The absolute worst trade in the history of every MLB team
By Tim Boyle
Worst trade in Seattle Mariners history: Derek Lowe and Jason Varitek to the Boston Red Sox
A lot of the trades on this list were bad because of one player involved. This one is a little different. The worst Seattle Mariners trade involves two young players they gave up for a reliever.
At the 1997 trade deadline, Heathcliff Slocumb was traded from the Boston Red Sox to the Mariners. For the rest of the season and into the following year, he would go 2-9 with the M’s and pitch to a 4.97 ERA.
One only needs to mention the names the Mariners gave up to understand why this was so bad. Derek Lowe and Jason Varitek began their Red Sox journey. Both were core members of the 2004 Red Sox run to the World Series. Varitek would become a Boston-lifer, spending every major league game of his career with the club through the 2011 season and two championships.
Worst trade in St. Louis Cardinals history: Steve Carlton to the Philadelphia Phillies
Do teams never learn? You don’t trade star pitchers too soon even if you think the player you’re getting back is better. This is what happened when the St. Louis Cardinals swapped Steve Carlton for Rick Wise in 1972.
Carlton wasted no time making this a miserable trade for the Cardinals. On a horrific 1972 Phillies team, he won 27 games. The year would also end with him receiving his first of four Cy Young awards.
Wise would perform well for the Cardinals in his two seasons with the club yet that’s precisely the problem! He only spent two years there while Carlton spent far longer in Philadelphia and managed to help lead them to the 1980 World Series.
Worst trade in Tampa Bay Rays history: Bobby Abreu to the Philadelphia Phillies
Bobby Abreu was taken by the Tampa Bay Devil Rays in the 1997 expansion draft yet he never really got to get comfortable with the club. That same day, he was traded to the Philadelphia Phillies for shortstop Kevin Stocker.
Stocker would hit .250/.329/.347 in his 804 plate appearances for Tampa Bay. Abreu would do much more for the Phillies and beyond.
Starting in 1998, Abreu was the starting right fielder in Philadelphia. He hit over .300 and showed some power and speed. This would be a trend throughout his long career with every team he suited up for. Tampa Bay picked right then made the mistake of trading Abreu far too soon.