Batter's Box Interactive Magazine - Alternate History: The Biggest Trades that Never Happened

Alternate History: The Biggest Trades that Never Happened

Here's a potentially fun discussion point based on a Web factoid. According to today's update from the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum ...

Today's Date in Baseball History: March 28, 1976 - Media sources report a potential blockbuster between the Mets and Dodgers involving two future Hall of Famers. The deal would send Tom Seaver to LA in exchange for Don Sutton. Mets fans respond negatively and perhaps influence the deal. The trade is called off and Seaver will remain in New York until 1977 when he is sent to Cincinnati.

Oddly, I have no recollection of this rumor from the time -- then again, I was only nine! Sutton (155 wins at the time, 169 more yet to come) for Seaver (178 wins at the time, 132 more yet to come)? It would have made the earlier-in-the-decade "$100,000 Bobby Swap" (Bonds for Murcer) pale in comparison!

So, given that, what are the biggest trades -- that never happened -- that you remember hearing about?

For me, it's easy ...

I remember in college, living just 45 minutes from Detrroit, hearing that Wade Boggs was headed to the Tigers to join Dave Collins atop the lineup for the 1985 season. Yeah, that didn't happen. I don't even remember what was rumored headed back to Boston in the deal, but BOY do I remember celebrating the inevitable title(s) that Collins-Boggs-Trammell-Evans-Parrish-Whitaker-Lemom was going to coast to!

Over to you, fellow Bauxites? Who, what, where. when?

Posted by Mick Doherty on Monday, March 28 2011 @ 11:19 AM EDT.

Alternate History: The Biggest Trades that Never Happened | 17 comments | Create New Account

The following comments are owned by whomever posted them. This site is not responsible for what they say.

Matthew E - Monday, March 28 2011 @ 11:29 AM EDT (#231747) #

I remember a news report from, oh, spring of 1990, maybe, that the Jays had sent millions of dollars to the Mets in return for Gooden and Strawberry.

It was an April Fool's joke. I'm proud to say that I caught on before anyone else in the room.

AWeb - Monday, March 28 2011 @ 11:32 AM EDT (#231748) #

Relatively recently, and it fell apart due to reported contract issues, but Alex Rodriguez going to the Red Sox was certainly a big trade that would have changed a lot of the dynamics in the league, especially in comparison to where he ended up.

There's a fine line between actual rumours and ideas spread around that "would make sense" for various teams involved, according to whatever columnist is writing. I don't pay enough attention to reliably know the difference between the two. I suspect most "big name" rumours are generally the media driven, rather than team discussion driven, variety.

braden - Monday, March 28 2011 @ 11:43 AM EDT (#231749) #

Lincecum for Rios. Who knows how much truth there really was to that one, though some veiled references by AA seems to suggest there was something to it, but man, could that deal have ever drastically altered two franchises. The Giants would almost certainly be without last year's title and it's reasonable to suggest that Halladay and Lincecum would be headlining the Jays rotation.

mathesond - Monday, March 28 2011 @ 11:49 AM EDT (#231750) #

I remember listening the the FAN one night, must have been 1999 or 2000, and they were carrying the ESPN overnight radio show. Anyway, during one of the updates, they quoted the Toronto SUN saying that The Jays and Cubs had just completed a Delgado for Sosa swap.

John Northey - Monday, March 28 2011 @ 12:20 PM EDT (#231751) #

In 1993 there was the trade the Jays did, Henderson for Karsay (reliever) but before the paperwork was signed Seattle called and agreed to Randy Johnson for Steve Karsay. If Pat Gillick was a dishonest man he'd have called Oakland and say 'sorry, changed my mind' and done the Johnson deal. Could you imagine what a different that could've made? Of course, we might also not have won in 1993. This was confirmed by Gillick years ago.

Mix in the famous Guidry for Bill Singer 1977 deal (I think it was Singer) and you have a couple of great pitchers who almost spent the core of their careers here for next to nothing.

Ron - Monday, March 28 2011 @ 12:35 PM EDT (#231752) #

From the past couple of years:

- The Mets offered David Wright to the Jays for Cruz Jr, and Ricciardi turned it down
- Angels offered Saunders, Aybar, and Bourjos for Halladay and AA turned it down
- Red Sox gave the Mariners a list of 8 players (Buchholz, Bard, Hagadone, Bowden, Reddick, Navarro, Masterson, and Doubront) and said they could take 5 for Hernandez. The M's turned this offer down
- The Jays offered Catalanotto for Cueto, but the Reds turned it down

92-93 - Monday, March 28 2011 @ 12:44 PM EDT (#231753) #

Supposedly at some point Doc was headed to SF for a package of pitching prospects including Jesse Foppert.

