New York Yankees' 5 Worst Trade Deadline Pitching Acquisitions

The New York Yankees have always been known for signing star players to huge contracts every offseason in order to build the team into a championship contender. Despite bringing in the biggest free agents every year, the team still manages to make deals before the July 31 trade deadline.

One of the biggest flaws in the Yankees (59-40) this season has been pitching, seeing as most of the staff has either struggled or dealt with injury. CC Sabathia (14-5 2.62 ERA) has led the way in the rotation, but no other player has really stepped up to solidify a one-two punch.

The bullpen has also suffered as key relievers such as Rafael Soriano and Joba Chamberlain have missed most of the season to injury.

With the 2011 deadline approaching, the Yankees are in the midst of making a deal to acquire a big name starting pitcher. But as history shows, the Yankees have made questionable trades in the past to bring in pitchers who never really succeed in the Bronx.

Here are the top five worst pitching acquisitions the Yankees have made at the trade deadline:

5. Cory Lidle

In 2006, the Yankees made a deal with the Philadelphia Phillies to acquire OF Bobby Abreu and Cory Lidle. Lidle, who was considered the player who "sweetened the deal" as the Yankees really only wanted Abreu, was 8-7 with a 4.74 ERA and 98-39 K/BB ratio at the time of the deal.

Granted, Lidle's legacy with the Yankees was cut short after he tragically died in a plane crash in New  York City, but his time spent in the Bronx was what really made this trade a bust. Lidle went 4-3 in nine starts with an ERA of 5.16 and a 1.50 WHIP, never emerging as the consistent pitcher the Yankees were looking for at the deadline.

4. Esteban Loaiza

In 2004, the Yankees traded away P Jose Contreras to the White Sox for Esteban Loaiza. Loaiza had finished second in Cy Young voting in 2003 with a 21-9 record and 2.90 ERA, but struggled through the first half of 2004. At the time of the deal, Loaiza was 9-5 with a 4.86 ERA and a 83/45 K/BB ratio.

This deal was made to not only get rid of the struggling Contreras, but for the Yankees to potentially add another ace to a rotation that had struggled most of the season. However, the move wound up backfiring on the Bronx Bombers.

Contreras went on to succeed in Chicago and improve his reputation as a starter in the American League, but Loaiza didn't last two months before being sent to the bullpen.

Loaiza finished 1-2 with a 8.50 ERA in 10 appearances with the Yankees. Brought in to solidify the rotation, Loaiza only managed to start six games. He did manage to pitch well in the 2004 postseason, but he was released after the Yankees were eliminated in the ALCS.

3. Jeff Weaver

In 2002, the Yankees acquired Jeff Weaver in a three-way deal with the Tigers and the Athletics. In the deal, Jeremy Bonderman was sent to Detroit and the Yankees sent Ted Lilly to the Athletics.

Weaver, who was 25 at the time of the deal, had a record of 6-8 and an ERA of 3.18. In his previous three seasons in the majors, Weaver had never posted an ERA under four, making it seem as though he had finally reached his prime.

However, the deal ultimately failed for the Yankees in a number of ways. Weaver finished 2002 5-3 with an ERA of 4.04, but then crumbled in 2003 when he posted a 7-9 record and 5.99 ERA. He was then traded in the 2003 offseason to the Los Angeles Dodgers for Kevin Brown, and many fans know how that turned out.

Lilly, who the Yankees sent to Oakland in part of the deal, turned out to be one of the more consistent starting pitchers in the major leagues. There have been rumors in the past of Lilly returning to the Bronx, and he is one of the several potential pitchers on the Yankees' radar for this year's deadline.

2. Damaso Marte

Before people jump down my throat on this, I have a right to defend myself.

In 2008, the Yankees acquired OF Xavier Nady and Damaso Marte from the Pirates for Jose Tabata, Ross Ohlendorf, Jeff Karstens and Daniel McCutchen. Tabata was the Yankees' top hitting prospect and both Karstens and Ohlendorf were considered top pitching prospects.

At the time of the deal, Marte was 4-0 with an ERA of 3.47 in 47 games. He also managed to record five saves in 2008, which made him valuable because the Yankees would be able to give Mariano Rivera some time off.

However, after the trade was made, Marte went 1-3 with the Yankees with a 5.40 ERA in 21 appearances and became a player that the fans no longer wanted in New York. In his two and a half years with the Yankees, Marte finished with a 2-6 record and ERAs of 5.40, 9.45, and 4.08.

This deal could be seen as a win for the Yankees because of Marte's performance in the postseason. In the 2009 World Series against the Philadelphia Phillies, Marte pitched 2.2 innings, struck out five batters and was ultimately the answer to the Phillies' Ryan Howard.

The Yankees went on to win the World Series, and Marte was considered one of the main reasons for their win.

However, the Marte deal is considered a bust because of his regular season performance and his tenure with the team.

The Yankees gave up three of their best prospects in this deal, and Karstens has emerged as one of the Pirates' aces in 2011. Nady went on to blow out his knee and never played for the Yankees again, and Marte simply couldn't figure it out as a middle reliever.

This trade will only seem worse when Tabata emerges as one of the Pirates' best players.

1. Armando Benitez

Don't let statistics fool you.

In 2003, the Yankees sent three minor league players to the Mets for closer Armando Benitez. At the time of the move, Benitez was 3-3 with an ERA of 3.13 and was struggling to convert saves for the Mets (seven blown saves).

Between 2001 and 2003, Benitez went from being one of the most dominant closers in the league to being called Armando "BLOWnitez," forcing the Mets to make a move.

At the time, the Yankees' bullpen was dry. Mariano Rivera was closing games, but the only reliable arm behind him was Steve Karsay.

Benitez was brought in to pitch the eight innings, but many believed the pressure of pitching for the Yankees would be even worse then pitching for the Mets.

It seemed the drama that was stirred from this deal was more important then Benitez himself.

The Yankees paid $2 million for Benitez, which was one-third of his $6 million contract. Benitez was also disliked in the Bronx after starting a brawl with Tino Martinez and Daryl Strawberry in 1999, and the deal was compared to the Yankees' signing of arch rival Roger Clemens.

After all the controversy, Benitez seemed to succeed in the Bronx, posting a 1.93 ERA in his tenure with the team. However, that 1.93 ERA can be deceiving. In 9.1 innings, Benitez gave up eight hits and walked six batters, struggling to get out of situations he put himself in.

And after all the news it made, Benitez only played in New York for nine games before being traded again to Seattle, making this one of the worst and most unnecessary moves in Yankees deadline history.