Cliff Lee to the Yankees! Prince Fielder to the Giants! Dan Haren to the Cardinals! Adrian Gonzalez to the Red Sox!
As the 2010 Trade Deadline approaches—and speculation runs rampant regarding this year’s potential blockbuster deals—we should temper the frenzy by revisiting the decade’s biggest blockbuster busts.
Every fan hopes his team’s general manager will venture into the trade market and go all-in on a mammoth bat or a top-of-the-rotation ace—a difference maker who will carry his team to the playoff promised land.
Yet, as many of these monster trades successfully shift the balance of power and launch the buyers on a powerful postseason run, just as many prove impotent and meaningless.
An aging star fails to produce. A rising star has already reached his zenith. Prospects hastily dealt today mature into the All Stars of tomorrow.
Woe to the team that deals away a future MVP for an early exit in the division series. Woe to the general manager that mortgages his franchise’s future for a late-season rental who just can’t deliver.
These are the 5 Biggest Blockbuster Busts of the Decade.