3.83
1991 88.3 3 5 1 5.20
Signed with Seattle as a free agent on February 2, 1992.
Traded Away:
Tony Castillo, three seasons in Atlanta
Year ip w l sv era
1989 9.3 0 1 0 4.82
1990 76.7 5 1 1 4.23
1991 8.7 1 1 0 7.27
Traded to New York (NL) on August 28, 1991.
Francisco Cabrera, five seasons in Atlanta
Year avg./obp./slg. gms rc fld/rf
1989 .214/.214/.357 4 1 +/+
1990 .277/.301/.482 63 20 -/-
1991 .242/.284/.432 44 11 -/-
1992 .300/.364/.900 12 3 nil/-
1993 .241/.308/.422 70 10 +/-
Released on November 24, 1993.
Synopsis: Acker was better in the Jays' bullpen over the ensuing three years than Castillo was in the Braves', although giving Acker 88.3 innings in 1991 (he gave up 16 homeruns in those innings) was not wise. Cabrera slugged over .420 from the Atlanta bench during the Braves' neo-competitive era of the early 1990's. The Braves traded Castillo to the Mets in August of 1991 for Alejandro Pena, who would be the Braves closer in 1992. Verdict: even.
December 17, 1989
Toronto trades OF Kevin Batiste and C Ernie Whitt to Atlanta for RP Ricky Trlicek.
Obtained:
Ricky Trlicek, one season in Toronto
Year ip w l sv era
1992 1.7 0 0 0 10.80
Claimed off waivers by Los Angeles on March 16, 1993.
Traded Away:
Ernie Whitt, one season in Atlanta
Year avg./obp./slg. gms rc fld/rf
1990 .172/.265/.250 67 12 +/+
Released on October 15, 1990.
Kevin Batiste did not play for Atlanta.
Synopsis: Trlicek only pitched 1.7 innings for the Jays, but he only cost them $109,000 in salary. Whitt's 65 games of .172/.265/.250 cost the Braves $1.2 million. Verdict: good trade.
July 27, 1990
Toronto trades 2B Nelson Liriano and OF/DH Pedro Munoz to Minnesota for RP John Candelaria.
Obtained:
John Candelaria, one season in Toronto
Year ip w l sv era
1990 21.3 0 3 1 5.48
Signed as a free agent with Los Angeles on March 25, 1991.
Traded Away:
Nelson Liriano, one season in Minnesota
Year avg./obp./slg. gms rc fld/rf
1990 .254/.332/.357 53 22 -/-
Released on April 2, 1991.
Pedro Munoz, six seasons in Minnesota
Year avg./obp./slg. gms rc fld/rf
1990 .271/.281/.341 22 8 -/-
1991 .283/.327/.500 51 22 +/+
1992 .270/.298/.409 127 51 +/-
1993 .233/.294/.393 104 36 nil/-
1994 .295/.348/.508 75 42 -/-
1995 .301/.338/.489 104 61 dh
Signed as a free agent with Oakland on January 29, 1996.
Synopsis: only 21.3 innings of 5.48 LOOGY for the Jays from Candelaria. Liriano was decent in 1990: he was third in the AL with nine triples. Munoz was good in the Twins' outfield (or off of their bench) in 1991, 1994 and 1995 (at dh). The Jays could have used Munoz' bat off of the bench in the World Series years; certainly more value there than in the very few innings that they got from Candelaria. Verdict: a moderately poor trade.
September 17, 1990
Toronto trades SP Mauro Gozzo, P Steve Cummings and SP Alex Sanchez to Cleveland for SP Bud Black.
Obtained:
Bud Black, one season in Toronto
Year ip w l era
1990 15.7 2 1 4.02
Signed with San Francisco as a free agent on November 9, 1990.
Traded Away:
Mauro Gozzo, two seasons in Cleveland
Year ip w l era
1990 3.0 0 0 0.00
1991 4.7 0 0 19.29
Signed by Minnesota as a free agent on January 7, 1992.
Steve Cummings did not pitch for Cleveland. He was traded to Detroit on May 21, 1991.
