MLB Trade Rumors: Nick Swisher and the 20 Biggest Offseason Steals Since 2000
As the regular season wraps up, many teams and their fans are looking to October and, they hope, a World Series win. For other teams and their fans, they are looking to the offseason, hoping to make a few trades or free agent acquisitions to bounce them back into contention.
In some situations, these trades end up paying huge dividends, and not always for the party that was looking to get the major piece. At the same time, once in a while there's a great free agent pickup at a bargain that launches a team into the playoffs and a World Series ring.
Starting with the 1999-2000 offseason through this past one, this slideshow notes the 20 best steals of the past decade. Some may have slipped by me, as there's nowhere to easily find these unless one has an institutional memory of these things.
The years listed in the slides is the offseason that it took place in. i.e. a trade from November 2000 to March 2001 will be listed as 2000.
1999: Johan Santana
1 of 20
While I tried to stick with deals made 2000 and onward, I had to include this one.
Santana had been a free agent for the Houston Astros since 1995. In 1999, the Florida Marlins claimed Santana through the rule 5 draft. This would have been a great steal for the Marlins. However, that was not to be. On December 13, 1999, the Marlins traded Santana to the Minnesota Twins for pitcher Jared Camp.
Camp, then 24, never appeared in the majors. Santana, then 20, has since won two Cy Young Awards.
2000: Brad Ausmus
2 of 20
Not all steals can be like Santana's. Sometimes, you just happen to get a nice piece when trading a chunk of players for another chunk.
On December 11, 2000, the Houston Astros traded three players to the Detroit Tigers for three other players. They traded Roger Cedeno, Chris Holt, and Mitch Melusky. All three lasted one season with Detroit, with Cedeno's stolen bases being the only value gotten from the trade.
In return, the Astros got Doug Brocail, who missed several seasons due to injury, and Nelson Cruz, a relief pitcher for two years. They also got Brad Ausmus though, and had a gold glove catcher for eight years who caught Roy Oswalt, Roger Clemens, and many others.
2001: Dontrelle Willis
3 of 20
This deal looks more even in hindsight, given Dontrelle's painful fall from grace.
On March 27, 2002, just days before the season was set to begin, the Chicago Cubs made a trade with the Florida Marlins (seeing them a lot already). The Cubs acquired Antonio Alfonseca and Matt Clement, who had two and three serviceable years for the Cubs, respectively.
The Marlins acquired four players. Jose Cueto never played in the majors, Ryan Jorgensen only played four games for the Marlins, and Julian Tavarez had a bad year with Florida in his attempt to be a starting pitcher. Dontrelle Willis made the deal worth it, winning the Rookie of the Year Award in 2003 and nearly wining the Cy Young Award in 2005.
.png?w=256)
2002: Chris Carpenter
4 of 20
2002 was a year for great free agent signings, it seems.
Chris Carpenter had been a Toronto Blue Jays' starting pitcher for six years. He required major surgery at the end of 2002, and the Blue Jays released him. The Cardinals signed him on December 13, 2002, and after sitting out for a year, he has become a premier starter in the National League.
The Blue Jays probably missed out on a Halladay/Carpenter pitching duo after being a little quick to pull the trigger. Instead, we got the duo of Carpenter and...
2003: Adam Wainwright
5 of 20
The Cards sure know how to snatch pitchers from other teams.
On December 13, 2003, the St. Louis Cardinals made a deal with the Atlanta Braves. The Braves got J.D. Drew and Eli Marrero. Drew had a great year in 2004, as did Marrero, so in the short term the deal seemed to be good for both sides. Both players were with other teams in 2005, however.
As for the Cardinals, they got Ray King, Jason Marquis, and Adam Wainwright. King was a solid reliever for two years, and Marquis held down the fort as a starter for three years. Wainwright took over that starting job in 2007 and has been phenomenal since.
2003: Joe Nathan and Francisco Liriano
6 of 20
Everyone who's a Twins or Giants fan knows this trade. Even many who aren't remember this one.
