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In today's installment, Leigh Sprague examines the trades made by Pat Gillick between 1988 (actually 1989, there weren't any trades in 1988!) and 1994. Thanks again to Leigh for making this available as a Pinch Hit. Enjoy!


Part Three : Pat Gillick, Second Movement -- Running To Stand Pat
by Leigh Sprague



April 30, 1989
Toronto trades OF Jesse Barfield to New York (AL) for SP Al Leiter.


Obtained:
Al Leiter, seven seasons in Toronto
Year  ip     w  l  era
1989 6.7 0 0 4.05
1990 6.3 0 0 0.00
1991 1.7 0 0 27.00
1992 1 0 0 9.00
1993 105 9 6 4.11
1994 111.7 6 7 5.08
1995 183 11 11 3.64

Signed as a free agent with Florida on December 14, 1995.

Traded Away:
Jesse Barfield, four seasons in New York
Year  avg./obp./slg.  gms  rc  fld/rf
1989 .240/.360/.410 129 65 -/+
1990 .246/.359/.456 153 77 -/+
1991 .225/.312/.447 84 39 +/+
1992 .137/.210/.221 30 4 -/-

Granted free agency on November 4, 1992.

Synopsis: it is a stretch to say that Captain Blister pitched seven seasons in Toronto. In actuality, there were only three seasons in Toronto during which he exceeded seven innings pitched. Leiter was certainly the better player going forward from the date of the trade, but if you stop the analysis at the dates on which Leiter and Barfield left Toronto and New York, respectively, it looks fairly even. Barfield was good for the Yankees in 1989 and 1990; Leiter was good for the Jays in 1993 and 1995. Barfield cost the Yankees more in terms of salary than Leiter cost the Jays, so perhaps we can use that to tip the scales here. Verdict: slightly advantageous.

July 31, 1989
Toronto trades RP Jeff Musselman and Mike Brady to New York (NL) for OF Mookie Wilson.


Obtained:
Mookie Wilson, three seasons in Toronto
Year  avg./obp./slg.  gms  rc  fld/rf
1989 .298/.311/.370 54 27 +/-
1990 .265/.300/.355 147 63 +/+
1991 .241/.277/.349 86 22 -/-

Granted free agency on October 29, 1991.

Traded Away:
Jeff Musselman, two seasons in New York
Year  ip    w  l  sv  era
1989 26.3 3 2 0 3.08
1990 32 0 2 0 5.62

Granted free agency on December 20, 1990.

Mike Brady did not play for New York.

Synopsis: the 1990 Jays outfield of Bell/Wilson/Felix was turned into the eventual World Series winning outfield of Maldonado/White/Carter before the 1991 season. Mookie's best season in Toronto was that post-trade deadline portion of 1989, and he was likely the best internal option the Jays had for 1990 (the others being a not-yet-productive Glenallen Hill and current White Sox GM Kenny Williams). Verdict: mildly good trade.

August 24, 1989
Toronto trades 1B/C Francisco Cabrera and RP Tony Castillo to Atlanta for RP Jim Acker.


Obtained:
Jim Acker, three seasons in Toronto
Year  ip   w  l  sv  era
1989 28.3 2 1 0 1.59
1990 91.7 4 4 1 3.83
1991 88.3 3 5 1 5.20

Signed with Seattle as a free agent on February 2, 1992.

Traded Away:
Tony Castillo, three seasons in Atlanta
Year  ip   w  l  sv  era
1989 9.3 0 1 0 4.82
1990 76.7 5 1 1 4.23
1991 8.7 1 1 0 7.27

Traded to New York (NL) on August 28, 1991.

Francisco Cabrera, five seasons in Atlanta
Year  avg./obp./slg.  gms  rc  fld/rf
1989 .214/.214/.357 4 1 +/+
1990 .277/.301/.482 63 20 -/-
1991 .242/.284/.432 44 11 -/-
1992 .300/.364/.900 12 3 nil/-
1993 .241/.308/.422 70 10 +/-

Released on November 24, 1993.

Synopsis: Acker was better in the Jays' bullpen over the ensuing three years than Castillo was in the Braves', although giving Acker 88.3 innings in 1991 (he gave up 16 homeruns in those innings) was not wise. Cabrera slugged over .420 from the Atlanta bench during the Braves' neo-competitive era of the early 1990's. The Braves traded Castillo to the Mets in August of 1991 for Alejandro Pena, who would be the Braves closer in 1992. Verdict: even.

December 17, 1989
Toronto trades OF Kevin Batiste and C Ernie Whitt to Atlanta for RP Ricky Trlicek.


Obtained:
Ricky Trlicek, one season in Toronto
Year  ip   w  l  sv  era
1992 1.7 0 0 0 10.80

Claimed off waivers by Los Angeles on March 16, 1993.

Traded Away:
Ernie Whitt, one season in Atlanta
Year  avg./obp./slg.  gms  rc  fld/rf
1990 .172/.265/.250 67 12 +/+

Released on October 15, 1990.

Kevin Batiste did not play for Atlanta.

Synopsis: Trlicek only pitched 1.7 innings for the Jays, but he only cost them $109,000 in salary. Whitt's 65 games of .172/.265/.250 cost the Braves $1.2 million. Verdict: good trade.

July 27, 1990
Toronto trades 2B Nelson Liriano and OF/DH Pedro Munoz to Minnesota for RP John Candelaria.


Obtained:
John Candelaria, one season in Toronto
Year  ip    w  l  sv  era
1990 21.3 0 3 1 5.48

Signed as a free agent with Los Angeles on March 25, 1991.