Alex Sanchez did not pitch for Cleveland. He was traded back to Toronto on November 6, 1990.
Synopsis: Toronto gave up virtually nothing and got virtually nothing. Verdict: innocuous.
November 6, 1990
Toronto trades P Willie Blair to Cleveland for SP Alex Sanchez.
Obtained:
Alex Sanchez did not pitch for Toronto (subsequent to this trade).
Traded Away:
Willie Blair, one season in Clevland
Year ip w l era
1991 36 2 3 6.75
Traded to Houston on December 10, 1991.
Synopsis: Sanchez, a Jays first round pick in 1987, did not pitch for Toronto subsequent to the trade. Blair pitched terribly for the Indians in 1991 and was traded to Houston that winter with Eddie Taubensee for Dave Rohde and Kenny Lofton. Lofton delivered to Cleveland five seasons of excellent centrefielder and leadoff hitter from 1992 to 1996. Verdict: a bad trade, indirectly.
November 6, 1990
Toronto trades Ken Rivers, OF Junior Felix and 2B Luis Sojo to California for OF Devon White, RP Willie Fraser and RP Marcus Moore.
Obtained:
Devon White, five seasons in Toronto
Year avg./obp./slg. gms rc fld/rf
1991 .282/.342/.455 156 98 +/+
1992 .248/.303/.390 153 74 +/+
1993 .273/.341/.438 146 88 +/+
1994 .270/.313/.457 100 56 -/+
1995 .283/.334/.431 101 60 +/+
Signed with Florida as a free agent on November 21, 1995.
Willie Fraser, one season in Toronto
Year ip w l sv era
1991 26.3 0 2 0 6.15
Taken by St. Louis off of waivers on June 26, 1991.
Marcus Moore did not pitch for Toronto. He was selected by Colorado in the 1992 Expansion Draft.
Traded Away:
Ken Rivers did not play in California.
Junior Felix, two seasons in California
Year avg./obp./slg. gms rc fld/rf
1991 .283/.321/.370 66 26 -/-
1992 .246/.289/.361 139 53 nil/+
Selected by Florida in the 1992 Expansion Draft.
Luis Sojo, two seasons in California
Year avg./obp./slg. gms rc fld/rf
1991 .258/.295/.327 113 34 nil/+
1992 .272/.299/.378 106 41 +/+
Traded back to Toronto on December 8, 1992.
Synopsis: White was adequate to good offensively and fantastic defensively as the Jays centrefielder during the World Series years. He won a Gold Glove in each of his five seasons in Toronto, and was an all-star in 1993. He was great (.444/.464/.667) in the 1993 ALCS vs the White Sox. Sojo and Felix were slightly less than adequate as quasi-regulars for the Angels in 1991 and 1992. Verdict: great trade.
December 5, 1990
Toronto trades 1B Fred McGriff and SS Tony Fernandez to San Diego for 2B Roberto Alomar and OF Joe Carter.
Obtained:
Roberto Alomar, five seasons in Toronto
Year avg./obp./slg. gms rc fld/rf
1991 .295/.354/.436 161 98 nil/+
1992 .310/.405/.427 152 97 +/-
1993 .326/.408/.492 153 117 -/+
1994 .306/.386/.452 107 68 +/-
1995 .300/.354/.449 130 83 +/+
Signed with Baltimore as a free agent on December 21, 1995.
Joe Carter, seven seasons in Toronto
Year avg./obp./slg. gms rc fld/rf
1991 .273/.330/.503 162 104 -/-
1992 .264/.309/.498 158 94 -/-
1993 .254/.312/.489 155 90 -/-
1994 .271/.317/.524 111 73 +/-
1995 .253/.300/.428 139 71 -/+
1996 .253/.306/.475 157 89 -/-
1997 .234/.284/.399 157 68 dh
Signed with Baltimore as a free agent on December 12, 1997.
Traded Away:
Fred McGriff, three seasons in San Diego
Year avg./obp./slg. gms rc fld/rf
1991 .278/.396/.494 153 103 -/+
1992 .286/.394/.556 152 116 -/+
1993 .275/.361/.497 83 54 -/+
Traded to Atlanta on July 18, 1993.
