Not every Jays deal worked out well
A look back at the five biggest deadline deals in franchise history
It’s only a few days until Major League Baseball’s non-waiver trade deadline, and there is growing anticipation among Blue Jays fans, hoping general manager Alex Anthopoulos will be able to pull off a deal.
But there are no guarantees such time-crunched trades work out. With the benefit of hindsight, we look back at the five biggest deadline deals in Jays’ history and find equal parts boom and bust:
JULY 31, 1993
Blue Jays trade Steve Karsay and a player to be named later to Oakland for Rickey Henderson. (Jose Herrera is player later named.)
The Jays had already loaded up in the off-season in hopes of defending their 1992 World Series, signing Paul Molitor and Dave Stewart as free agents. But by the trade deadline, they were looking for a leg up on the Yankees, with whom they were tied for the division lead. GM Pat Gillick made another splash by dealing for future Hall of Famer Rickey Henderson. The all-time stolen-base leader’s overall production in Toronto was minimal, but he worked a leadoff walk in the ninth inning of Game 6 before Joe Carter hit his famous World Series walk-off homer. Karsay, meanwhile, pitched 11 unremarkable years in the big leagues, and Herrera spent most of his career in the minors.
JULY 28, 1995
Jays trade David Cone to Yankees for pitchers Marty Janzen, Jason Jarvis and Mike Gordon.
The Jays first acquired Cone in August of 1992 — after the non-waiver trade deadline — in a move that bolstered their rotation en route to their first World Series title. After re-acquiring the right-hander at the start of the1995 season, the last-place Jays shipped him to New York before the ’95 deadline. The Yankees lost in the ALDS that year, but Cone went on to win four World Series titles over his next five years in the Bronx. Of the players the Jays got back, only Janzen pitched in the big leagues and he threw just 98.2 innings over parts of two seasons in Toronto.
JULY 31, 1997
Jays trade Paul Spoljaric and Mike Timlin to the Seattle Mariners for Jose Cruz Jr.
The Mariners were looking for bullpen help and the middle-of-the-pack Jays were looking to sell, so they packaged a pair of relievers for a budding outfield prospect. Cruz blossomed in Toronto, posting a .793 onbase-plus-slugging percentage in his six seasons with the Jays, while also becoming just the second player in franchise history to join the 30-30 club — hitting 34 home runs and stealing 32 bases in the 2001 season. Spoljaric and Timlin served adequately in Seattle, who won their division but lost to Baltimore in the ALDS.
JULY 19, 2000
Jays trade Michael Young and Darwin Cubillan to the Texas Rangers for Esteban Loaiza.
This long-lamented trade could serve as a precautionary lesson in the dangers of deadline deals. The Jays were just 11⁄ games back of the Yan
2 kees and desperate to bolster their pitching staff in July of 2000 when less than two weeks before the deadline they traded away a highly touted prospect for a middling starter. As most Jays’ fans know, that prospect was Michael Young, who became a seven-time all-star and face of the Rangers’ franchise for more than a decade. Loaiza, meanwhile, spent two more mediocre seasons in Toronto, posting a losing record and 4.96 ERA.
JULY 31, 2009
Jays trade Scott Rolen to the Cincinnati Reds for Edwin Encarnacion, Josh Roenicke and Zach Stewart.
Here’s a trade where the Jays came out on top. They were well out of the playoff race and veteran third baseman Scott Rolen had asked for a trade. They found a buyer in the Cincinnati Reds, who were willing to part with two young pitchers as long as Toronto would also take the burdensome Encarnacion off their hands. He was a pure throw-in.
J.P. Ricciardi, the Jays’ GM at the time, didn’t even mention Encarnacion when commenting on the deal.
“We got two really good arms that we liked for a long time,” he said, adding later: “We really, really like the arms we got.”
Encarnacion may not have excelled here right away, but six years later the two-time all-star is on his way to his fourth consecutive season of 30 or more home runs and 100’ish RBI.