Traded Away:
Nelson Liriano, one season in Minnesota
Year  avg./obp./slg.  gms  rc  fld/rf
1990 .254/.332/.357 53 22 -/-

Released on April 2, 1991.

Pedro Munoz, six seasons in Minnesota
Year  avg./obp./slg.  gms  rc  fld/rf
1990 .271/.281/.341 22 8 -/-
1991 .283/.327/.500 51 22 +/+
1992 .270/.298/.409 127 51 +/-
1993 .233/.294/.393 104 36 nil/-
1994 .295/.348/.508 75 42 -/-
1995 .301/.338/.489 104 61 dh

Signed as a free agent with Oakland on January 29, 1996.

Synopsis: only 21.3 innings of 5.48 LOOGY for the Jays from Candelaria. Liriano was decent in 1990: he was third in the AL with nine triples. Munoz was good in the Twins' outfield (or off of their bench) in 1991, 1994 and 1995 (at dh). The Jays could have used Munoz' bat off of the bench in the World Series years; certainly more value there than in the very few innings that they got from Candelaria. Verdict: a moderately poor trade.

September 17, 1990
Toronto trades SP Mauro Gozzo, P Steve Cummings and SP Alex Sanchez to Cleveland for SP Bud Black.


Obtained:
Bud Black, one season in Toronto
Year  ip   w  l  era 
1990 15.7 2 1 4.02

Signed with San Francisco as a free agent on November 9, 1990.

Traded Away:
Mauro Gozzo, two seasons in Cleveland
Year  ip   w  l  era
1990 3.0 0 0 0.00
1991 4.7 0 0 19.29

Signed by Minnesota as a free agent on January 7, 1992.

Steve Cummings did not pitch for Cleveland. He was traded to Detroit on May 21, 1991.

Alex Sanchez did not pitch for Cleveland. He was traded back to Toronto on November 6, 1990.

Synopsis: Toronto gave up virtually nothing and got virtually nothing. Verdict: innocuous.

November 6, 1990
Toronto trades P Willie Blair to Cleveland for SP Alex Sanchez.


Obtained:
Alex Sanchez did not pitch for Toronto (subsequent to this trade).

Traded Away:
Willie Blair, one season in Clevland
Year  ip   w  l  era
1991 36 2 3 6.75

Traded to Houston on December 10, 1991.

Synopsis: Sanchez, a Jays first round pick in 1987, did not pitch for Toronto subsequent to the trade. Blair pitched terribly for the Indians in 1991 and was traded to Houston that winter with Eddie Taubensee for Dave Rohde and Kenny Lofton. Lofton delivered to Cleveland five seasons of excellent centrefielder and leadoff hitter from 1992 to 1996. Verdict: a bad trade, indirectly.

November 6, 1990
Toronto trades Ken Rivers, OF Junior Felix and 2B Luis Sojo to California for OF Devon White, RP Willie Fraser and RP Marcus Moore.


Obtained:
Devon White, five seasons in Toronto
Year  avg./obp./slg.  gms  rc  fld/rf
1991 .282/.342/.455 156 98 +/+
1992 .248/.303/.390 153 74 +/+
1993 .273/.341/.438 146 88 +/+
1994 .270/.313/.457 100 56 -/+
1995 .283/.334/.431 101 60 +/+

Signed with Florida as a free agent on November 21, 1995.

Willie Fraser, one season in Toronto
Year  ip    w  l  sv  era
1991 26.3 0 2 0 6.15

Taken by St. Louis off of waivers on June 26, 1991.

Marcus Moore did not pitch for Toronto. He was selected by Colorado in the 1992 Expansion Draft.

Traded Away:

Ken Rivers did not play in California.

Junior Felix, two seasons in California
Year  avg./obp./slg.  gms  rc  fld/rf
1991 .283/.321/.370 66 26 -/-
1992 .246/.289/.361 139 53 nil/+

Selected by Florida in the 1992 Expansion Draft.

Luis Sojo, two seasons in California
Year  avg./obp./slg.  gms  rc  fld/rf
1991 .258/.295/.327 113 34 nil/+
1992 .272/.299/.378 106 41 +/+

Traded back to Toronto on December 8, 1992.

Synopsis: White was adequate to good offensively and fantastic defensively as the Jays centrefielder during the World Series years. He won a Gold Glove in each of his five seasons in Toronto, and was an all-star in 1993. He was great (.444/.464/.667) in the 1993 ALCS vs the White Sox. Sojo and Felix were slightly less than adequate as quasi-regulars for the Angels in 1991 and 1992. Verdict: great trade.

December 5, 1990
Toronto trades 1B Fred McGriff and SS Tony Fernandez to San Diego for 2B Roberto Alomar and OF Joe Carter.


Obtained:
Roberto Alomar, five seasons in Toronto
Year  avg./obp./slg.  gms  rc  fld/rf
1991 .295/.354/.436 161 98 nil/+
1992 .310/.405/.427 152 97 +/-
1993 .326/.408/.492 153 117 -/+
1994 .306/.386/.452 107 68 +/-
1995 .300/.354/.449 130 83 +/+

Signed with Baltimore as a free agent on December 21, 1995.

Joe Carter, seven seasons in Toronto
Year  avg./obp./slg.  gms  rc  fld/rf
1991 .273/.330/.503 162 104 -/-
1992 .264/.309/.498 158 94 -/-
1993 .254/.312/.489 155 90 -/-
1994 .271/.317/.524 111 73 +/-
1995 .253/.300/.428 139 71 -/+
1996 .253/.306/.475 157 89 -/-
1997 .234/.284/.399 157 68 dh

Signed with Baltimore as a free agent on December 12, 1997.

