Boston Sports Extra

As trades begin to happen across baseball with the trade deadline in a few days, I decided to look into some of the best trades the Red Sox have ever made at the deadline. I also plan to do one about the worst trade deadline deals they have made in the next couple days. These articles will include August waiver trades as well.

1. Heathcliff Slocumb for Jason Varitek & Derek Lowe

This is a no-brainer at the top spot. This trade was always baffling, but continually got worse with each passing season as Varitek and Lowe paved their way in the big leagues.

The Mariners were desperate for relief help, as this wasn’t the only move they made for a relief pitcher. One is left to wonder why they thought Heathcliff Slocumb would help shore up a struggling bullpen though. Slocumb had a solid season in 1996, posting a 3.02 ERA and 31 saves, but his saves were often nerve-wracking, as he posted a 1.48 WHIP. In 1997 it all came apart. At the time of the trade he had blown five saves, posted a 5.79 ERA with an unsightly 1.97 WHIP. That means he essentially put on two baserunners each inning! Over the next season and a half in Seattle, Slocumb went 2-9 with a 4.97 ERA and 13 saves.

Meanwhile, Jason Varitek became the first catcher ever to catch four no-hitters. He was the eventual captain of the Red Sox, and is the second best catcher in franchise history. He was a three time all-star, a Silver Slugger winner and a Gold Glove winner.

Derek Lowe made two All-Star Games with the Red Sox. He led the American League with 42 saves in 2000, then two years later went 21-8 with a 2.58 ERA and 0.97 WHIP. He also won the clinching game of the ALDS, ALCS and the World Series in 2004. Without this trade, the Red Sox do not win the World Series in 2004, and who knows where the franchise would be.

As most Red Sox fans probably were at the time, I was just happy to be rid of Heathcliff Slocumb. Getting two important pieces back in return? Trade deadline gold.

2. The Nomar Deal

At the trade deadline in 2004 the Red Sox were in the playoff race, but needed to change things up to really make a run. Franchise icon Nomar Garciaparra was unhappy in Boston by this time, missing games with injury and not playing to his usual standards. The infield defense was sloppy and Theo Epstein decided the defense had to get better.

It wasn’t surprising when the Red Sox traded Nomar, a lot of people knew it was time, but it was bittersweet. The Red Sox sent Nomar and Matt Murton to the Cubs in a four team trade. Coming back to Boston were shortstop Orlando Cabrera and first baseman Doug Mientkiewicz. Both were good fielders to help shore up the infield defense.

Although Mientkiewicz couldn’t hit a lick, Orlando Cabrera proved to be a a sparkplug. He batted .294 with six home runs the rest of the season, while playing a steadier shortstop than Nomar . The team went 40-20 over the rest of the regular season. Cabrera then batted .379 in the seven game ALCS with the Yankees. I’ve never understood why the Red Sox let him leave after the season; he seemed to fit right in with the team personality-wise, clearly could handle Boston and the big stage, played a good defense and could hit.

The Red Sox went 40-20 after making the trade for Orlando Cabrera in 2004.

3. Rey Quinones for Dave Henderson & Spike Owen

This is one of those August deals I referred to in the beginning. The Red Sox wound up sending three other players to the Mariners later on as players to be named later, but none did a whole lot. Mike Brown and Mike Trujillo at least pitched some for them at the big league level. Quinones, who had been hitting just .237 for the Red Sox in his rookie season, did even worse over the rest of the season. He actually had a solid season in 1987 before his offense tailed off and he was out of baseball following the 1989 season. His batting register on baseball-reference.com is fascinating, popping up in Independent baseball in 1999 after having nothing listed since 1989.

Dave Henderson actually didn’t do much in the regular season for the Red Sox. He hit .196 with 1 home run over 51 at-bats. However, he hit one of the biggest home runs in franchise history in the 1986 ALCS to avoid a series defeat to the Angels. In the World Series, he would bat .400 with two more home runs. Imagine his status in Boston had they not choked.

As for Spike Owen, he stayed with the team for each of the next two seasons as well, and was their starting shortstop for 1987 and half of 1988. He also had a big postseason in 1986, batting .429 in the ALCS and .300 in the World Series.

Dave Henderson came up huge for the Red Sox in the 1986 postseason.

4. Santiago Espinal for Steve Pearce

I’m going back to just last season for this one. The Red Sox got the eventual World Series MVP for a prospect not on the radar for prospect lists. You never know how someone will develop, but at the moment this one looks like a steal. This trade happened about a month before the deadline, but it counts.