On November 14, 2003, the Minnesota Twins traded their rising catcher A.J. Pierzynski to the San Francisco Giants with cash. Pierzynski played one year with them before joining the White Sox. For that one year, the Twins acquired Boof Bonser, who pitched for three years for the Twins, and two other pitchers
The other two players makes this a major steal. Joe Nathan became the Twins' closer and has been since (sans this year due to surgery). Francisco Liriano has shown bouts of greatness when healthy as well, especially this year.
2002: David Ortiz
7 of 20
The Minnesota Twins seem to make a lot of good moves. There was picking up Santana, and the following slide is one of the top few steals of the decade, I think. Then there's this.
After hitting .272 in 2001 with 20 home runs and 75 RBI, the Twins released Ortiz. In hindsight looking at news clippings, he seemed to be released for salary reasons, though he wasn't making upper-seven or eight figures just yet. He was signed by the Boston Red Sox on January 22, 2003 and, well, you know the rest. He remains the face of the Boston franchise even today.
2003: Alex Rodriguez
8 of 20
Getting Alex Rodriguez in a trade is inherently a steal.
On February 16, 2004, the Texas Rangers sent him to the Yankees for Alfonso Soriano and Joaquin Arias. Both played for two years, and Soriano was great, but still, it's A-Rod.
2004: Jermaine Dye
9 of 20
This one isn't all that big a steal, but when you think about it you'll see why I have it up.
At the end of the 2004 season, Dye had spent three years in Oakland. He wasn't putting up the totals he had with Kansas City, and was being paid over $11 million to put up 80 RBI. As a result he was released. On December 9, 2004, he signed with the White Sox for $4 million his first year, a third as much as he was making.
Dye enjoyed five great seasons with Chicago, including an all-star appearance and a World Series ring.
2004: Tim Hudson
10 of 20
If it wasn't for Oakland usually being able to get rid of their star pitchers at just the right time, then this wouldn't be on here. Mark Mulder, Barry Zito, and others became shells of themselves. Tim Hudson, however, continued his dominance.
On December 16, 2004, the Athletics traded Tim Hudson to the Atlanta Braves for Charles Thomas, Juan Cruz and Dan Meyer. They lasted a combined four seasons and did not play well for Oakland. Hudson, however, became the ace of the Braves' staff, which he continues to be today.
2005: Andre Ethier
11 of 20
When it comes to finding and developing pitchers, the Athletics are amazing at it. Hitters, maybe not.
On December 13, 2005, the Athletics tried to get Milton Bradley from the Dodgers and did so. They received Bradley and Antonio Perez, neither of whom lasted through 2007. In return, the Dodgers got Andre Ethier, who has developed into an all-star outfielder with power and shows no signs of slowing down.
2005: Adrian Gonzalez
12 of 20
When you trade three players for three players, as we've seen, make sure at least one will be good and that you're not trading all-stars.
The Texas Rangers fell victim to this on January 6, 2006 in a trade with the San Diego Padres. The Rangers received Billy Killian, Adam Eaton, and Akinori Otsuka. Killian never made the majors, Eaton lasted a year, and while Otsuka was solid for two year,s it wasn't worth what they gave up.
The Rangers sent to the Padres Terrmel Sledge, who was a non-factor, as well as Adrian Gonzalez, who has been the star hitter on the Padres the past few seasons. They also got Chris Young, who has been a great pitcher when healthy.
2005: Bronson Arroyo
13 of 20
Here's a trade that looked a lot more even in the short term, and had the Reds not clinched a division title, maybe it still would be.
On March 20, 2006, the Red Sox traded Bronson Arroyo for Wily Mo Pena. The Red Sox got their fourth outfielder for two seasons, and the Reds got their top pitcher, who has had an all-star appearance, as well as 16 wins this season.
2006: Heath Bell
14 of 20
On November 15, 2006, the New York Mets and San Diego Padres made what was at the time a minor trade. Both teams gave away two players, all but one being a relief pitcher, and that was that.
