Fansided

Each MLB team’s best trade ever

By Joshua Sadlock

SEATTLE, WA - JUNE 19: Miguel Cabrera #24 of the Detroit Tigers takes a swing during an at-bat in a game against the Seattle Mariners at Safeco Field on June 19, 2017 in Seattle, Washington. The Mariners won the game 6-2. (Photo by Stephen Brashear/Getty Images)
SEATTLE, WA - JUNE 19: Miguel Cabrera #24 of the Detroit Tigers takes a swing during an at-bat in a game against the Seattle Mariners at Safeco Field on June 19, 2017 in Seattle, Washington. The Mariners won the game 6-2. (Photo by Stephen Brashear/Getty Images) /
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OAKLAND, CA – MAY 27: Mark Ellis #14 of the Oakland Athletics bats against the Baltimore Orioles during a Major League Baseball game at the Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum on May 27, 2011 in Oakland, California. (Photo by Jed Jacobsohn/Getty Images)
OAKLAND, CA – MAY 27: Mark Ellis #14 of the Oakland Athletics bats against the Baltimore Orioles during a Major League Baseball game at the Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum on May 27, 2011 in Oakland, California. (Photo by Jed Jacobsohn/Getty Images) /

Oakland Athletics: Cory Lidle, Johnny Damon, Mark Ellis from the Royals and Rays, 2001

  • Athletics get: Cory Lidle (from Rays), Johnny Damon, Mark Ellis (from Royals)
  • Royals get: Angel Berroa, A.J. Hinch (from A’s), Roberto Hernandez (from Rays)
  • Tampa Bay Devil Rays get: Ben Grieve (from A’s)

Billy Beane has been the mastermind behind more than a few blockbuster trades during his time running the Athletics. Some of them have worked (Gio Gonzalez from the White Sox, Dan Haren from St. Louis, Jeff Samardzija to the White Sox), while others have been monumental flops (Matt Holliday cost them Carlos Gonzalez and wanted out of Oakland after fewer than 100 games, Josh Donaldson for Brett Lawrie is an all-time disaster and trading Yoenis Cespedes in the middle of the 2014 season totally blindsided the clubhouse).

Beane has a bout a 50-50 track record, and he has to take big shots with his limited budget. His trades have worked better for the most part when he sells a piece high than when he deals prospects. The trade that netted him Johhny Damon, Cory Lidle and Mark Ellis proved to be one of his best ever.

The 2001 Athletics won 104 games, with Lidle, Ellis and Damon all playing major roles. Damon only stayed for that one season in Oakland, but batted .409/.435/.591 in their ALDS loss to the Yankees. Lidle was a 13-game winner in 2001, while Ellis went on to have the longest career in Oakland. The second baseman came up the following year in 2002 and played nine years for the A’s and picked up over 1,000 hits while starting for three playoff teams.

The players Beane gave up in the trade failed to amount to anything with their new teams. Grieve won the Rookie of the Year in 1998 but never found the same success in Tampa Bay. Berroa won the 2003 Rookie of the Year with the Royals, but ended his career with a pedestrian line of .258/.303/.374. Hinch was an excellent hitter in the minor leagues, but was never more than a backup at the MLB level. His biggest successes in baseball have come as the Astros manager.

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