Pearce posted a .901 OPS for the Red Sox following the trade. He went all Jimmie Foxx on the Yankees in early August, hitting three home runs one day and another the next day. In the World Series he batted .333 with three home runs. In game four, he hit a home run off closer Kenley Jansen to tie the game at four in the 8th inning of an eventual 9-6 victory. For the clinching game five, he hit a two-run homer off Clayton Kershaw to open the scoring in the 1st inning, then homered again in the 8th inning, which was the dagger. For his efforts, he won World Series MVP.

Steve Pearce homers in the 8th inning of game 5 of the World Series.

5. Henri Stanley for Dave Roberts

We all know why this one is on the list, and it all comes down to just one play. The Red Sox picked up Dave Roberts on July 31, 2004 for Henri Stanley (who?). The idea with Roberts was to add some speed. He batted .256 with 2 home runs and five stolen bases over the rest of the regular season. In the playoffs, he was on the team to pinch-run. That was it. The rest, as they say, is history.

Honorable Mention: Mike Stanley

Mike Stanley gets an honorable mention for two trades. Stanley posted excellent offensive numbers in 1996 and 1997 for the Red Sox, but the team was well out of the race in 1997 so they moved him in August. In sending him to the Yankees, the Red Sox received Tony Armas Jr. in return.

Why is this trade so notable? Well, that offseason, the Red Sox were battling the Indians to trade for Pedro Martinez from the Expos. The Red Sox won out, sending the Expos two pitching prospects in Carl Pavano and, you guessed it, Tony Armas Jr. This Mike Stanley trade is very underrated in history, as it brought the Red Sox an important trade chip back to get possibly the best pitcher of all-time.

The very next season, in 1998, with the Red Sox back in the race again, they brought Stanley back at the deadline, sending Peter Munro and Jay Yennaco to the Blue Jays for him. Munro made the Majors, but didn’t do much to speak of. Yennaco never made to the show. Mike Stanley batted .288 with an .888 OPS the rest of the 1998 season. In 1999, he was their starting first baseman more often than not, posting a .393 on-base percentage while hitting 19 home runs. Stanley was also an excellent guy in the clubhouse, becoming a bench coach quickly after his retirement.

Mike Stanley was a great trade for the Red Sox both in dealing him (1997) and acquiring him again (1998).

Feature picture from sportsonearth.com

There are no Hall of Famers in the numbers 21 through 25 for the Red Sox. However, that statement can be a bit misleading. Four of the five I have selected could be Hall of Famers if not for varying reasons. Two of them are borderline cases that have received varying support, while another clearly has the numbers to be there.

Number 21 – Roger Clemens

“The Rocket” would clearly be a Hall of Famer based purely upon his numbers and awards. During his time with the Red Sox, Clemens became “The Rocket” and was a Hall of Fame pitcher for roughly a decade. During that time, he won an MVP Award and had a third-place finish. Clemens also won three Cy Young Awards while also finishing in second and third during other seasons.

Clemens broke out in 1986 with his first Cy Young Award and his MVP Award. He had his first 20 strikeout game in April that season en route to striking out 238 batters for the season. He led the league in wins, ERA, and WHIP as he finished 24-4 for the pennant-winning club.

Clemens led the league in wins again in 1987 as he won the Cy Young Award. After two more very good seasons, Clemens was as dominant as ever between 1990 and 1992. He finished second in the Cy Young vote in 1990 due to Bob Welch’s 27 wins, but Clemens was the better pitcher. He led the league with a 1.93 ERA that season and finished 21-6. Clemens led the league in ERA again in both 1991 and 1992, giving him three straight ERA crowns to begin the nineties.

Clemens tailed off from there, but pitched very well for a bad team in 1994 and looked like vintage Rocket down the stretch in 1996 when he punched out 20 batters in a game for the second time. He went 192-111 with a 3.06 ERA and struck out 2590 batters during his time in Boston. From 1986-92 he averaged a season of 19-9 with a 2.66 ERA and 239 strikeouts. There is a strong argument for retiring his number.

Honorable Mentions: Tex Hughson, Ray Culp

Number 22 – Rick Porcello

At number 22, we get an active Red Sox. Porcello has had an up and down Red Sox career, but he did win a Cy Young Award and contribute to the 2018 World Series champions, so at a thin number he gets the edge.

Porcello came to the Red Sox in 2015 on a questionable contract given his mediocrity to date. The decision looked like a disaster that first season as he was 9-15 with an ERA approaching 5.00. Porcello bounced back to enjoy a career year in his second season in Boston. In 2016, he led the league in wins, finishing 22-4 with a 3.15 ERA and a 1.01 WHIP. His 189 strikeouts were far and away – a career high at the time.