The New York Mets got Jon Adkins and Ben Johnson. Adkins pitched one game for the Mets and Johnson, the lone non-pitcher of the deal, played in nine games. The Padres acquired Royce Ring, who they traded after half a season.
They also acquired their current closer, Heath Bell, who since the trade has become one of the top relievers in baseball.
2006: Kevin Kouzmanoff
15 of 20
Okay, this is the last Padres trade, I promise.
Despite having looked for a third baseman for many years, the Cleveland Indians traded Kevin Kouzmanoff to the San Diego Padres on November 8, 2006, after he played 14 games for the Tribe. The Indians got Josh Barfield, who fizzled out of the league after a couple seasons. The Padres got Andrew Brown and Kouzmanoff.
Brown didn't play, but Kouzmanoff and Gonzalez were the two sources of power from 2007 to 2009 on the Padres. Meanwhile, the Indians are still looking for that third baseman.
2007: David Freese
16 of 20
This one might be too early to tell yet, but nonetheless I'm including it.
Jim Edmonds was acquired by the Cardinals in 2000 in a move that was almost a steal in its own right. After eight great seasons, the Cardinals traded Edmonds to the Padres (oops, I guess they do appear again) for David Freese. Edmonds lasted 26 games, while Freese has shown promise so far. Time will tell how big a steal this is.
2008: Nick Swisher (twice)
17 of 20
If there's two things that don't go together, it's Nick Swisher and the Chicago White Sox.
On January 3, 2008, the Oakland Athletics (them again? They love their offseason trades) traded Swisher to the Chicago White Sox after a few great years. In return, the A's got Fautino De Los Santos, who won't hit the majors, as well as Gio Gonzalez and Ryan Sweeney, both of whom seem to be great pickups thus far. Swisher struggled for the Sox in 2008, only hitting .219, though he had 24 home runs.
Not to be outdone, the Yankees traded with the White Sox on November 13, 2008. The Yankees got Swisher and Kanekoa Texiera, and the White Sox got Wilson Betemit, Jeff Marquez, and Jhonny Nunez. Betemit lasted 20 games, Marquez one, and Nunez seven. Marquez still has time to develop, but it looks as if the Yankees got a good deal for Swisher.
2008: Carlos Gonzalez
18 of 20
Sometimes you just don't know where you'll find greatness.
The Oakland Athletics knew what they were getting in a trade with the Colorado Rockies on November 10, 2008. The A's got Matt Holliday, who played well for Oakland for half a season. In return, the Rockies got A's reliever Huston Street, who has remained the Rockies' closer.
The Rockies also got Greg Smith, who's just starting with the Rockies, as well as Carlos Gonzalez. We all know how Gonzalez has been for the Rockies this year, no need to go into detail on that one.
2009: Rafael Soriano
19 of 20
This recent offseason trade looked like a simple reliever-reliever trade. It became anything but.
In November, Soriano was a free agent who signed with the Braves and Jesse Chavez was on the Pittsburgh Pirates. The Rays traded to get Chavez, and on December 11, 2009, the Braves traded Soriano for Chavez.
Chavez struggled with the Braves and Royals, while Soriano has had an amazing season for the Rays.
2009: Austin Jackson Et Al
20 of 20
The winner of last year's offseason had to have been the Tigers. In spite of their record this season, you can't deny that the Granderson trade was a stroke of genius, at least from what we've seen so far.
On December 8, 2009, there was a three way trade between the Tigers, Yankees, and Arizona Diamondbacks. The Tigers traded Curtis Granderson to the Yankees, and Edwin Jackson to the D'Backs. The Yankees sent Ian Kennedy to the D'Backs as well.
For those two, the Tigers got Max Scherzer and Daniel Schlereth from the D'Backs, both of whom have pitched very well this season. From the Yankees, the Tigers got solid reliever Phil Coke, as well as the player who will probably be rookie of the year, Austin Jackson.
Four up-and-coming stars in one trade? Well, maybe Coke and Schlereth aren't stars, but what a deal this was for Detroit, especially given Granderson's struggles this year.
.png?w=480)
.jpg?w=600 "Colts Release Kenny Moore")