Traded Away:
Fred McGriff, three seasons in San Diego
Year  avg./obp./slg.  gms  rc  fld/rf
1991 .278/.396/.494 153 103 -/+
1992 .286/.394/.556 152 116 -/+
1993 .275/.361/.497 83 54 -/+

Traded to Atlanta on July 18, 1993.

Tony Fernandez, two seasons in San Diego
Year  avg./obp./slg.  gms  rc  fld/rf
1991 .272/.337/.360 145 67 +/+
1992 .275/.337/.359 155 74 +/+

Traded to New York (NL) on October 26, 1992.

Synopsis: this trade is the big one. Carter and Alomar enjoyed World Series titles in 1992 and 1993 in Toronto. Carter only managed a .252/.282/.445 line in 29 playoff games as a Jay, but of course we are forever greatful for The Homerun. Carter was an all-star in five of his seven seasons in Toronto and finished third in AL MVP voting in 1993. It was problematic that Carter was the highest paid player in the AL in 1991, 1993 and 1994, but again: The Homerun made it all worthwhile.

Alomar was fantastic as the Jays' secondbaseman from 1991 to 1995. In each of those five seasons, he won a Gold Glove and was an all-star. He finished sixth in AL MVP voting in each of 1991, 1992 and 1993. My fondest memory of him is the homerun he hit off of Eckersley in the 1992 ALCS, in which he was the MVP. Alomar stepped up his production in the playoffs (unlike Carter, who has been falsely reputed to have done so): Alomar's post-season line as a Jay is .373/.435/.492, and he created 25 runs while only causing 78 outs (that's 8.65 rc/27).

Tony Fernandez had two decent seasons in San Diego, including his all-star 1992. He was traded after the 1992 season to New York (NL) for Raul Casanova, D.J. Dozier and Wally Whitehurst. Oops. McGriff had two and a half very good seasons in San Diego, including 1992, when he lead the NL with 35 homeruns. He was traded to Atlanta in July of 1993 for Melvin Nieves, Donnie Elliott and Vince Moore. Oops.

Verdict: by virtue of the facts that Carter and Alomar contributed to back-to-back World Series glory in Toronto, and San Diego squandered McGriff and Fernandez in poor subsequent trades, Toronto is the big winner here.

January 15, 1991
Toronto trades Ron Blumberg to California for SS Rene Gonzales.


Obtained:
Rene Gonzales, one season in Toronto
Year  avg./obp./slg.  gms  rc  fld/rf
1991 .195/.289/.246 71 7 +/-

Signed by California as a free agent on January 10, 1992.

Traded Away:
Ron Blumberg did not play for California.

Synopsis: the biggest trade in Blue Jays history was followed (chronologically) by one of the smallest. Toronto rented Gonzales for a year less five days from the Angels, for little cost and with little return. Verdict: innocuous.

June 27, 1991
Toronto trades SP Denis Boucher, OF Glenallen Hill and OF Mark Whiten to Cleveland for SP Tom Candiotti and OF Turner Ward.


Obtained:
Tom Candiotti, one season in Toronto
Year  ip     w  l  era
1991 129.7 6 7 2.98

Signed with Los Angeles as a free agent on December 3, 1991.

Turner Ward, three seasons in Toronto
Year  avg./obp./slg.  gms  rc  fld/rf
1991 .308/.357/.308 8 1 +/-
1992 .345/.424/.552 18 6 +/-
1993 .192/.287/.311 72 15 +/-

Taken of waivers by Milwaukee on November 24, 1993.

Traded Away:
Denis Boucher, two seasons in Cleveland
Year  ip    w  l  era
1991 22.7 1 4 8.34
1992 41 2 2 6.37

Selected by Colorado in 1992 Expansion Draft.

Glenallen Hill, three seasons in Cleveland
Year  avg./obp./slg.  gms  rc  fld/rf
1991 .262/.345/.410 37 17 -/+
1992 .241/.287/.436 102 45 -/+
1993 .224/.268/.374 66 17 -/-

Traded to Chicago (NL) on August 19, 1993.

Mark Whiten, two seasons in Cleveland
Year  avg./obp./slg.  gms  rc  fld/rf
1991 .256/.310/.422 70 33 -/+
1992 .254/.347/.360 148 63 -/+

Traded to St. Louis on March 31, 1993.

Synopsis: Candiotti pitched well for Toronto down the stretch in 1991, and deserved better than a 6-7 record. Turner Ward split the leftfield duties with Darnell Coles for Toronto in 1993 until Rickey Henderson showed up. Boucher, from Montreal, never got much a chance to pitch for Cleveland, but Hill and Whiten played semi-regularly. Hill was later traded to the Cubs for Candy Maldonado, and Whiten to the Cardinals for Mark Clark. Clark gave the Indians 46 starts of above-average pitching over three seasons, which is enough to have made this trade a good one from Cleveland's perspective. Verdict: even, as both teams got what they wanted.

July 14, 1991
Toronto trades OF Shawn Jeter and RP Steve Wapnick to Chicago (AL) for OF Cory Snyder.


Obtained:
Cory Snyder, one season in Toronto
Year  avg./obp./slg.  gms  rc  fld/rf
1991 .143/.189/.184 21 1 +/-

Released on October 28, 1991.

Traded Away:
Shawn Jeter, one season in Chicago
Year  avg./obp./slg.  gms  rc  fld/rf
1992 .111/.111/.111 13 0 -/-


Steve Wapnick, one season in Chicago
Year  ip  w  l  era
1991 5 0 1 1.80


Synopsis: Snyder, unlike Candiotti, was unable to make much of a contriubtion to the Jays' 1991 pennant drive. It was a shot in the dark, and Gillick didn't give much up, so it is tough to fault him. Verdict: innocuous.

