MLB: Hanley Ramirez in Boston? One Prospect Each Team Wishes They Never Let Go

Many of the most talented players in Major League Baseball star for the same organization that made them professional ball players.

Sometimes though, whether it be via trade, waivers or the Rule 5 draft, top prospects are swiped from their original squad and go on to star for some other team.

Each organization has at least one talented player that slipped through their fingers some way or another. Maybe they sent away a future All-Star for that extra reliever during a playoff run or left one unprotected just prior the the Rule 5 draft. It doesn't matter how, but it happens.

This slideshow takes a look at one player each team lost before they could pay dividends and the big league level.

What Qualifies a Player for This Slideshow?

Here is a breakdown into what makes a player eligible for this slideshow.

Only current players are eligible, so Babe Ruth to New York for cash doesn't qualify.

Any player that left for big money in free agency or after making an All-Star team is also ineligible—so no Prince Fielder or Hunter Pence in this team-by-team breakdown. 

There is a limit to one player per team, unless the players are part of the same trade, but no more than two prospects.

All remaining players can be included in the slideshow, so lets begin.

Arizona Diamondbacks: Carlos Gonzalez and Brett Anderson

Carlos Gonzalez was signed by Arizona in 2002 but never played a game for the Diamondbacks. In 2007, Gonzalez was dealt, in a package that included Brett Anderson, to Oakland for Dan Haren and Connor Robertson.

Gonzalez is a stud and Anderson has been good when healthy. Haren had some good years for Arizona but the Diamondbacks didn't make the playoffs during his time with the team.

Haren was traded to the Angels during the 2010 season, but the package Arizona got for him doesn't match what Cargo and Anderson would mean to the current Diamondback squad.

Atlanta Braves: Adam Wainwright

This is one deal that the Braves should have never made.

The Braves drafted Wainwright out of high school and he stayed in their system until he was dealt to St. Louis in a package that brought J.D. Drew and Eli Marrero to Atlanta before the 2004 season.

To be fair, Drew had a monster year for the Braves in 2004 and was a major factor in getting them into the playoffs. However, Atlanta was quickly bounced in the Divisional round and Drew signed a huge contract with the Dodgers following the season.

Considering Wainwright became a premier starter in the NL, it is safe to say the Braves would rather have him instead of a one year marriage to Drew.

A close second was the deal that sent Elvis Andrus, Neftali Feliz, Matt Harrison and Jarrod Saltalamacchia to Texas for two partial seasons of Mark Teixeira. But none of those individual players stack up with Wainwright.

Baltimore Orioles: Jayson Werth

Sadly, the Orioles haven't even had solid prospects to give away. Jayson Werth is the lone serviceable player where the O's really blew it.

The other four good players, yes I said four, are still with the Orioles or, in Erik Bedard's case, helped bring in solid players like Adam Jones. These players are Nick Markakis, Brian Roberts, Matt Wieters and Bedard in case you are not familiar with the Orioles lack of player development.

Anyways, Werth was traded to the Blue Jays for John Bale and the rest is history. John Bale is not any good and Werth developed into a very good player. 

Boston Red Sox: Hanley Ramirez

Hanley Ramirez was signed by the Red Sox in 2000 and quickly became the top prospect in the Boston farm system. In 2005, Ramirez was traded to the Miami Marlins with Anibal Sanchez for Mike Lowell, Josh Beckett and Guillermo Mota.

Unlike many of the players from the other slides, this was not a goof up by the Red Sox by any stretch of the imagination. Beckett and Lowell were instrumental in bringing home the 2007 World Series for the Sox and Beckett remains with the team to this day.

Ramirez is really good though, but can also be a headache. The Red Sox did good in this deal and have the money to find other players to pick up Ramirez's production.

Chicago Cubs: Ricky Nolasco

The Cubs are in almost the same boat as the Orioles in that they haven't screwed up with too many prospects, but for all the wrong reasons.