Porcello regressed again in 2017, leading the American League with 17 losses despite playing for a division-winning ballclub. His strikeout numbers did stay up, however, but his home run rate skyrocketed. This past season Porcello found some middle ground, posting a 4.28 ERA while finishing with a 17-7 record. He set a career high in strikeouts with 190 over 191.1 innings. In the postseason, he made three starts and two key relief appearances, pitching to a 3.52 ERA. It’s been an interesting career in Boston for Porcello.

Honorable Mentions: Sammy White, Bill Campbell

Number 23 – Luis Tiant

Tiant is one of the most popular pitchers in franchise history. Tiant had some good seasons in Cleveland in the sixties but hadn’t been good since breaking a bone in his shoulder. He led the league with 20 losses in 1969, a season after winning 21 and posting a 1.60 ERA. He missed a lot of time in 1970 and the Red Sox were able to sign him during the 1971 season off the scrap heap.

Tiant was not immediately good for the Red Sox, struggling in that first season. However, by year two he was pitching like it was 1968 again. Pitching out of the pen for much of the year, Tiant made 19 starts that season in 42 appearances, going 15-6 with a league-leading 1.91 ERA. The next season he won 20 games for the first time in five seasons, eclipsed 200 strikeouts and led the league in WHIP.

Tiant finished fourth for the Cy Young in 1974, going 22-13 with a 2.92 ERA in over 300 innings pitched. After an 18 win 1975, Tiant went 3-0 in the postseason. He pitched a complete game versus the Athletics in the ALCS and won two games against the Reds in the World Series. Tiant then won 21 games in 1976, giving him three 20-win seasons over a four-year stretch. He finished fifth in the Cy Young vote and made the All-Star team.

From 1972 through 1978, his final season in Boston, Tiant was 121-74 with a 3.30 ERA, not too shabby for someone signed off the scrap heap. He has had varying levels of support for the Hall of Fame as he remains on the outside looking in.

Honorable Mentions: Tom Brunansky, Dennis “Oil Can” Boyd, Brian Daubach

Number 24 – Dwight Evans

I would have loved to see Dwight Evans get his number 24 retired, but the chance for that probably ended with Manny Ramirez wearing the number. Dewey spent parts of 19 seasons with the Red Sox and played at a borderline Hall of Fame level. Had he hit earlier in his career as he did during the eighties, he likely would be in by now.

Evans was always a great fielder, winning eight Gold Gloves in right field. His first came in 1976 and he won three of them during the seventies. His hitting was solid, yet unspectacular until the strike-shortened season of 1981. Evans led the league in home runs and OPS that season, making the All-Star Game, finishing third in the MVP vote and winning the Gold Glove and Silver Slugger Awards. Red hot before the strike took place, an argument can be made that the strike cost him the MVP Award. Had he won an MVP, maybe Dewey would be in the Hall.

Dewey hit a career-high 32 home runs in 1982, a number he matched in 1984 and eclipsed with 34 in 1987. He led the league in walks three times during the eighties and OPS twice. For the decade, Evans hit 256 home runs and drove in 900 runs while posting a .280/.385/.497/.882 batting line. That’s some Hall of Fame work when you throw into consideration his eight Gold Glove Awards.

Honorable Mentions: Manny Ramirez, David Price, Mike Stanley

Number 25 – Tony Conigliaro

When I say Tony Conigliaro could be a Hall of Famer, it’s not in the same way as the previous guys. Obviously, Conigliaro is not a Hall of Famer off what he achieved. However, if Jack Hamilton’s fastball hadn’t crushed his eye socket in 1967, Conigliaro may have become a Hall of Famer. Conigliaro was just 22 years old at the time and already had 104 home runs in his career, with some of the season still to play. He had a home run crown under his belt and seemed like he could be well on his way to joining the 500 home run club.

Even with the tragic events that took place in his life, Tony C is still the greatest Red Sox to ever don the number 25. On top of the previous statistics I stated, he did briefly return and even hit a career-high 36 home runs in 1970. Unfortunately, his eyesight rapidly deteriorated from there, quickly ending his playing career. In all, the local kid hit 162 home runs and drove in 501 runs for the Red Sox. Would the Red Sox have won the World Series in 1967 had Conigliaro not been injured?

Honorable Mentions: Mike Lowell, Troy O’Leary

Featured picture credit to “Boston Baseball History/Rich Pilling” and taken from Cooperstown Cred