August 9, 1991
Toronto trades 2B William Suero and Rob Wishnevski to Milwaukee for OF Candy Maldonado.


Obtained:
Candy Maldonado, two seasons in Toronto
Year  avg./obp./slg.  gms  rc  fld/rf
1991 .277/.375/.446 52 28 +/-
1992 .272/.357/.462 137 79 -/-

Signed as a free agent with Chicago (NL) on December 11, 1992.

Traded Away:
William Suero, two seasons in Milwaukee
Year  avg./obp./slg.  gms  rc  fld/rf
1992 .188/.316/.250 18 1 -/-
1993 .286/.333/.286 15 1 -/-

Granted free agency on August 8, 1993.

Rob Wishnevski did not play for Milwaukee.

Synopsis: Maldonado was above-average as the Jays' everyday leftfielder in 1992. Although his defence was less than stellar, Candy did his part to help the Jays in 1991 and 1992; he hit two homeruns in the 1992 ALCS vs. Oakland. He was a bigger component on the 1992 team than you might think; runs created per 27 outs of the Jays 1992 outfield: Carter: 5.14, White: 4.01, Maldonado: 5.67. Suero contributed little from the Brewers' bench, although his rate stats from 1993 look decent. Verdict: very good trade.

July 30, 1992
Toronto trades C Greg Myers and OF Rob Ducey to California for RP Mark Eichhorn.


Obtained:
Mark Eichhorn, two seasons in Toronto
Year  ip    w  l  sv  era
1992 31 2 0 0 4.35
1993 72.7 3 1 0 2.72

Signed as a free agent with Baltimore on December 14, 1993.

Traded Away:
Rob Ducey, one season in California
Year  avg./obp./slg.  gms  rc  fld/rf
1992 .237/.292/.288 31 5 -/-

Signed as a free agent with Texas on December 18, 1992.

Greg Myers, four seasons in California
Year  avg./obp./slg.  gms  rc  fld/rf
1992 .235/.235/.294 8 1 +/-
1993 .255/.298/.362 108 31 -/-
1994 .246/.299/.341 45 13 nil/-
1995 .360/.304/.418 85 34 -/+

Signed as a free agent with Minnesota on December 8, 1995.

Synopsis: before he was our beloved Crash, the Jays dealt Myers with Canadian Ducey in order to obtain the former Jay who should have been the 1986 Rookie of the Year. As Ward took over Henke's role for the 1993 season, Eichhorn took over Ward's; and admirably so. Myers was missed in late 1992 and 1993 as his role was taken over by Randy Knorr, who did not command enough of management's confidence to take a significant amount of at bats away from Pat Borders. If Myers had been Borders backup in 1993 (when Borders amassed over 500 plate appearances), would the extra rest have resulted in a better line than .254/.285/.371 for Borders? It's a minor point, but perhaps worth thinking about. At any rate, Eichhorn was excellent. Verdict: good trade.

August 28, 1992
Toronto trades 2B Jeff Kent and OF Ryan Thompson to New York (NL) for SP David Cone.


Obtained:
David Cone, one season in Toronto
Year  ip   w  l  era
1992 53 4 3 2.55

Signed as a free agent with Kansas City on December 8, 1992.

Traded Away:
Jeff Kent, five seasons in New York
Year  avg./obp./slg.  gms  rc  fld/rf
1992 .239/.289/.407 37 13 -/-
1993 .270/.320/.446 140 68 -/-
1994 .292/.341/.475 107 64 -/+
1995 .278/.327/.464 125 69 nil/+
1996 .290/.331/.436 89 48 -/+

Traded to Cleveland on July 29, 1996.

Ryan Thompson, four seasons in New York
Year  avg./obp./slg.  gms  rc  fld/rf
1992 .222/.274/.389 30 11 +/+
1993 .250/.302/.444 80 37 +/+
1994 .225/.301/.434 98 41 +/+
1995 .251/.306/.378 75 30 +/+

Traded to Cleveland on March 31, 1996.

Synopsis: ostensibly, this trade does not look good. Cone went 4-3, 2.55 down the stretch in 1992 and 1-1 3.23 in the playoffs. Thompson never quite reached replacement level (an amazing 94 strikeouts in 334 at bats in 1994). The Mets traded Kent to the Indians with Jose Vizcaino in exchange for Carlos Baerga and Alvaro Espinoza during the 1996 season. After the trade, Kent improved while Baerga declined; it might be fair to say that the Mets' trade of Kent was worse than the Jays'. Thompson was also traded to Cleveland, in exchange for SP Mark Clark, who gave the Mets two seasons of slightly above-average starting pitching. Pro: Cone pitched well in 1992; Kent may not have gotten regular playing time in Toronto during the World Series years; Thompson never produced as expected. Con: the Jays only got 53 innings (plus playoffs) from Cone; Kent would become a star after leaving New York; Thompson brought a decent pitcher to New York in a subsequent trade. Verdict: disadvantageous.

December 8, 1992
Toronto trades 3B Kelly Gruber to California for 2B Luis Sojo.


Obtained:
Luis Sojo, one season in Toronto
Year  avg./obp./slg.  gms  rc  fld/rf
1993 .170/.231/.213 19 2 +/-

Signed as a free agent with Seattle on January 10, 1994.

Traded Away:
Kelly Gruber, one season in California
Year  avg./obp./slg.  gms  rc  fld/rf
1993 .277/.309/.462 18 9 -/+

Released on September 7, 1993.