Player development and scouting don't appear to be strengths for the Cubs, who traded Ricky Nolasco in a package for Juan Pierre before the 2006 season. 

Pierre had a good season with the cubs but it was his only with the team. Nolasco has won 10 or more games each year he has started at least 22 games. In a league where pitching is the quickest way to a World Championship, the Cubbies probably want this move back.

Chicago White Sox: Gio Gonzalez

The White Sox drafted Gio Gonzalez in the first round of the 2004 draft and he quickly became one of the top prospects in all of baseball. In 2005, Chicago dealt Gonzalez in a package to the Phillies for Jim Thome.

This was fine because Thome had some really good years and helped anchor the middle of their lineup with Paul Konerko and Jermaine Dye.

Things appeared to have worked out for the Sox when the Phillies sent Gonzalez back to Chicago with Gavin Floyd for Freddy Garcia. But Kenny Williams decided to move Gonzalez again, this time to the A's in a package for Nick Swisher.

This move, unlike the first, did not payoff. Gonzalez developed into one of the best young pitchers in the game and Swisher was dealt to New York after having one of his worst years in the majors.

Cincinnati Reds: Chris Denorfia

Congratulations to the Cincinnati Reds, they have managed to hang on to all of their really good players.

Even though they haven't had many really great prospects, guys like Adam Dunn, Jay Bruce and Joey Votto stayed with the Reds and became stars.

So I am left writing about is Chris Denorfia.

Denorfia is a serviceable major league ball player for the Padres and played in the World Baseball Classic for Italy, but he isn't exactly the type of player that one would greatly regret losing out on.

After breaking into the bigs with the Reds, Denorfia was shipped to Oakland for a package involving Marcus McBeth. McBeth only played part of one season with Cincinnati and is no longer with the team.

Cleveland Indians: Jeremy Guthrie

Jeremy Guthrie was selected by the Indians with their first pick in the 2002 draft and debuted for them in 2006.

Cleveland signed Trot Nixon during the following offseason and in order to make room for Nixon on the 40-man roster, Guthrie was designated for assignment. The Orioles snatched Guthrie off waivers and he has been their only consistent pitcher since. 

Nixon didn't produce like the Indians had hoped and Guthrie, despite twice leading the majors in losses, has been an above average major league pitcher. A fan favorite, Guthrie has pitched 200+ innings each of the past three seasons and, most importantly, has posted an ERA under 4.00 during three seasons.

Letting Guthrie go to make room for Nixon was big mistake.

Colorado Rockies: Jake Westbrook

Jake Westbrook was drafted by Colorado in 1996 but was traded to the Expos in 1997 for Mike Lansing.

Westbrook made his debut with the Yankees, ate innings for nearly a decade while with the Indians and most recently won a World Series with the Cardinals.

Lansing had a frustrating two years in Colorado and has since been implicated in the Mitchell Report.

Westbrook is a consistent pitcher that the Rockies could have used all those years they were lacking the arms to make a serious run at a championship.

Detroit Tigers: Jair Jurrjens

Jair Jurrjens was signed by the Detroit Tigers in 2003 and made his big league debut in 2007. After the 2007 season, Jurrjens was shipped to Atlanta in a package for Edgar Renteria.

Jurrjens quickly turned into one of the top young pitchers in the world and Renteria was let go after one unspectacular season. The Tigers really screwed this deal up.

It gets worse when you consider how talented the Tigers are now. A stacked lineup to go with Justin Verlander, Doug Fister, Max Scherzer, and Rick Porcello, all under the age of 30, means Detroit is poised to own the AL Central over the next several seasons. If Jurrjens was a part of that rotation the Tigers would be stupid good.

Houston Astros: Johan Santana

The Astros signed Johan Santana in 1995 but lost him in the Rule 5 Draft when the Marlins selected Santana and dealt him to the Twins in 2000.

