MLB Trade Fails Haunting Teams in 2026
The Boston Red Sox's sale of Babe Ruth to the New York Yankees in 1919 remains the holy grail of bad baseball trades. Yet without fail, there are new additions to the canon every year.
Take Pete Crow-Armstrong, for example. It was a bad enough look for the New York Mets when he broke out as an All-Star for the Chicago Cubs in 2025. Now in 2026, he might just end up denying Shohei Ohtani a fifth MVP award.
This is just one example of a team being haunted by what it gave up in a trade years ago. After first touching on some honorable mentions, we'll touch on eight more such examples in chronological order from oldest to newest.
Honorable Mentions
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The Book Is Closed, But…
- Boston Red Sox: Chris Sale for Vaughn Grissom
- Chicago White Sox: James Shields for Fernando Tatis Jr.
- Los Angeles Dodgers: Josh Fields for Yordan Alvarez
The book is technically closed on these trades because Tatis, Alvarez and Sale would have reached free agency by now if they hadn't signed extensions with the San Diego Padres, Houston Astros and Atlanta Braves, respectively.
Even so, there's still major "hoo boy" energy around these deals. Sale has pitched at a Cy Young-caliber level since joining the Braves, while Alvarez and Tatis both have MVP votes coming their way at the end of 2026.
Underwhelming Early Results
- Athletics: Multiple players for Jeffrey Springs
- Cincinnati Reds: Luis Castillo for Noelvi Marte, Edwin Arroyo
- Cincinnati Reds: Taylor Rogers, Sammy Stafura for Ke'Bryan Hayes
- Los Angeles Angels: Taylor Ward for Grayson Rodriguez
This is basically meant to be a "Who's Who" of some of the worst players of 2026. Springs and Rodriguez both have ERAs over 6.00, while Marte, Arroyo and Hayes each have an OPS+ in the 50s or worse.
The Reds just optioned Marte to the minors for what felt like the umpteenth time, and manager Terry Francona's remarks about urgency and accountability really make one wonder whether Marte will ever wear a Reds uniform again.
Tampa Bay Rays: Cristopher Sánchez
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Date: November 20, 2019
The Trade: Philadelphia Phillies get LHP Cristopher Sánchez; Tampa Bay Rays get 3B Curtis Mead
What They Got
If the Rays deserve any credit for this trade in retrospect, it's that they were able to fashion Mead into a top-100 prospect. At his peak, Baseball Prospectus even had him at No. 16 overall in 2023.
Prior to landing in Boston this July, Mead indeed looked the part for the Washington Nationals as he finally broke out with a 133 OPS+ and 17 home runs this year. Before this, though, he flopped so hard as a Ray (356 PA, 78 OPS+) that the team was content to trade him for Adrian Houser in 2025.
What They Gave Up
Sánchez was not really A Guy when the Phillies got him from the Rays. At least not in the way that Mead eventually became, as Sánchez never appeared in any top-100 lists.
Well, now the lefty has a case as the best pitcher in baseball. You can shout "Tarik Skubal!" or "Jacob Misiorowski!" all you want, but Sánchez has 15.1 rWAR to show for the last two seasons. The next-best is Paul Skenes at 10.1.
The record should also show that Sánchez would have been a first-year arb player in 2026 even if he hadn't signed the first of two contract extensions back in 2024. As such, he could have still been the ace for a Rays staff that doesn't have a true No. 1.
New York Mets: Pete Crow-Armstrong
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Date: July 30, 2021
The Trade: Chicago Cubs get CF Pete Crow-Armstrong; New York Mets get SS Javier Báez, RHP Trevor Williams, cash
What They Got
The Mets were seven games over .500 when they made this trade, so it's not like they were committing to some kind of quixotic playoff chase. They had a real shot at making it.
Even if it didn't pan out, Báez did his part to move the ball forward in his last few months before his first free-agency experience. His 47 games as a Met yielded a 140 OPS+ and 1.7 rWAR. Williams wasn't too shabby, either, posting a 3.06 ERA in 10 appearances.