Synopsis: neither played 20 games in 1993; Gruber was slightly more productive. The pivotal difference is that the Angels paid Gruber $4.33 million in 1993, whereas the Jays paid Sojo $290,000. Like Ernie Whitt, Gruber was a good Jays regular who was shipped off for one unproductive and costly season with another team. It is sad to think of Whitt and Gruber - two of my boyhood idols - as commodities, but Gillick did the right thing with each: getting out before the formerly productive player's contract became an albatross. Verdict: a good trade, because of the money saved.

March 30, 1993
Toronto trades OF Derek Bell and Stoney Briggs to San Diego for OF Darrin Jackson.


Obtained:
Darrin Jackson, one season in Toronto
Year  avg./obp./slg.  gms  rc  fld/rf
1993 .216/.250/.347 46 15 +/-

Traded to New York (NL) on June 11, 1993.

Traded Away:
Stoney Briggs did not play in San Diego.

Derek Bell, two seasons in San Diego
Year  avg./obp./slg.  gms  rc  fld/rf
1993 .262/.303/.417 150 66 -/+
1994 .311/.354/.454 108 69 -/+

Traded to New York (NL) on December 28, 1994.

Synopsis: Jackson was unproductive in two months as a Jay, and his salary was $2.1 million (although I cannot find the information with regard to how much of that contract was picked up by the Mets subsequent to the June 11 trade). Derek Bell helped the Padres in two ways: firstly, by being very productive in the strike-shortened 1994 season, and secondly, by being involved in a whopper of a trade three days after Christmas, 1994. The trade saw Derek Bell, Doug Brocail, Ricky Guitierrez, Pedro Martinez (no, not that Pedro Martinez), Phil Plantier and Craig Shipley go from the Padres to the Mets in exchange for Ken Caminiti, Andujar Cedeno, Steve Finley, Roberto Petagine, Brian Williams and Sean Fesh. From Caminiti, the Padres got four excellent seasons, including an MVP campaign in 1996. From Finley, they got four very good seasons including an all-star appearance in 1997. Even without considering that huge trade with the Mets, this Bell/Jackson trade was lop-sided; but when Bell's integral status in that big Mets trade is considered, the Bell/Jackson trade outrageously favoured the Padres over the Jays. Verdict: either bad or very bad, depending on the degree to which Bell was needed to obtain Caminiti and/or Finley.

June 11, 1993
Toronto trades OF Darrin Jackson to New York (NL) for SS Tony Fernandez.


Obtained:
Tony Fernandez, one season in Toronto
Year  avg./obp./slg.  gms  rc  fld/rf
1993 .306/.361/.442 94 56 +/+

Signed as a free agent by Cincinnati on March 8, 1994.

Traded Away:
Darrin Jackson, one season in New York
Year  avg./obp./slg.  gms  rc  fld/rf
1993 .195/.211/.241 31 4 +/+

Signed as a free agent by Chicago (AL) on December 28, 1993.

Synopsis: Toronto's prodigal son - Tony - returns for the first of three times. The difference between Tony Fernandez and the three headed shortstop monster of Schofield/Griffin/Cedeno was huge for the 1993 Jays. Schofield got 46% of the non-Fernandez shortstop plate appearances, Griffin 36% and Cedeno 18%. If you give them those proportions of Fernandez' plate appearances, and increase their runs created and outs proportionately, and then add them together, you get this: 390 pa, 304 outs, 18 rc. That is what I call FrankenTony, or contextualized replacement level. That is what those three would have produced given Fernandez' plate appearances. Fernandez actually did this with the Jays: 390 pa, 272 outs, 56 rc. That is quite a difference. Verdict: very good trade.

July 31, 1993
Toronto trades OF Jose Herrera and P Steve Karsay to Oakland for OF Rickey Henderson.


Obtained:
Rickey Henderson, one season in Toronto
Year  avg./obp./slg.  gms  rc  fld/rf
1993 .215/.356/.319 44 18 -/-

Signed as a free agent with Oakland on December 17, 1993.

Traded Away:
Jose Herrera, two seasons in Oakland
Year  avg./obp./slg.  gms  rc  fld/rf
1995 .243/.299/.314 33 6 -/-
1996 .269/.318/.378 108 37 -/+


Steve Karsay, three seasons in Oakland
Year  ip      w  l  era
1993 49 3 3 4.04
1994 28 1 1 2.57
1995 132.7 3 12 5.77

Traded to Cleveland on December 8, 1997.

Synopsis: this trade was not "the greatest of all-time". Henderson was unspectacular in Toronto, going .215/.356/.319 in the regular season and hitting .170 in the post-season. Karsay, a Jays first round pick in 1990, would become a good reliever after leaving Oakland. Karsay did fetch Mike Fetters for the A's in a 1997 trade with Cleveland, but Fetters left after only one season. Verdict: a poor trade.

March 29, 1994
Toronto trades 1B Domingo Martinez to Chicago (AL) for OF Mike Huff.


Obtained:
Mike Huff, three seasons in Toronto
Year  avg./obp./slg.  gms  rc  fld/rf
1994 .304/.392/.449 80 35 +/-
1995 .232/.337/.333 61 15 -/-
1996 .172/.200/.241 11 1 +/+

Granted free agency on October 15, 1996.

Traded Away:
Domingo Martinez did not play for Chicago.

Synopsis: Huff was very good as the Jays starting leftfielder in 1994, and his salary was only $222,000. In 1995, Joe Carter moved back to left from right with the emergence of Shawn Green, thus ending Huff's days as a regular; his production fell off. Domingo Martinez never played for the ChiSox. Verdict: good trade.
Blue Jays All-Time Annotated Trade Catalogue, Part Three : Pat Gillick, Running To Stand Pat (1988-1994) | 29 comments | Create New Account
The following comments are owned by whomever posted them. This site is not responsible for what they say.
_Jurgen - Wednesday, January 28 2004 @ 01:12 AM EST (#80169) #
Carter was third in MVP voting in '92, not '93.

