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

18. Red Sox acquire Derek Lowe and Jason Varitek, July 31, 1997

Widely considered one of the worst trades in baseball history (or best depending on your allegiances), the Boston Red Sox traded closer Heathcliff Slocumb to the Seattle Mariners at he 1997 trade deadline for Derek Lowe and Jason Varitek.

The Red Sox pulled the trigger on the move because the club was under .500 and 17.5 games out of first place in the AL East. The Mariners held a slim lead in the AL West, and after suffering back-to-back walk-off losses (one to Boston and the other to the Brewers), Seattle jumped at a chance to solidify its bullpen.

On the surface, the move worked. The Mariners won the division, and Slocumb, who had a 5.79 ERA and 17 saves in 49 games with the Red Sox earlier in the season, posted a 4.13 ERA with 10 saves for Seattle. The 31-year-old right-hander also made two appearances in the postseason, but the M’s lost to the Baltimore Orioles in four games in the ALDS.

However, the long term effects of the trade were stark. Slocumb pitched one more season for the Mariners, posting a 5.32 ERA in 57 games. Meanwhile, Lowe (who had a 6.13 ERA with Seattle in 20 appearances including nine starts) and Varitek became key contributors for the Red Sox for much of the next decade.

Varitek spent his entire 15-year MLB career in Boston, and captained the Red Sox during his tenure, and was part of two World Series winning teams, including the iconic 2004 squad that broke the Curse of the Bambino after an 86-year drought.