What They Gave Up
PCA wasn't a name-brand prospect when the Cubs made this trade, but that changed in the ensuing years. Generally, what you heard about him was that he was an uncommonly good defender with amazing wheels.
Turns out he can hit, too. He went 30-30 last year despite a tendency to expand the strike zone. That tendency has largely disappeared in 2026, and he is on pace for another 30-30 campaign with a 158 OPS+. His 7.8 rWAR safely leads all MLB players.
Meanwhile, the Mets are in last place in the NL East for many reasons. It just so happens that one of MLB's worst offenses and defenses are among them.
Cleveland Guardians: Junior Caminero
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Date: November 19, 2021
The Trade: Tampa Bay Rays get 3B Junior Caminero; Cleveland Guardians get RHP Tobias Myers
What They Got
To say that the Guardians got nothing out of Myers wouldn't be totally accurate, but it would be close.
He only made 14 appearances for their Triple-A affiliate during the 2022 season, pitching to a 6.00 ERA with 40 strikeouts against 33 walks in 60.0 innings. Come July, the Guardians sent Myers to the San Francisco Giants for cash considerations.
What They Gave Up
It is amusing in retrospect that the linked report described Caminero as a "low-level outfield prospect."
That technically was true at the time, but Caminero was a consensus top-five prospect by the time he was entering the 2024 season in the Rays' system. Cut to now, and his 80 home runs across the last two seasons are the most of any hitter in the American League.
Even if Caminero plays the same position as José Ramírez, the Guardians sure could use his bat right now. They're third from the bottom of MLB with a total of 120 home runs.
San Diego Padres: CJ Abrams and James Wood
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Date: August 2, 2022
The Trade: Washington Nationals get SS CJ Abrams, OF James Wood, LHP MacKenzie Gore, OF Robert Hassell III, 1B Luke Voit, RHP Jarlin Susana; San Diego Padres get OF Juan Soto, 1B Josh Bell
What They Got
This trade was hardly a waste for the Padres. Soto was part of their playoff run in 2022, notably homering in the last two games of the National League Championship Series.
The Padres missed the playoffs in 2023, however, and they generally got the worst that Soto has to offer. His 149 OPS+ as a Padre is stellar by normal standards, yet the lowest such mark he's posted for any of the four teams he's played for.
What They Gave Up
Looking back on this trade now, the wild thing is that the Nationals' supposed centerpiece has proved to be a bust. Hassell was MLB Pipeline's No. 21 prospect at the time, but his OPS has fallen into a .500s purgatory at Triple-A.
Instead, the Nationals have gotten a total of five All-Star selections out of Gore, Abrams and Wood. Abrams and Wood are now key pieces of MLB's most prolific home run-hitting offense, combining for 59 long balls in 2026.
The Padres are doing just fine without these three, of course. Yet they'd undeniably be doing better with all three of them, perhaps to a point where they would be threatening to take down the Los Angeles Dodgers in the NL West.
Tampa Bay Rays: Randy Arozarena
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Date: July 26, 2024
The Trade: Seattle Mariners get LF Randy Arozarena; Tampa Bay Rays get RHP Brody Hopkins, OF Aidan Smith
What They Got
The book on this trade is far from closed, and the Rays can't be counted out as the ultimate winner in the end. That comes down to Hopkins, who is rated by B/R's Joel Reuter as the No. 5 prospect in their system.
It's just that Hopkins' stock is, shall we say, less than ascendant. He has struck out 108 batters in 86.0 innings at the Triple-A level, but with 87 walks and a 5.34 ERA. The Rays are already testing him out as a reliever, which might be for the best.
What They Gave Up
Arozarena had a 122 OPS+ for his career as a Ray when he went to Seattle in 2024. He has since posted a 124 OPS+ as a Mariner, and that part says enough.
There's also the evolution at play with Arozarena's offense this year. He's rocking a career-high 136 OPS+, and hasn't sacrificed power (17 HR) or speed (20 SB) to make it happen. It's a heck of a salary drive ahead of his first foray into free agency.
Because he's making $15.65 million this year, it's hard to imagine any scenario in which Arozarena actually stuck with the Rays. Yet if he had, they'd be getting more than a .710 OPS and an MLB-low four home runs out of left field.