But that's still insane to think that .289 GPA Alomar (with an .835 ZR at 2B, and 49 for 58 on the basepaths) was behind .264 GPA Carter in the voting. Heck, you could easily make the case Alomar should have been ahead of .292 GPA Winfield, too.

How our perception changes.
_dp - Wednesday, January 28 2004 @ 03:08 AM EST (#80170) #
Darrin Jackson was a weird one. I remember him being a better player than he actually was before coming to Toronto, but still, the year he split between the Jays and Mets was really unexpected-

yr tm OPS+
90 SDP 77
91 SDP 117
92 SDP 88
93 TOR 58
93 NYM 23
93 TOT 47
94 CHW 112

Also, re: Derek Bell- the Padres traded him to Huston, not the Mets, and Bell turned in a good year there.

Fun stuff.
Pistol - Wednesday, January 28 2004 @ 08:57 AM EST (#80171) #
I disagree with the synopsis on the Cone and Henderson trades. They were traded to help win a championship, which they both did. The players that the Jays gave up certainly weren't going to help them win that particular year.

In Cone's case he made 4 postseason starts with a low 3 ERA. The team was 3-1 in those starts, including game 2 which tied the series with the Braves, and the clinching game 6.

Would the Jays have won the WS without Cone? I doubt it. Because of that I think that the trade was a great one for the Jays, regardless of who them gave up.

Also, Henderson put up a .393 OBP in the WS against the Phils, and scored 10 runs in the 12 playoff games that year. Would the Jays have won without Henderson? Tough to say, but they only gave up a relief pitcher who didn't become above average until several years after he was traded.
Leigh - Wednesday, January 28 2004 @ 09:19 AM EST (#80172) #
Carter was third in MVP voting in '92, not '93.

That's right, Jurgen. One of what could be many typographical errors that my sore, tired fingers produced.
Joe - Wednesday, January 28 2004 @ 09:35 AM EST (#80173) #
http://me.woot.net
Leigh, a continuation of some great work.

I find it hard to believe that any trade which involves Operation Shutdown leaving the Jays could be rated as a loss :)

Also, the Henderson trade definitely wasn't all it was cracked up to be. My memory of him was not of Rickey The Great, but more like Rickey the I'm-Leaving-After-This_Season-So-I-Don't-Give-A-Rat's-Ass. I found it amusing that in a popular anecdote about Rickey, he says to John Olerud "I once played with a guy who always wore a helmet, even on the field." The media always picks up that this happened when they both played for the Mets; nobody ever seems to realize Rickey and Olerud were both Jays, too.
Mike Green - Wednesday, January 28 2004 @ 10:10 AM EST (#80174) #
http://www.baseball-reference.com/f/felixju01.shtml
Junior Felix (COMN) has one of the oddest career lines you're likely to see. According to BR, in his last season at age 26 (!), he went .306/.372/.525.

The White for Felix trade was savaged at the time, because of Felix's youth and potential. But there were questions even back then about whether he was as young as advertised. It seems clear, in hindsight, that the Jays were sure that he was much older than 22 years old when they traded him.
Craig B - Wednesday, January 28 2004 @ 10:30 AM EST (#80175) #
Mike, as I recall, Felix was actually several years older than his baseball age. Also, I believe he went to Japan or Korea or somewhere after 1994, which is why his career ends rather abruptly...
_Jordan - Wednesday, January 28 2004 @ 12:41 PM EST (#80176) #
I remember Domingo Martinez hitting a home run that just hammered the Windows restaurant during one of the Skydome spring training games way back when. Among Blue Jays, only Delgado has ever hit a ball harder out of that park. Tremendous power, but that was all Domingo had.

I also have to disagree with the Cone trade being disadvantageous. There's no question that Kent went on to a great post-Jays career, and that Toronto didn't get much for Cone later on. But any trade that helps clinch a World Series is a good trade. I'd classify this one as "costly, but effective."

Cory Freakin' Snyder.... [shakes head]

Great work again, Leigh!
_S.K. - Wednesday, January 28 2004 @ 12:44 PM EST (#80177) #
Darrin Jackson contracted food poisoning in 1993 and never really recovered until the offseason - that's why he hit like Rey Ordonez's 12-year old nephew.

As for Rickey, he was injured in 1993 as well. He had a couple of aches and pains, the strangest being the 'freezer burn' he got from falling asleep with an ice-pack on his leg. (Also, that .356 OBP was more impressive in 1993 than it looks now). Anyway, there's no way he "didn't give a rat's ass", he was playing for a world series! My lasting memory of the Rickey in Toronto will always be him dancing around on the basepaths and driving Mitch Williams to distraction - I think Williams threw over to try to keep Rickey close about 8 times before he finally grooved one to Joe Carter...
_MatO - Wednesday, January 28 2004 @ 01:03 PM EST (#80178) #
I believe Henderson was hit on the hand by a pitch shortly after coming to the Jays which affected him for the rest of the season.
_Young - Wednesday, January 28 2004 @ 01:08 PM EST (#80179) #
I agree with Pistol, with how people think on this site, I'm surprised you can point to Henderson's BA and say that he disappointed while in Toronto. I agree his 350+ OBP was below standard for the Rickey greatness that he proclaims all the time...
A 350 OBP I assume would be near, or perhaps just below league average, which would be a fairer look at his time in Toronto.
_dp - Wednesday, January 28 2004 @ 01:33 PM EST (#80180) #
Never knew about Jackson's food poisoning. I had to suffer through him with the Jays and Mets that season, and all year I thought he'd turn things around...
_eljah - Wednesday, January 28 2004 @ 01:33 PM EST (#80181) #
I agree with Pistol...I think the Cone trade was a good one just for the fact that the Jays won the WS.
Obviously it would have been great to have had Kent's 97-02 production in a Jays lineup, but if I had to choose, I'd take the WS every time.
_S.K. - Wednesday, January 28 2004 @ 01:46 PM EST (#80182) #
According to baseball-reference.com, a league avg OBP for Rickey's time here would've been .340.
_Jonny German - Wednesday, January 28 2004 @ 02:28 PM EST (#80183) #
The question of trading for a player who makes a difference in winning a championship, or even just in getting to the playoffs is very interesting. I agree with what most of you are saying here, it severely changes the evaluation of the trade. A championship comes along once every 30 years for a hypothetical average team, so even cleaning out the farm completely may be worth it if it gaurantees a championship. Of course, there are no guarantees, so it remains purely hypothetical.