Tony Fernandez, two seasons in San Diego
Year avg./obp./slg. gms rc fld/rf
1991 .272/.337/.360 145 67 +/+
1992 .275/.337/.359 155 74 +/+
Traded to New York (NL) on October 26, 1992.
Synopsis: this trade is the big one. Carter and Alomar enjoyed World Series titles in 1992 and 1993 in Toronto. Carter only managed a .252/.282/.445 line in 29 playoff games as a Jay, but of course we are forever greatful for The Homerun. Carter was an all-star in five of his seven seasons in Toronto and finished third in AL MVP voting in 1993. It was problematic that Carter was the highest paid player in the AL in 1991, 1993 and 1994, but again: The Homerun made it all worthwhile.
Alomar was fantastic as the Jays' secondbaseman from 1991 to 1995. In each of those five seasons, he won a Gold Glove and was an all-star. He finished sixth in AL MVP voting in each of 1991, 1992 and 1993. My fondest memory of him is the homerun he hit off of Eckersley in the 1992 ALCS, in which he was the MVP. Alomar stepped up his production in the playoffs (unlike Carter, who has been falsely reputed to have done so): Alomar's post-season line as a Jay is .373/.435/.492, and he created 25 runs while only causing 78 outs (that's 8.65 rc/27).
Tony Fernandez had two decent seasons in San Diego, including his all-star 1992. He was traded after the 1992 season to New York (NL) for Raul Casanova, D.J. Dozier and Wally Whitehurst. Oops. McGriff had two and a half very good seasons in San Diego, including 1992, when he lead the NL with 35 homeruns. He was traded to Atlanta in July of 1993 for Melvin Nieves, Donnie Elliott and Vince Moore. Oops.
Verdict: by virtue of the facts that Carter and Alomar contributed to back-to-back World Series glory in Toronto, and San Diego squandered McGriff and Fernandez in poor subsequent trades, Toronto is the big winner here.
January 15, 1991
Toronto trades Ron Blumberg to California for SS Rene Gonzales.
Obtained:
Rene Gonzales, one season in Toronto
Year avg./obp./slg. gms rc fld/rf
1991 .195/.289/.246 71 7 +/-
Signed by California as a free agent on January 10, 1992.
Traded Away:
Ron Blumberg did not play for California.
Synopsis: the biggest trade in Blue Jays history was followed (chronologically) by one of the smallest. Toronto rented Gonzales for a year less five days from the Angels, for little cost and with little return. Verdict: innocuous.
June 27, 1991
Toronto trades SP Denis Boucher, OF Glenallen Hill and OF Mark Whiten to Cleveland for SP Tom Candiotti and OF Turner Ward.
Obtained:
Tom Candiotti, one season in Toronto
Year ip w l era
1991 129.7 6 7 2.98
Signed with Los Angeles as a free agent on December 3, 1991.
Turner Ward, three seasons in Toronto
Year avg./obp./slg. gms rc fld/rf
1991 .308/.357/.308 8 1 +/-
1992 .345/.424/.552 18 6 +/-
1993 .192/.287/.311 72 15 +/-
Taken of waivers by Milwaukee on November 24, 1993.
Traded Away:
Denis Boucher, two seasons in Cleveland
Year ip w l era
1991 22.7 1 4 8.34
1992 41 2 2 6.37
Selected by Colorado in 1992 Expansion Draft.
Glenallen Hill, three seasons in Cleveland
Year avg./obp./slg. gms rc fld/rf
1991 .262/.345/.410 37 17 -/+
1992 .241/.287/.436 102 45 -/+
1993 .224/.268/.374 66 17 -/-
Traded to Chicago (NL) on August 19, 1993.
Mark Whiten, two seasons in Cleveland
Year avg./obp./slg. gms rc fld/rf
1991 .256/.310/.422 70 33 -/+
1992 .254/.347/.360 148 63 -/+
Traded to St. Louis on March 31, 1993.
