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

17. Astros acquire Randy Johnson, July 31, 1998

If you were to close your eyes and picture Hall of Fame left-hander Randy Johnson, odds are he would be in either a Seattle Mariners uniform or an Arizona Diamondbacks uniform. However, in 1998 there was a two-month transition between those two squads when Johnson was a member of the Houston Astros.

Johnson was the runner-up for the AL Cy Young Award in 1997, and helped the Mariners win the AL West before losing to the Baltimore Orioles in the AL Division Series. Unfortunately, the following season did not go as well.

The Mariners entered July 31 with a 48-59 record, 10 games out in the division race. And with Johnson (9-10 with a 4.33 ERA in 23 starts that season) scheduled to become a free agent at the end of the season, the team opted to trade him.

The Astros were 20 games above .500 and had a 3.5-game lead in the NL Central before acquiring Johnson for Freddy Garcia and Carlos Guillen, as well as a player to be named later, John Halama. Houston finished 102-60, winning the division by 13 games.

Johnson was completely dominant in the regular season with the Astros, going 10-1 in 11 starts – including four shutouts – with a 1.28 ERA and 2.04 FIP. He struck out 116 hitters in 84.1 innings, and surrendered just 57 hits and 26 walks with Houston.

However, despite posting a 1.93 ERA with 17 strikeouts in 14 innings, Johnson lost both his starts to the San Diego Padres in the NLDS. The Padres won the series in four games and went on to the World Series.