Tom Candiotti, one season in Toronto
Year ip w l era
1991 129.7 6 7 2.98


This line surprised me... I remember the guy as a bum who couldn't handle any kind of pressure. Looks like he was actually quite good overall.

Mike Huff is mysteriously missing from my memory, I don't even recognize the name... was he severely injured part way through 1994? I'm looking at .304/.392/.449 and wondering how on earth the guy didn't get in to more than 80 games, and why he wouldn't have had a regular spot or high trade value in 1995.
robertdudek - Wednesday, January 28 2004 @ 02:33 PM EST (#80184) #
Although it doesn't make much of a difference in the David Cone deal, but it would be cool to include compensation draft picks for the players that the Jays traded (for/away).

The Jays picked up Matt Farner and Anthony (Tony) Medrano in the 1993 draft as compensation for Cone signing with Kansas City. Medrano was traded with Chris Stynes and David Sinnes in 1995 to KC for ... David Cone.
Coach - Wednesday, January 28 2004 @ 03:05 PM EST (#80185) #
But any trade that helps clinch a World Series is a good trade. I'd classify this one as "costly, but effective."

As Leigh said in a previous thread, he's judging these trades on "the evolution and future relative success of the two teams involved," not on whether or not the GM achieved his short-term goals. That's perfectly valid, but count me among those who would rather have the ring(s) than the prospect(s) every time.

From my perspective, if there was ever a win-win trade, it was Cone for Kent. The Jays gained immediately, paying a long-term price. Henderson for Karsay was the same kind of deal, and while Rickey was never quite as good for the Jays as he had been against them with Oakland, he was a lot more help in the postseason than Karsay would have been.

In July of 2006, if J.P. trades Vito Chiaravolloti or Shaun Marcum for half a season of an all-star nearing free agency, that's potentially a great swap for both teams. Of course, the only possible benefit to the Jays would be in winning a championship that year, so eventually, their trading partner would probably get the "better" of the deal, according to Leigh's criteria. It's still a trade you have to make if you're in the hunt. Sometimes you forget about evolution, because the future is now.
_Matthew E - Wednesday, January 28 2004 @ 03:30 PM EST (#80186) #
Mike Huff is mysteriously missing from my memory, I don't even recognize the name... was he severely injured part way through 1994? I'm looking at .304/.392/.449 and wondering how on earth the guy didn't get in to more than 80 games, and why he wouldn't have had a regular spot or high trade value in 1995.

Well, he was a little guy who had kind of a 'fourth-outfielder' label stuck to him. I always liked the guy. Preferred to be called 'Michael' Huff for some reason. Formerly of the White Sox, if I recall correctly. I remember him as just a singles hitter who could generally be counted on for reliable and sound play, but those '94 numbers are better than even I remember from him.
Leigh - Wednesday, January 28 2004 @ 03:34 PM EST (#80187) #
In evaluating these 100+ trades, I was bound to go awry of public opinion at some point.

And yes; I would take the rings over the future every time as well.

Getting into the playoffs is the product of team quality; success in the playoffs is the residue of luck. In 1993, the Jays won the AL East by 7 games; certainly more than Henderson's 1.0 WARP. Perhaps rather than "poor", I should have rated the trade as "innocuous"; but I won't concede a superlative.

The 1992 Cone trade is a little different. The Jays only won the East by 4 games that year, and Cone did contribute 53 quality regular season innings. Worth 4 games? Probably not, but youneverknow. My original "Verdict" for the Cone/Kent deal was "advantageous"; I thought about it a great deal, and when I read somewhere that Kent had been slotted for 3B (in lieu of Ed "no relation" Sprague), rather than 2B (stuck behind Robbie), I changed it.

