Among the legendary deadline deals that have produced the desired effect for pennant contenders were CC Sabathia to the Brewers, Cliff Lee to the Phillies, Rick Sutcliffe to the Cubs and Manny Ramirez to the Dodgers. But there’s also a risk when teams trade away prospects. Here are five examples:
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5. Heathcliff Slocumb for Derek Lowe and Jason Varitek (1997) » Slocomb went 0-4 with 10 saves, helping the Mariners win the AL West. But Lowe and Varitek remain in the league 14 years later.
4. Larry Andersen for Jeff Bagwell (1990) » Anderson had a 1.23 ERA in relief, helping the Red Sox win the AL East, but it was painful for Boston fans to consider what Bagwell (449 home runs) would have accomplished.
3. Doyle Alexander for John Smoltz (1987) » Alexander went 9-0 with a 1.53 ERA as the Tigers won the AL East. But Detroit paid a heavy price in Smoltz, who won 213 games and saved 154.
2. Bartolo Colon for prospects (2002) » Colon went 10-4 the rest of the way, but Montreal failed to catch Arizona for the wild card. Worse was seeing the development of the three prospects the Expos relinquished: Cliff Lee, Grady Sizemore and Brandon Phillips.
1. Ernie Broglio for Lou Brock (1964) » The Cubs traded away undisciplined prospect Brock, who went on to hit .348 with 33 steals the rest of the season for the World Series champion Cardinals, launching a Hall of Fame career. Broglio went 7-19 in two-plus years in Chicago.