Synopsis: Candiotti pitched well for Toronto down the stretch in 1991, and deserved better than a 6-7 record. Turner Ward split the leftfield duties with Darnell Coles for Toronto in 1993 until Rickey Henderson showed up. Boucher, from Montreal, never got much a chance to pitch for Cleveland, but Hill and Whiten played semi-regularly. Hill was later traded to the Cubs for Candy Maldonado, and Whiten to the Cardinals for Mark Clark. Clark gave the Indians 46 starts of above-average pitching over three seasons, which is enough to have made this trade a good one from Cleveland's perspective. Verdict: even, as both teams got what they wanted.
July 14, 1991
Toronto trades OF Shawn Jeter and RP Steve Wapnick to Chicago (AL) for OF Cory Snyder.
Obtained:
Cory Snyder, one season in Toronto
Year avg./obp./slg. gms rc fld/rf
1991 .143/.189/.184 21 1 +/-
Released on October 28, 1991.
Traded Away:
Shawn Jeter, one season in Chicago
Year avg./obp./slg. gms rc fld/rf
1992 .111/.111/.111 13 0 -/-
Steve Wapnick, one season in Chicago
Year ip w l era
1991 5 0 1 1.80
Synopsis: Snyder, unlike Candiotti, was unable to make much of a contriubtion to the Jays' 1991 pennant drive. It was a shot in the dark, and Gillick didn't give much up, so it is tough to fault him. Verdict: innocuous.
August 9, 1991
Toronto trades 2B William Suero and Rob Wishnevski to Milwaukee for OF Candy Maldonado.
Obtained:
Candy Maldonado, two seasons in Toronto
Year avg./obp./slg. gms rc fld/rf
1991 .277/.375/.446 52 28 +/-
1992 .272/.357/.462 137 79 -/-
Signed as a free agent with Chicago (NL) on December 11, 1992.
Traded Away:
William Suero, two seasons in Milwaukee
Year avg./obp./slg. gms rc fld/rf
1992 .188/.316/.250 18 1 -/-
1993 .286/.333/.286 15 1 -/-
Granted free agency on August 8, 1993.
Rob Wishnevski did not play for Milwaukee.
Synopsis: Maldonado was above-average as the Jays' everyday leftfielder in 1992. Although his defence was less than stellar, Candy did his part to help the Jays in 1991 and 1992; he hit two homeruns in the 1992 ALCS vs. Oakland. He was a bigger component on the 1992 team than you might think; runs created per 27 outs of the Jays 1992 outfield: Carter: 5.14, White: 4.01, Maldonado: 5.67. Suero contributed little from the Brewers' bench, although his rate stats from 1993 look decent. Verdict: very good trade.
July 30, 1992
Toronto trades C Greg Myers and OF Rob Ducey to California for RP Mark Eichhorn.
Obtained:
Mark Eichhorn, two seasons in Toronto
Year ip w l sv era
1992 31 2 0 0 4.35
1993 72.7 3 1 0 2.72
Signed as a free agent with Baltimore on December 14, 1993.
Traded Away:
Rob Ducey, one season in California
Year avg./obp./slg. gms rc fld/rf
1992 .237/.292/.288 31 5 -/-
Signed as a free agent with Texas on December 18, 1992.
Greg Myers, four seasons in California
Year avg./obp./slg. gms rc fld/rf
1992 .235/.235/.294 8 1 +/-
1993 .255/.298/.362 108 31 -/-
1994 .246/.299/.341 45 13 nil/-
1995 .360/.304/.418 85 34 -/+
Signed as a free agent with Minnesota on December 8, 1995.
Synopsis: before he was our beloved Crash, the Jays dealt Myers with Canadian Ducey in order to obtain the former Jay who should have been the 1986 Rookie of the Year. As Ward took over Henke's role for the 1993 season, Eichhorn took over Ward's; and admirably so. Myers was missed in late 1992 and 1993 as his role was taken over by Randy Knorr, who did not command enough of management's confidence to take a significant amount of at bats away from Pat Borders. If Myers had been Borders backup in 1993 (when Borders amassed over 500 plate appearances), would the extra rest have resulted in a better line than .254/.285/.371 for Borders? It's a minor point, but perhaps worth thinking about. At any rate, Eichhorn was excellent. Verdict: good trade.