Upon further review, I think that perhaps the Cone/Kent deal should have been classified as "good"... insofar it is remotely possible that the Jays would not have won the 1992 WS without him.
_Shane - Wednesday, January 28 2004 @ 04:33 PM EST (#80188) #
Bud Black turned himself into the draft selection of Shawn Green I believe.
_peteski - Wednesday, January 28 2004 @ 05:26 PM EST (#80189) #
Actually, I agree with Leigh's original assertion. Sort of. I agree that it's worth trading a very good prospect if that means getting a world series, but the decision is never that simple. You guys know how easily an inferior team can win a best of seven series. If we don't win the world series in those years, those trades look significantly worse. You can't simply look at how the team did. There is a good chance we could have won those world series' without Cone or Henderson, and it wouldn't have taken much to go differently for us not to have won with them. And when do you draw the line. When is trading a very good prospect not worth it. For example, the '94 Stanley Cup champions traded a young Doug Weight for Esa Tikkanen or Craig MacTavish or both, I forget. Either way I know it looks like a real dud now even though they won the cup. To me that trade was a big mistake. Missing out on Kent's awesome years seems like an awfully large price to pay.
_Nigel - Wednesday, January 28 2004 @ 07:13 PM EST (#80190) #
This has definitely moved into the realm of the philosophical. It's like the old debate about whether its better to have loved and lost or better to have never loved at all (very touchy feely for a baseball website I know). Peteski I agree with you on the fact that post season success is a crapshoot and the Jays might have won the world series without Cone or Henderson - but who knows? We have no way of determining the outcome of alternative universes. But I know that the moment in '92 when the ball hit Carter's glove was the single biggest thrill watching sports I will ever have and it made up for god knows how many rainy cold nights in '77, '78 and '79 at Exhibition Stadium watching some pretty bad baseball (on most nights) and watching the home 9 get their ass kicked (on most nights) and its made up for some mediocre years post '93 as well. So I say fire all bullets to win - it makes up for the loss of 10 Jeff Kents.
_JohnL - Wednesday, January 28 2004 @ 10:16 PM EST (#80191) #
I thought about it a great deal, and when I read somewhere that Kent had been slotted for 3B (in lieu of Ed "no relation" Sprague), rather than 2B (stuck behind Robbie), I changed it.

Kent first came up to fill in at 3rd during one of Gruber's injury spells, but my memory was he was pretty brutal. He also occasionally played first, but I think it was clear that 2nd base was his defensive position, and with Alomar a lock there for another 4 years, "trade" was Kent's most productive role.

In 92, I don't remember that it was clear where Sprague would play. He did the same Gruber-fill-in in 91, but in 92 was still catching.

And, speaking of Gruber, The pivotal difference is that the Angels paid Gruber $4.33 million in 1993, whereas the Jays paid Sojo $290,000 .

I'm pretty sure the Jays forked over a big chunk of Kelly's 93 salary. I think it was a bit of an issue at the time, because they included more cash than was considered legitimate in these deals. More than a million I think. Still, they saved a bundle.

Click here for a bit of a different take on Mr. Gruber.
_WillRain - Wednesday, January 28 2004 @ 11:58 PM EST (#80192) #
I recall a reliable story in, I think, Baseball Weekly, in which Gillick reminised that, as the end of July approched in 1993, he was working on two different trade scenerios. Karsay was involved in both and he was trying to work the two deals against each other to get the best return. On the afternoon of July 31, he decided against the Henderson deal and called the other G.M. who, amazingly, was unavailable. Gillick spent the entire evening trying to get in touch with that GM and , as the deadline approched, was forced to call Oakland and go with the Henderson deal instead.

the wayward GM? Woody Woodward.
The target? little pitcher you might have heard of named Johnson, Randy Johnson.

ahhh,,,what might have been.

(there's another story out there about how the Jays almost acquired Ron Guidry in 1977 or '78 too, as I recall, before the Yanks backed out)
_jason - Thursday, January 29 2004 @ 12:42 AM EST (#80193) #
I think we're forgetting the mood of the public at time the trades for the likes of Candelaria, Cone, Candiotti and Henderson were made. Since 85 the Jays had either been to the dance or were close to it. By the time the 90s rolled around the fans, the media and everyone else who lived in the GTA were clamouring for Stand Pat to do something. Toronto wanted a winner, and would stand for nothing less. Hard to believe now, but this town was Baseball crazy. Lets face it, none of these teams were perfect, and in a hypercritical enviroment that was suddenly filled with all seeing and all knowing fans, it made sense to do something. Pat did just that - usually without gutting the farm - and to good results.

This is wonderful stuff. Looking forward to the next installment. Thanks to all and in particular Liegh.
jason
_Graham Hudson - Thursday, January 29 2004 @ 11:13 AM EST (#80194) #
Junior Felix (COMN) has one of the oddest career lines you're likely to see. According to BR, in his last season at age 26 (!), he went .306/.372/.525.

Am I mistaken in believing that it was eventually found out that Junior wasn't that "junior" at all. Wasn't he one of the first players found to be MUCH older than he really was? I thought I remember someone saying that Junior Felix turned out to be 5 years older than he claimed.
Coach - Saturday, January 31 2004 @ 09:38 PM EST (#80195) #
johnl, there was a typo in your link to the Kelly Gruber feature. Being a curious guy, I went to Forget Magazine and found it, then took the liberty of editing your comment. The link works now, and it's some hilarious stuff. Thanks.
John Northey - Thursday, September 29 2016 @ 11:05 AM EDT (#332264) #
Fun to see this again. Good review of some trades to try to get over the top during the Jays contention years. The Cone trade being the biggest 'now for future' trade - No Cone, maybe no WS win, but Kent had a near HOF career after Toronto.

The Henderson trade was interesting due in part to what might have been as Gillick said that he was working on a Karsay for Big Unit trade and it seemed dead so he did the Henderson trade instead and right after agreeing to it got a call saying 'OK' to Randy Johnson for Karsay. Gillick, having ethics, said he already agreed to trade Karsay for Henderson and wasn't going to throw that out now even though the paperwork wasn't signed yet. One wonders how the 90's might have been had the Jays got Johnson. Would they still have won in 1993? Might they have been more serious contenders later? No one can ever know.
bpoz - Friday, September 30 2016 @ 10:15 AM EDT (#332348) #
A wonderful journey down memory lane.
Blue Jays All-Time Annotated Trade Catalogue, Part Three : Pat Gillick, Running To Stand Pat (1988-1994) | 29 comments | Create New Account
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