In the years that followed, Santana was a beast. He won two Cy Young awards and has a career ERA just above 3.00.

Remember how good the Astro's rotation was in the mid-2000's?

If Houston had protected Santana by placing him on their 40-man roster, the 2005 rotation would have been Roger Clemens, Andy Pettitte, Roy Oswalt and Santana. Without Santana that rotation still got the Astros to the World Series. One can only imagine what could of been.

Kansas City Royals: Johnny Damon

Johnny Damon was drafted by the Royals in 1992 and made his debut in 1995. He spent the first six years of his career as a Royal and was developing into a star when he was traded in a three team deal to Oakland.

Damon had a solid year for the A's before becoming an All-Star with the Red Sox and continued his high-level of play with the Yankees. When you consider that none of the prospects Kansas City brought in turned out to be stars, keeping Damon around would have been best.

Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim: Mike Napoli

Mike Napoli was drafted by the Angels in 2000 and was with the organization when he debuted in 2006. Napoli spent the next five seasons with the Angels but only once did he have over 435 plate appearances.

After he was unable to prove that he was an everyday catcher to Angels' manager Mike Scioscia, he was traded to Toronto for Vernon Wells. 

Vernon Wells had a miserable year for Los Angeles and Napoli, who Toronto traded to the Angels' division rival Texas, was a force all year while leading the Rangers back to the World Series.

Los Angeles Dodgers: Paul Konerko

The Dodgers drafted Paul Konerko in 1994, making his major league debut with the club in 1997. Konerko's time in L.A. was short as he was sent to Cincinnati just prior to the 1998 All-Star game for closer Jeff Shaw.

Jeff Shaw was a good closer for the Dodgers, making an All-Star game in his final year with the team. But wasn't able to push the Dodgers into the playoffs during his time in Los Angeles.

Konerko, on the other hand, has had a borderline Hall of Fame career for the White Sox. 

Miami Marlins: Adrian Gonzalez

After being the number one overall pick out of high school, Adrian Gonzalez was working his was through the Marlin's farm system before he was traded in a package to the Texas Rangers in 2003 for relief pitcher Ugueth Urbina.

Urbina was a very productive player for the Marlins during their World Series run in 2003 but he left after that season while Gonzalez is now a total beast.

A World Series is precious but maybe the Marlins could of traded another prospect or found another reliever to help them make a run rather than give away a future star.

Milwaukee Brewers: Brett Lawrie

The jury is still out on the move that sent the Brewers' top prospect to the Blue Jays for Shaun Marcum.

Marcum, age 30, was key in the Brewers making their playoff run last year and will have to be a factor if the Brewers are going to make it back to the playoffs in the next few years. 

Lawrie looks good though, really good, and with the Brew Crew losing half of their one-two punch in Prince Fielder, it would be really nice to have someone with the upside of Lawrie there to fill his shoes.

Pitching is what gets teams to the post-season and beyond. But if Lawrie becomes one of those guys you can pencil in for 35 homers and 110 RBI and Marcum doesn't produce for the next four or five years, this will be a move the Brewers regret.

Minnesota Twins: Matt Garza

Before the 2008 season, the Twins and Rays swapped packages that included big time prospects Matt Garza and Delmon Young. Young had just come off a very impressive rookie campaign and Garza had pitched well for the Twins the year before.

Garza and the Twins had bumped heads when he was still in the minors over pitch selection and Young can be a headache at times—remember the controversy with him and the minor league umpire?

So perhaps both teams were happy to dump the players but the Rays made out with the better end of the deal. Garza was good for them and when he was traded to the Cubs, the Rays brought in more prospects that could pan out in the future.

Young had some solid seasons but is now with Detroit while Minnesota is in shambles. 

New York Mets: Nelson Cruz

The powerful outfielder, who has played a major part in the Texas Ranger capturing back-to-back pennants, was signed by the Mets in the mid-90s and only spent three years in the Dominican Summer League before being traded to Oakland.

