As the Hot Stove League slowly inches toward the Winter Meetings, trades have been a popular topic of conversation. No one is that impressed with C.J. Wilson or his $100 million asking price, and Yu Darvish’s posting remains on hold as he sorts out his divorce. So the Yanks could turn to the trade market for inspiration and improvements.
We’ve heard some names of potentially available players. Maybe the Yanks will eye Matt Garza. Maybe Oakland will dangle Gio Gonzalez. Maybe the White Sox will part with John Danks. Of course, we can draw up trade proposals (that probably come out of left field), but the truth remains that some GMs and clubs get along better with each other than others.
So as an exercise in both pointless baseball minutiae and Yankee history, let’s review their past trade history. We’ll start with the last transactions the Yanks have made with each of the Junior Circuit clubs and wrap up with the NL tomorrow night. As free agency has become their milieu, the Yanks certainly have not been very active on the trade market over the past few decades.
Baltimore Orioles: Despite 55 trades in their long histories, the Yankees and Orioles haven’t done much wheelin’ and dealin’ since John Habyan came to New York in exchange for Stan Jefferson in 1989. Their most recent trade involved a swap of Jaret Wright and cash for Chris Britton in November of 2006. In 2009, the Yanks purchased Freddy Guzman from the O’s, and that’s all she wrote.
Boston Red Sox: Frequent division rivals make for infrequent trade partners. On August 13, 1997, the Yanks sent Tony Armas and a PTBNL (eventually Jim Mecir) to the Red Sox for Mike Stanley. The Red Sox used Armas to acquire Pedro Martinez a few months later, and the two teams haven’t made a deal since then.
Chicago White Sox: Yankee fans love to target the White Sox as potential trade partners because they always seem so willing to bend over backwards for the Yanks. On November 13, 2008, the Yanks sent Wilson Betemit, Jeff Marquez and Jhonny Nunez to the South Siders for Nick Swisher and Kanekoa Texeira.
Cleveland Indians: The Yanks and Indians consummated two trades in two days at the 2010 deadline. On July 30, the Yanks landed Austin Kearns for Zach McAllister, and the next day, Brian Cashman brought Kerry Wood to the Bronx in exchange for Andy Shive and Matt Cusick. The two teams’ last trade involving only Major League players came in 2000 when Zach Day, Ricky Ledee and Jake Westbrook turned into David Justice.
Detroit Tigers: Over the past decade, the Yanks and Tigers have been very active trade partners. A 2002 blockbuster saw Jeff Weaver land in the Bronx while the Yanks dumped Gary Sheffield on Detroit in late 2006. In 2008, Pudge Rodriguez came to New York just in time to ruin Joba Chamberlain while Kyle Farnsworth left. The most recent deal between these two teams though involved Curtis Granderson. In December of 2009, the Yanks landed Granderson while Phil Coke and Austin Jackson went to Detroit. To round out the deal, Ian Kennedy and Edwin Jackson headed to Arizona, and the Diamondbacks sent Max Scherzer and Daniel Schlereth to Detroit.
Kansas City Royals: The Royals and Yankees last made a trade together in 2000 when the Yanks shipped out Wilson Delgado for a fringe Minor Leaguer named Nick Ortiz. Only seven times in Royals franchise history have these two teams traded. That’s a far cry from the days of raiding the Kansas City A’s.
Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim: The Yanks and Angels love trading back-up catchers. In 2007, the Yanks sent Jeff Kennard to the Angels for Joey Catch, and in 2005, they landed Wil Nieves for Bret Prinz.
Minnesota Twins: Since acquiring Chuck Knoblauch in early 1998, the Yanks and Twins have done business just twice. Their last trade came in 2003 when the Yanks shipped Jesse Orosco to the Twins for Juan Padilla.
Oakland A’s: The Yankees and A’s have match up for a trade 63 times, mostly because the Yanks used to treat the A’s as their own Major League farm system. That pipeline has dried up in recent years. Outside of the three-team Weaver deal in 2002, the Yanks haven’t dealt with Billy Beane since 2003 when Chris Hammond went west for Eduardo Sierra and J.T. Stotts. Honorable mention goes out to the 1997 trade of Kenny Rogers for Scott Brosius, and for opposite reasons, the 1989 swap of Greg Cadaret, Eric Plunk and Luis Polonia for Rickey Henderson.
Seattle Mariners: The Yanks and Mariners have swapped players just twice since 1995. The earlier trade that sent Tino Martinez, Jim Mecir and Jeff Nelson to New York for Russ Davis and Sterling Hitchcock was the bigger one. The 2003 exchange concerned Armando Benitez and Jeff Nelson. Best to let those sleeping dogs lie.
Tampa Bay Rays: In 2006, the Yankees bought Nick Green from the Rays, and that’s the only time the two teams have swapped players.
Texas Rangers: The last big trade between the Yanks and Rangers involved some guy named Alex Rodriguez. In 2010, the Yanks sent Mitch Hilligoss to Texas for Greg Golson, and a few weeks later, the Rangers bought Edwar Ramirez from the Yanks.
Toronto Blue Jays: While the Yanks may be kicking the tires on Kyle Drabek, the Bombers and Blue Jays have exchanged players just 17 times. The biggest deals between the two clubs involved David Cone in 1995 and Roger Clemens and David Wells in 1997. The last trade came in 2002 when the Yanks kicked off the Raul Mondesi Era by sending Scott Wiggins to Canada.
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