TamRa - Monday, March 28 2011 @ 12:44 PM EDT (#231754) #

the story I remember reading on the Unit trade was that gillick had tried to get in tough with the Seattle GM all day and very close to the deadline gave up and accepted the A's offer. I hadn't heard that Seattle did eventually call back. That's new info to me but it makes the agony of having missed even worse.

greenfrog - Monday, March 28 2011 @ 01:20 PM EDT (#231756) #

Second the Lincecum-for-Rios deal. For another mythical Jays almost-trade, how about...Quantrill for Gagne?

smcs - Monday, March 28 2011 @ 02:01 PM EDT (#231762) #

Joe DiMaggio for Ted Williams. The story is either, or a combination of, Yankees GM Larry MacPhail and Sox owner Tom Yawkey verbally agreeing to the trade at the end of a long night in a bar and both backing out when they sobered up. The other version is that Yawkey demanded Yogi Berra be tossed in, and MacPhail walked away at that point.

Felix Fermin for Mariano Rivera or Bob Wickman in Spring Training 1996. The Yanks felt their hotshot SS prospect wasn't quite ready to make the jump to the major leagues, so they toyed with getting a veteran to fill in for one year. Fermin was actually released by the Mariners (thanks to A-Rod) shortly after the season began. He was picked up by the Yanks in May, but by then, Derek Jeter had cemented his position at SS.

I knew there were some crazy rumors about Cliff Lee back before he became Cliff Lee and a simple google search turned back this: "The Indians and Blue Jays are reportedly talking about a swap that would send Alex Rios to the Tribe for Franklin Gutierrez and Cliff Lee. Seriously? That seems like a lousy deal for the Jays. How long until a debunking on this one?"

Kelekin - Monday, March 28 2011 @ 02:58 PM EDT (#231765) #

It's amusing how many times we almost traded Rios for something of significant value and then it never happened.

Glevin - Monday, March 28 2011 @ 06:55 PM EDT (#231772) #

One of my favourite counterfactuals is Juan Gonzalez turning down the Tigers' 8 year-140 million contract. Had he signed it, it likely would have been the worst contract ever.

christaylor - Monday, March 28 2011 @ 08:14 PM EDT (#231778) #

It may have been a joke, but it in hindsight, depending on how many millions were sent, it might have been a not so great deal -- assuming they were kept w/the Jays as long as they were with the Mets). Gooden had a 100 ERA+ and Strawberry one more season as a Met.

Strawberry/Gooden, so much talent, so much promise, wasted.

TamRa - Tuesday, March 29 2011 @ 12:06 AM EDT (#231788) #

That would be the Cliff Lee who was sitting on a 94 ERA+ for his career as of that writing, right?

:)

VBF - Tuesday, March 29 2011 @ 01:29 AM EDT (#231791) #

I recall there being a rumoured trade that had Doc, V. Wells, and Chris Carpenter for Pedro Astacio. Rockies Management (read: ownership) nixed the deal as Astacio was at that time a fan favourite.

Shane - Tuesday, March 29 2011 @ 08:27 AM EDT (#231796) #

I recall there being a rumoured trade that had Doc, V. Wells, and Chris Carpenter for Pedro Astacio. Rockies Management (read: ownership) nixed the deal as Astacio was at that time a fan favourite.

Close. It was Astacio for Wells & Halladay.

onecent - Tuesday, March 29 2011 @ 11:57 AM EDT (#231803) #

I don't think the Giants ever seriously considered the Rios for Lincecum deal. That was one that the Ricciardi led Jays threw out there and let leak, but it wasn't going to happen. The one that did get away was the Bill Singer for Ron Guidry deal. The Yankees were willing to give up Guidry, who was a prospect at the time, and they were in win now mode. From what I've heard, the deal was done and Jays ownership nixed it because Singer, as one of the few recognizable players they had in 1977, was the guy they were setting up their marketing around. Singer won 2 games for the Jays and his career was over before the '77 season ended. Guidry, of course, went on to become one of the top pitchers of the '80s. Imagine a starting rotation of Stieb, Guidry, Key, Clancy and Alexander/Flanagan. In terms of what might have been, I don't think there is a bigger one that got away from the Jays. In recent years, the Jays apparently had a deal swung with the Dodgers for Wells before he signed the extension, but Godfrey nixed that one. I don't know who was rumoured to be coming back, but I seem to recall Ethier being mentioned.

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