August 28, 1992
Toronto trades 2B Jeff Kent and OF Ryan Thompson to New York (NL) for SP David Cone.
Obtained:
David Cone, one season in Toronto
Year ip w l era
1992 53 4 3 2.55
Signed as a free agent with Kansas City on December 8, 1992.
Traded Away:
Jeff Kent, five seasons in New York
Year avg./obp./slg. gms rc fld/rf
1992 .239/.289/.407 37 13 -/-
1993 .270/.320/.446 140 68 -/-
1994 .292/.341/.475 107 64 -/+
1995 .278/.327/.464 125 69 nil/+
1996 .290/.331/.436 89 48 -/+
Traded to Cleveland on July 29, 1996.
Ryan Thompson, four seasons in New York
Year avg./obp./slg. gms rc fld/rf
1992 .222/.274/.389 30 11 +/+
1993 .250/.302/.444 80 37 +/+
1994 .225/.301/.434 98 41 +/+
1995 .251/.306/.378 75 30 +/+
Traded to Cleveland on March 31, 1996.
Synopsis: ostensibly, this trade does not look good. Cone went 4-3, 2.55 down the stretch in 1992 and 1-1 3.23 in the playoffs. Thompson never quite reached replacement level (an amazing 94 strikeouts in 334 at bats in 1994). The Mets traded Kent to the Indians with Jose Vizcaino in exchange for Carlos Baerga and Alvaro Espinoza during the 1996 season. After the trade, Kent improved while Baerga declined; it might be fair to say that the Mets' trade of Kent was worse than the Jays'. Thompson was also traded to Cleveland, in exchange for SP Mark Clark, who gave the Mets two seasons of slightly above-average starting pitching. Pro: Cone pitched well in 1992; Kent may not have gotten regular playing time in Toronto during the World Series years; Thompson never produced as expected. Con: the Jays only got 53 innings (plus playoffs) from Cone; Kent would become a star after leaving New York; Thompson brought a decent pitcher to New York in a subsequent trade. Verdict: disadvantageous.
December 8, 1992
Toronto trades 3B Kelly Gruber to California for 2B Luis Sojo.
Obtained:
Luis Sojo, one season in Toronto
Year avg./obp./slg. gms rc fld/rf
1993 .170/.231/.213 19 2 +/-
Signed as a free agent with Seattle on January 10, 1994.
Traded Away:
Kelly Gruber, one season in California
Year avg./obp./slg. gms rc fld/rf
1993 .277/.309/.462 18 9 -/+
Released on September 7, 1993.
Synopsis: neither played 20 games in 1993; Gruber was slightly more productive. The pivotal difference is that the Angels paid Gruber $4.33 million in 1993, whereas the Jays paid Sojo $290,000. Like Ernie Whitt, Gruber was a good Jays regular who was shipped off for one unproductive and costly season with another team. It is sad to think of Whitt and Gruber - two of my boyhood idols - as commodities, but Gillick did the right thing with each: getting out before the formerly productive player's contract became an albatross. Verdict: a good trade, because of the money saved.
March 30, 1993
Toronto trades OF Derek Bell and Stoney Briggs to San Diego for OF Darrin Jackson.
Obtained:
Darrin Jackson, one season in Toronto
Year avg./obp./slg. gms rc fld/rf
1993 .216/.250/.347 46 15 +/-
Traded to New York (NL) on June 11, 1993.
Traded Away:
Stoney Briggs did not play in San Diego.
Derek Bell, two seasons in San Diego
Year avg./obp./slg. gms rc fld/rf
1993 .262/.303/.417 150 66 -/+
1994 .311/.354/.454 108 69 -/+
Traded to New York (NL) on December 28, 1994.
