MLB Trade Deadline: Top 25 midseason deals of all-time

7. Giants acquire Hunter Pence, July 31, 2012

Hunter Pence was part of two major trade deadline deals, and both worked out quite well. After emerging as an All-Star outfielder with the Houston Astros, Pence was traded to Philadelphia in 2011.

The deal helped the Astros begin a slow but steady rebuild, and Pence sparked the Phillies lineup hitting .324/.394/.560 with 11 home runs and 35 RBI in just 54 games. Philadelphia won its fifth straight NL East title, but lost to the eventual World Series champion St. Louis Cardinals in five games in the NLDS. Pence had four RBI in the series.

Pence played 101 games for the Phillies in 2012, but with the club out of contention, the Phils chose to sell at the trade deadline and shipped the outfielder to the San Francisco Giants. He didn’t have as big a statistical impact in the regular season as he did the previous summer, hitting .219/.287/.384 with seven home runs and 45 RBI in 59 games, but Pence helped the Giants win the AL West by eight games.

Most importantly, of course, Pence helped San Francisco win the World Series. He hit one home run and drove in four runs during the postseason, including a 4-for-14 performance against the Detroit Tigers in the Fall Classic.

Pence was also a key contributor in the club’s 2014 World Championship. He hit .444/.500/.667 with a home run, three doubles, seven runs scored and five RBI against the Kansas City Royals to cap an All-Star season in which he finished 11th in the NL MVP vote.