Worst baseball trade deadline deals

Baseball executives both love and hate the annual trade deadline. It provides a chance for contenders to stock up for a hoped-for playoff run, while teams who have fallen by the wayside can unload high-priced talent for prospects who hopefully will aid the rebuilding process.

The last-minute frenzy of activity can create big winners and even bigger losers. Some deals that seem fair enough at the time become skewed when the “sure thing” fails and the “no-name” prospect blossoms into an All-Star.

When it comes to bad trades, everyone has a personal favorite. Here, in no particular order, is our list of the worst trade deadline deals ever:

Red Sox trade Jeff Bagwell to Houston for reliever Larry Andersen (Aug. 31, 1990): Andersen was a respectable big league pitcher, but at the time of this deal he was 37 and went on to blow three of four saves for his new club. Bagwell went on to play 15 seasons and hit 449 home runs for the Astros before shoulder injuries ended his career.

A’s ship Mark McGwire to Cardinals for pitchers T.J. Mathews, Eric Ludwick and Blake Stein (July 31, 1997): The low-budget A’s didn’t think they could sign McGwire after the season, so their bargaining position was limited. Still, they got almost nothing out of this trade. Before his inglorious appearance before Congress, McGwire broke Roger Maris’ single season home run record and was an enormously popular player in St. Louis.

Tigers deal John Smoltz to Braves for Doyle Alexander (Aug. 12, 1987): Alexander helped Detroit win the AL East that year, but pitched only two more seasons before retiring. Smoltz went on to become part of Atlanta’s fabled Maddux-Smoltz-Glavine starting staff and has enjoyed a likely Hall of Fame career spanning more than 20 years.

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