Synopsis: Jackson was unproductive in two months as a Jay, and his salary was $2.1 million (although I cannot find the information with regard to how much of that contract was picked up by the Mets subsequent to the June 11 trade). Derek Bell helped the Padres in two ways: firstly, by being very productive in the strike-shortened 1994 season, and secondly, by being involved in a whopper of a trade three days after Christmas, 1994. The trade saw Derek Bell, Doug Brocail, Ricky Guitierrez, Pedro Martinez (no, not that Pedro Martinez), Phil Plantier and Craig Shipley go from the Padres to the Mets in exchange for Ken Caminiti, Andujar Cedeno, Steve Finley, Roberto Petagine, Brian Williams and Sean Fesh. From Caminiti, the Padres got four excellent seasons, including an MVP campaign in 1996. From Finley, they got four very good seasons including an all-star appearance in 1997. Even without considering that huge trade with the Mets, this Bell/Jackson trade was lop-sided; but when Bell's integral status in that big Mets trade is considered, the Bell/Jackson trade outrageously favoured the Padres over the Jays. Verdict: either bad or very bad, depending on the degree to which Bell was needed to obtain Caminiti and/or Finley.
June 11, 1993
Toronto trades OF Darrin Jackson to New York (NL) for SS Tony Fernandez.
Obtained:
Tony Fernandez, one season in Toronto
Year avg./obp./slg. gms rc fld/rf
1993 .306/.361/.442 94 56 +/+
Signed as a free agent by Cincinnati on March 8, 1994.
Traded Away:
Darrin Jackson, one season in New York
Year avg./obp./slg. gms rc fld/rf
1993 .195/.211/.241 31 4 +/+
Signed as a free agent by Chicago (AL) on December 28, 1993.
Synopsis: Toronto's prodigal son - Tony - returns for the first of three times. The difference between Tony Fernandez and the three headed shortstop monster of Schofield/Griffin/Cedeno was huge for the 1993 Jays. Schofield got 46% of the non-Fernandez shortstop plate appearances, Griffin 36% and Cedeno 18%. If you give them those proportions of Fernandez' plate appearances, and increase their runs created and outs proportionately, and then add them together, you get this: 390 pa, 304 outs, 18 rc. That is what I call FrankenTony, or contextualized replacement level. That is what those three would have produced given Fernandez' plate appearances. Fernandez actually did this with the Jays: 390 pa, 272 outs, 56 rc. That is quite a difference. Verdict: very good trade.
July 31, 1993
Toronto trades OF Jose Herrera and P Steve Karsay to Oakland for OF Rickey Henderson.
Obtained:
Rickey Henderson, one season in Toronto
Year avg./obp./slg. gms rc fld/rf
1993 .215/.356/.319 44 18 -/-
Signed as a free agent with Oakland on December 17, 1993.
Traded Away:
Jose Herrera, two seasons in Oakland
Year avg./obp./slg. gms rc fld/rf
1995 .243/.299/.314 33 6 -/-
1996 .269/.318/.378 108 37 -/+
Steve Karsay, three seasons in Oakland
Year ip w l era
1993 49 3 3 4.04
1994 28 1 1 2.57
1995 132.7 3 12 5.77
Traded to Cleveland on December 8, 1997.
Synopsis: this trade was not "the greatest of all-time". Henderson was unspectacular in Toronto, going .215/.356/.319 in the regular season and hitting .170 in the post-season. Karsay, a Jays first round pick in 1990, would become a good reliever after leaving Oakland. Karsay did fetch Mike Fetters for the A's in a 1997 trade with Cleveland, but Fetters left after only one season. Verdict: a poor trade.
March 29, 1994
Toronto trades 1B Domingo Martinez to Chicago (AL) for OF Mike Huff.
Obtained:
Mike Huff, three seasons in Toronto
Year avg./obp./slg. gms rc fld/rf
1994 .304/.392/.449 80 35 +/-
1995 .232/.337/.333 61 15 -/-
1996 .172/.200/.241 11 1 +/+
Granted free agency on October 15, 1996.
Traded Away:
Domingo Martinez did not play for Chicago.
Synopsis: Huff was very good as the Jays starting leftfielder in 1994, and his salary was only $222,000. In 1995, Joe Carter moved back to left from right with the emergence of Shawn Green, thus ending Huff's days as a regular; his production fell off. Domingo Martinez never played for the ChiSox. Verdict: good trade.
