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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NEW YORK, NY – JULY 17: Adam Wainwright #50 of the St. Louis Cardinals in action against the New York Mets at Citi Field on July 17, 2017 in the Flushing neighborhood of the Queens borough of New York City. The Cardinals defeated the Mets 6-3. (Photo by Jim McIsaac/Getty Images)
NEW YORK, NY – JULY 17: Adam Wainwright #50 of the St. Louis Cardinals in action against the New York Mets at Citi Field on July 17, 2017 in the Flushing neighborhood of the Queens borough of New York City. The Cardinals defeated the Mets 6-3. (Photo by Jim McIsaac/Getty Images) /

St. Louis Cardinals: Adam Wainwright from the Braves, 2003

  • Cardinals get: Adam Wainwright, Ray King, Jason Marquis
  • Braves get: J.D. Drew, Eli Marrero

There have been few MLB players in the past two decades who came into the big leagues with more hype and delivered weaker results with a personality that rubbed multiple clubhouses the wrong way quite like J.D. Drew. He spurned the Phillies coming out in the 1997 draft and went a year later to the Cardinals. By 2003, Drew was wearing out his welcome with the Cardinals and manager Tony La Russa.

Drew’s six years in St. Louis were solid. He batted .282/.377/.498 with a 27-homer season in 2001, but the Cardinals got much more out of him by trading him after the 2003 season. The deal brought back a solid back-end starter in Jason Marquis, a dependable veteran reliever in Ray King, and the Braves first-round pick from the 2000 draft, Adam Wainwright. Marquis and King were both solid contributors to playoff teams.

Wainwright reached the big leagues as a reliever in 2006 and immediately became a Cardinals legend by freezing Carlos Beltran to clinch the NLCS. Wainwright pitched 9.2 innings in relief as the Cardinals won the World Series without allowing a single run. He moved to the rotation for good in 2007 and has won nearly 150 games for St. Louis while making three trips to the All-Star Game and finishing in the top-three of the NL Cy Young vote four times.

Ultimately, injuries could be what keeps Wainwright from reaching the Hall of Fame, but he will go down as a Cardinals legend. Drew may have enjoyed a similar fate in St. Louis if he had been able to fit into the clubhouse culture.

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