What did the Mets get in return? A career .189 hitter by the name of Jorge Velandia, who blasted two home runs in parts of eight seasons with several teams. To make things worse, the big flies came when Velandia was with the Rays.

New York Yankees: Tyler Clippard

The Yankees really haven't really thrown away too many really good players without receiving just compensation.

Ian Kennedy, Austin Jackson and Phil Coke were all sent away so the Yankees could get Curtis Granderson, who has been a force in New York so none of those players could be included in this presentation. 

That being said, this Tyler Clippard guy is a really good reliever and the Yankees are definitively kicking themselves for letting him go.

Clippard was drafted and came up through the Yankees system as a starter. He made his debut in a start against the Mets in 2007 and after the season he was dealt to the Nationals for Jonathan Albaladejo.

By 2009, Clippard was converted to a reliever and has an ERA under 3.00 for his career as a reliever. Albaladejo was mediocre for the Yankees and is trying to make the Arizona Diamondbacks roster this spring.

Oakland A's: Andre Ethier

Oakland was so high on Andre Ethier that they drafted him not once, but twice.

Ethier signed the second time around and was with the organization until he was traded to the Dodgers for Milton Bradley and Antonio Perez.

Perez hasn't played in the majors since 2006. Bradley wasn't very good and eventually was designated for assignment by the A's while Either has gone on to be an absolute stud for Los Angeles.

Billy Beane clearly made a mistake when he pulled the trigger on this deal.

Philadelphia Phillies: Michael Bourn

Michael Bourn was drafted by Philadelphia in the 4th round of the 2003 draft out of the University of Houston and debuted for the Phillies in 2006. After the 2007 season, Bourn was traded to Houston in a package for Brad Lidge.

Lidge went on to help the Phillies win a World Series so this deal is totally justified. But outside of the World Series season, Lidge has been either disabled or ineffective and has since moved on to the Nationals.

As much as the Phillies would like to have Bourn playing for them today, Lidge's 2008 season makes this move very easy to swallow.

Pittsburgh Pirates: Jose Bautista

Jose Bautista has been one of the most dangerous hitters in baseball during the past few seasons. 

Unfortunately for the Pirates, the team that made Bautista a pro, it took him parts of six seasons at the big league level to find his stride and strike fear into every pitcher he faces.

While still with the Pirates organization, Bautista was picked up by the Orioles in the Rule 5 Draft but eventually made his way back to the Pirates after bouncing around the league in the 2004 season. So they dodged that bullet, right?

Not really. Bautista spent the next few years playing at a very unspectacular level before being sent to the Blue Jays for a player to be named later.

That player, Robinzon Diaz, has played in 43 games for the Pirates and has blasted one homer for the team that hasn't had a winning record for nearly two decades.

Bautista has hit 107 home runs since becoming an everyday player in September of 2009.

San Diego Padres: Derek Lee

Drafted in 1993, Derek Lee was with the Padres long enough to make his debut for them in 1997. During the offseason Kevin Brown was on the market during the Marlin's fire sale following their first World Series and the Padres were willing to give up Lee and prospects to get him.

Brown was dominate for the Padres in 1998 and helped them reach the World Series. But he left after the season.

Lee helped rebuild the Marlins and led them to a championship in 2003. Then Lee became a Triple Crown threat for a time in Chicago and developed into one of the best fielding first baseman in the game.

A career of Lee or one year of guy who has been included in the Mitchell Report? The Padre's made a mistake when they parted ways with Lee.

San Francisco Giants: Joe Nathan and Francisco Liriano

This was a very bad move for the Giants and setup the Twins to make several playoff appearances in the years following the trade. Joe Nathan was drafted in 1995 and debuted in 1999 for San Francisco.

Francisco Liriano was signed by the Giants in 2000 and was traded with Nathan to Minnesota for A.J. Pierzynski in 2003.