Miami Marlins: Jesús Luzardo
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Date: December 22, 2024
The Trade: Philadelphia Phillies get LHP Jesús Luzardo, C Paul McIntosh; Miami Marlins get INF Starlyn Caba, OF Emaarion Boyd
What They Got
Caba and Boyd were both top-30 prospects in the Phillies' system at the time of this trade, and the book is far from closed on either of them. Boyd is at Double-A, while Caba has only made it as far as High-A.
Even so, neither had the helium that they once did. Only Caba ranks among Miami's top prospects, and his value is tied up in his glove. He's gotten on base at a .382 clip in the minors, but a .240 average and .325 slugging percentage hint at a bat that could be exploited by major league pitching.
What They Gave Up
Even though he had been in the big leagues for parts of six seasons, it still wasn't clear what Luzardo was supposed to be when this trade went down. He had top-of-the-rotation ability, but had struggled to put it together.
Not anymore, of course. The lefty was a down-ballot Cy Young Award contender in 2025, and now he's an All-Star with a career-best 139 ERA+ in 2026. As a result, the $135 million extension that the Phillies signed him to mere weeks before he was about to enter his walk year looks like a steal.
The Marlins have been able to stay in contention largely because of their starting pitching, but still having Luzardo obviously would have made their rotation even stronger.
Minnesota Twins: Louis Varland
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Date: July 31, 2025
The Trade: Toronto Blue Jays get RHP Louis Varland, 1B Ty France; Minnesota Twins get OF Alan Roden, LHP Kendry Rojas
What They Got
This trade is barely a year old, so it's perhaps too soon to be looking at it as a failure for the Twins. It helps that both Roden and Rojas have many years to go before they exit their 20s.
Yet with 81 games under his belt, Roden only has a 58 OPS+ to show for his time in the majors. The 29.2 major league innings that Rojas has seen have yielded a solid 3.34 ERA, but also 22 walks.
What They Gave Up
To put it bluntly, this feels like the Ryan Pressly trade all over again.
Just as Pressly was a talented reliever who needed to get out of Minnesota to fully unlock his potential, the same is apparently true of Varland. He had a bit of a coming-out party in Toronto's World Series run last year, and now he's an All-Star with a 1.26 ERA and the most fWAR of any AL relief pitcher.
As for the Twins, their bullpen has the fifth-highest ERA in the league. They sure could use Varland and Jhoan Duran back now, but at least the 2025 trade that sent the latter to Philadelphia brought back a top-10 prospect in Eduardo Tait.
St. Louis Cardinals: Willson Contreras and Sonny Gray
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Sonny Gray Trade (November 25, 2025): Boston Red Sox get RHP Sonny Gray, cash; St. Louis Cardinals get RHP Richard Fitts, LHP Brandon Clarke, PTBNL
Willson Contreras Trade (December 22, 2025): Boston Red Sox get 1B Willson Contreras; St. Louis Cardinals get RHP Hunter Dobbins, RHP Blake Aita, RHP Yhoiker Fajardo
What They Got
Granted, these trades were not about getting talent into St. Louis' farm system. They were about cutting payroll, and they did that successfully.
Even so, these trades haven't quite proven to be loaded with pleasant surprises for the Cardinals. Maybe Fajardo, who's now one of their top-10 prospects. The only other standout so far is Dobbins, though his 50.0 innings with the big club have featured too few strikeouts (49) and too many walks (21) and home runs (7).
What They Gave Up
The short version is that the Cardinals may well have given up a real shot at contention by making these trades.
They're still hanging in the NL wild-card race at 65-62, putting them just 2.5 games off the pace for the third slot. Between this and an 11-6 surge in August, nobody should make the mistake of counting them out.
All Contreras and Gray have done in Boston, however, is emerge as the best hitter and pitcher on a team that has won 39 of its last 54 games. They've given the Red Sox real World Series aspirations that perhaps should belong to the Cardinals.
Stats courtesy of Baseball Reference, FanGraphs and Baseball Savant.
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