Sometimes, the best trades are the ones you don’t make. That couldn’t ring more true for what we’re about to talk about.
The trade deadline is literally right around the corner and things are starting to get interesting. With new rumors surfacing every 20 seconds, it’s easy to get lost on social media in order to follow along. It’s also harder for teams to keep these negotiations as private as they used to, which makes their jobs a little more difficult.
This couldn’t have been more evident over the past year with potential deals that fell through with the general public looking on. Situations involving Wilmer Flores, Brandon Phillips, Michael Saunders and Jay Bruce were just some of the ones we’ve recently watched break down right in front of our eyes.
After seeing a number of trades fall apart in a short period of time, what about old proposed trades that never happened, but would’ve been ridiculous if they did? I was led to the following five near-deals that had the power to transform the looks of every franchise involved.
Blue Jays receive: David Wright
Mets receive: Jose Cruz, Jr.
Since 2004, David Wright has been synonymous with the New York Mets. The last few years have been awfully frustrating for the Captain because of serious injuries, but his name basically appears at or near the top of every important spot in the franchise record books. After Chase Utley was traded last August, Wright also became the longest tenured ballplayer with one particular team, and it almost never even had a chance of happening.
Ahead of the 2002 trade deadline, former Mets general manager Steve Phillips offered Wright to the Blue Jays for Jose Cruz, Jr. Now, this isn’t the same Wright we think of today – he was in Single-A and not lighting the world on fire at the plate. ESPN’s Keith Law recalled this encounter a few years back (quote via SNY):
“The offer was made, though; I was there when the call came in. It was the first time I’d heard of Wright, since I wasn’t with Toronto in 2001 nor had I followed the draft when Wright was in it. JP’s reaction was, ‘I’m not trading a major league player for some guy in the Sally League.’ And that was pretty much that.”
Thank God it didn’t happen.
Mariners receive: Mariano Rivera
Yankees receive: Felix Fermin
Before Derek Jeter became Derek Jeter, he was just a struggling rookie during Spring Training in 1996. The Yankees’ plan was to hand over the keys to the starting shortstop job to him, but George Steinbrenner wasn’t quite convinced yet.
Since roster depth at that position was compromised with injuries to Tony Fernandez and Pat Kelly, a trade offer came from the Seattle Mariners. Felix Fermin was available and they wanted either Rivera or Bob Wickman in return. Erik Boland of Newsday recounts that the debates got a little heated, but it was basically the entire front office trying to convince the boss this wasn’t a good idea.
They won the battle, and soon after, they also won the war. Jeter hit .314/.370/.430 en route to winning the AL Rookie of the Year Award and the first of his five championships with New York. Rivera ended up becoming the all-time leader in saves. Fermin hit .125/.222/.188 in 11 games played for the Chicago Cubs in 1996 and never played in the big leagues again.
Good thing Steinbrenner listened to his people instead of doing something crazy.
Expos receive: Albert Pujols and Britt Reames
Cardinals receive: Dustin Hermanson and Steve Kline
If this actually happened, the Montreal Expos would probably still be a thing. However, they can blame it on lack of hustle…from Fernando Tatis.
Just months before Pujols made his MLB debut in April 2001, St. Louis was reportedly torn between trading either him or Tatis to Montreal in exchange for Hermanson and Kline. Instead of watching “The Machine” rake on a daily basis north of the border with Vladimir Guerrero, all we can do now is wonder what could’ve been.
Tatis only spent three seasons with the Expos, slashing .225/.305/357 in 701 at-bats. Meanwhile, Pujols won three NL MVP awards, two World Series titles and slashed a ridiculous .328/.420/.617 in 7,433 at-bats for the Cardinals.
Angels receive: Miguel Cabrera
Marlins receive: Possibly a bunch of dudes
A Pujols-Guerrero lineup combo is tantalizing to think about, but a Miguel Cabrera-Mike Trout combo would be equally terrifying, and it nearly came to fruition.
Following another great season from Miggy in 2007, the Marlins knew their rising star’s salary would reach a point they weren’t willing to pay, no matter how productive he was (he earned $7.4 million in his first year of arbitration with the club).
So, they put him on the trade block. The Angels were interested, and they thought about putting together a package that involved some of the following player: Ervin Santana, Joe Saunders, Nick Adenhart, Brandon Wood, Howie Kendrick, Kendrys Morales and Jeff Mathis.
Seems like the only holdup in the deal was Florida’s insistence on including starting pitcher Dontrelle Willis. Los Angeles didn’t budge, so former Detroit Tigers GM Dave Dombrowski swooped in and made a deal, which he’s pretty good at doing.
Yankees receive: Ted Williams
Red Sox receive: Joe DiMaggio
This one seemed so ridiculous that I had to look around on the Google machine for like 20 minutes to make sure it was actually legit. Then I sat for another 20 minutes trying to figure out why I hadn’t heard of this nixed trade before.
Following the 1947 season – a year in which the Yankees won another World Series – GM Lou MacPhail was on the hunt to make a huge deal. He got Tom Yawkey of the Boston Red Sox to verbally agree on swapping Ted Williams for Joe DiMaggio, but it was never finalized.
And you know what? Every Yankee and Red Sox fan probably breathes a huge sigh of relief upon hearing that news every time. Their names are synonymous with the teams they played for and the mere thought of them swapping jerseys just seems so weird. Sure, DiMaggio only played another four years after this potential trade was bagged, but Williams played for 13 more himself. History definitely would’ve been a little different.
This is easily the most mind-blowing near-trade I’ve ever heard. Which “trade that never was” is your favorite?
Thanks for reading! If you’d like to jumpstart your sportswriting career and aren’t sure how, check out my eBook. Don’t forget to follow me on Twitter so we can chat about baseball: @mmusico8.