Joe Nathan was one of the most dominate closers in baseball for nearly a decade and Liriano, when healthy, has some of the best stuff on the planet.

Pierzynski had an unspectacular year in San Francisco and skipped town following the season for Chicago.

This deal is one of the worst in Giants baseball history.

Seattle Mariners: Adam Jones

Seattle drafted Adam Jones in the 2003 draft with the plans of using him as a pitcher. Jones was able to convince the Mariners to let him play everyday and proceeded to shoot through the minor leagues.

After debuting in 2006, Jones bounced between AAA and the big leagues before being shipped to Baltimore with George Sherrill, Chris Tillman, Kam Mickolio and Tony Butler for Erik Bedard. 

This trade worked out terribly for the Mariners. Jones and Sherrill have each been to All-Star games and Mickolio is a serviceable big league reliever. Tillman is also hoping to become a part of the Oriole starting rotation this season.

Bedard, on the otherhand, was never able to stay healthy and was only a part of one winning season while with Seattle.

St. Louis Cardinals: Dan Haren

Mark Mulder was one of the top pitchers in all of baseball in the early 2000's and the Cardinals were ready to make a run at a World Series. So the Cardinals shipped Haren in a package to the A's for the star and the deal blew up in the Cardinal's face.

Haren replaced Mulder for the A's almost seamlessly while Mulder had one healthy year with the Cards before breaking down completely.

We all know that the Cards are one of the best run organizations in baseball and because of this they were able to bounce back from this deal and win two World Series.

That being said, could they have won more with Haren? That certainly appears to be the case.

Tampa Bay Rays: Josh Hamilton

Josh Hamilton's story is well documented. Hamilton was picked number one overall, crashed and burned due to drug and alcohol addictions, came back and has now lived up to his potential.

The only problem is he is doing it for the Rangers and not the Rays.

After taking years off from the game to recover from his addictions, Hamilton returned to the Rays to play once again.

The Rays, however, did not place Hamilton on their 40-man roster which left him vulnerable to being picked in the Rule 5 Draft. He was picked early in the draft by the Cubs and was quickly sold to the Reds where he played well.

Now he is an MVP and stars for the Rangers. This situation isn't so much a goof up as much as it is just a bad break for Tampa Bay. They had no reason to trust Hamilton so they didn't place him on the 40-man roster, but if they had, who knows, they may have won a World Series by now. 

Texas Rangers: John Danks

John Danks was drafted in 2003 but never appeared in a game for the Rangers.

In 2006, Danks and others were sent to the White Sox for pitcher Brandon McCarthy. Over the past for seasons, Danks has averaged 12 wins and has an ERA below 4.00.

McCarthy was never able to stay healthy while with Texas.

The Rangers, who have fallen short in the World Series the past two Octobers, could use Danks now more than ever with the loss of C.J. Wilson.

Toronto Blue Jays: Michael Young

Michael Young was drafted by the Blue Jays in 1997 and was traded to the Rangers in 2000 for Esteban Loaiza. 

Young has been the heart and soul of Rangers since he broke into the big leagues. He is the ultimate asset with his ability to play every infield position and career batting average above .300.

Loaiza's contributions to the Blue Jays and to baseball as a whole cannot compare with what Young could of meant to Toronto had he never been traded.

Washington Nationals: Cliff Lee, Grady Sizemore, and Brandon Phillips

I broke the rules on this one by putting three guys on one slide, but I had too.

This deal made at the trade deadline during the 2002 season is one of the worst ever and I couldn't just pick one of the three guys the Nationals gave away.

The Expos—this deal took place before the organization was moved to the capital—sent Brandon Phillips, Grady Sizemore and Cliff Lee to Cleveland for a few months of Bartolo Colon.

Phillips, Sizemore and Lee are all superstars now and Colon left Montreal after the season for the White Sox. This move would be somewhat justifiable if the Expos had made the playoffs that year but they finished 12 games out of the Wild Card race.