Looking back at the MLB franchise players who have changed teams

The original blockbuster, franchise-shifting deal came in a fashion that would be virtually impossible to witness today. These days, the Yankees and Red Sox would likely prefer to seal a deal with the devil, as they likely look more favorably upon him than their respective rivals. That was not the case in 1920 when Boston sold the then star pitcher and budding power hitter to the Yankees for a then-record $100,000. It turned out to be one of the great heists in sports history and started a turn of opposing fortunes for each franchise for nearly the next century.

At only 29 years old and coming off a 33 homer, 113 RBI year in 1965, Reds owner Bill Dewitt traded Robinson to the Baltimore Orioles, citing Robinson not aging well as part of the reason for the deal. The following season, at age 30, the mercurial Robinson put up the greatest "told you so" season of all time, winning the American League Triple Crown and taking home both AL and World Series MVP honors as well as clubbing 49 homers and 122 RBI and hitting .316.

It seems just sacrilegious to imagine some players in uniforms outside of the ones they donned when they became icons. Ted Williams is a Red Sox legend. Stan Musial is a Cardinal. Joe DiMaggio is a Yankee. And Willie Mays WAS a Giant…until he wasn’t anymore. In the twilight of his career, the legendary center fielder was traded to the New York Mets for pitcher Charlie Williams and $50,000. It came as part of a salary dump by Giants owner Horace Stoneham, who was hard up on funds and dealt the iconic Giant from San Francisco back to New York, where he had begun his career at the Polo Grounds two decades prior.

In 1971 when the Mets dealt the flame-throwing 24-year-old to the California Angels, Nolan Ryan was yet to crack 200 strikeouts in a season. However, the deal soon turned into proof positive of why waiting on young talent on the mound is a phenomenal virtue. In his first year as an Angel, he won 19 games with a 2.28 ERA while leading the AL with 329 strikeouts, the first of 11 strikeout crowns he would claim in his career.

$50,000. Well actually $19,000, which was the difference between the $31,000 offer that Cardinals owner Gussie Busch gave to Steve Carlton and what the talented southpaw requested, seeking a raise after posting his first 20-win season in 1971 and making the All-Star team for a third time. Instead, Busch traded Carlton to the Phillies for Rick Wise, who would post a 32-28 record over two years in St. Louis. Meanwhile, in his first year away from St. Louis, Carlton took home 27 of the 59 victories the Phillies had, winning the first of four Cy Young Awards he would see in his career.

With free agency on the brink of its debut and freshly going through a rough arbitration battle with his superstar slugger the year before, A’s owner Charlie Finley traded Jackson to the Baltimore Orioles as opposed to dealing with another contract spat. Jackson stayed a single season with the O’s before packing his bags for the Bronx, where he led the Yankees to three World Series in five years.

Since making his debut in 1967, Tom Seaver had been the crown jewel of the Mets franchise. In his first 10 years in Flushing, he won 20 or more games five times, was a three-time NL Cy Young Award winner and was a front man for the Miracle Mets World Series championship team of 1969. Seeking a pay increase in 1977, Seaver became part of what is now known as the "Midnight Massacre" when he was dealt away to the Cincinnati Reds in June of that year. It was an equator mark for the Mets, who would go on to finish in last place each of the next three years, while Seaver would go on to win 20 games for the sixth time later the same year.

Heading into the 1979 season, the Phillies had won three consecutive NL East titles, but a trip to the World Series had remained elusive. To help get over the hump, the Phils signed free agent Pete Rose to a four-year, $3.2 million deal, which was then the largest contract in sports history. Rose proved to play a critical part in pushing the Phils over the top, as they won their first World Series title in franchise history a year later.

In December 1990 the San Diego Padres and Toronto Blue Jays completed one of the most, if not the most, collectively high-profile trades of the '80s and '90s. The Padres sent Joe Carter and Roberto Alomar north in exchange for Tony Fernandez and Fred McGriff. The dividends paid off immediately for the Jays, as Carter and Alomar played huge parts in their back-to-back titles in 1992 and 1993. Alomar was named 1992 ALCS MVP, while Carter connected for a legendary, walk-off home run to end the 1993 World Series a year later.

With overtures from both the Yankees and Braves, the National League’s reigning Cy Young Award winner had a unique position to pick his fate between the two franchises that would go on to define the '90s. Ultimately Maddux turned down a more lucrative offer from the Yankees to ink a five-year, $28 million deal with the Braves. Maddux would go 55-18 with a 1.90 ERA over the next three years in Atlanta, winning the NL Cy Young in each season. Meanwhile, the Cubs’ wait for a title would continue another 23 years.

In his tenure with the Bucs, Bonds led them to three straight NLCS appearances while winning NL MVP honors in 1990 and ’92. Despite the club’s success, the climbing salaries in the game ensured that the reigning MVP would be outside of the Pirates’ price range following the ’92 season. Bonds headed west to join the San Francisco Giants for a then-record, seven-year $43.75 million deal. While he won his third MVP in his first year in the bay, Pittsburgh struggled to a 75-87 finish in ’93 — the first of a record 20 straight losing seasons for the club.

One of the first casualties of financial collapse for the Montreal Expos was Walker, who was a centerpiece contributor on the dynamic 1994 club. After hitting .322 and leading the NL with 44 doubles the year before, Walker signed a $22.5 million pact with the upstart Colorado Rockies. Walker would go on to hit over .300 in seven of his first eight seasons as a Rockie, including winning batting titles in 1998-99 and 2001. In 1997, he won NL MVP honors after connecting for 49 homers and leading the circuit in OBP, OPS and slugging percentage as well as total bases.

When Tony La Russa took over in St. Louis in 1996, many familiar elements of his time in Oakland followed along with him over the years. However, the biggest coup of all came in the form of McGwire, who became a Cardinal at the trade deadline in 1998. St. Louis became home to his historic home run chase the next year when he shattered Roger Maris’ single-season home run record after re-signing with the club after the deal.

Piazza’s exit from L.A. resembled more of a cross-country flight than a standard-issue blockbuster deal. The Mets' initial offer for the All-Star catcher fell short of what the Dodgers were looking for, so they opted to make a move with the Marlins instead, netting Gary Sheffield, Charles Johnson and Bobby Bonilla, among others. However, the Mets were still dead set on landing their man, and after less than a week as a Marlin, Piazza was shipped up the coast to Flushing for three prospects, including Preston Wilson.

Everything is bigger in Texas, even the Big Unit. With the Mariners slow to offer a big extension to Randy Johnson and falling out of contention in August 1998, they swung a deal to send him to the Houston Astros, who then were in the National League. Once he arrived in Texas, he became arguably the greatest hired gun in baseball history. Johnson went 10-1 with 116 strikeouts and a 1.28 ERA over 11 starts. The following offseason, he would sign a four-year, $52.4 million deal with the Arizona Diamondbacks — and win the NL Cy Young Award in each year of the contract.

As if losing baseball’s most dominant pitcher wasn’t enough, the Seattle faithful had to take the gut punch of all gut punches later that winter. This is when the franchise’s cornerstone and most popular player in the game, Ken Griffey Jr., had his request to be traded home to the Cincinnati Reds honored by Mariners management. While Griffey was never the same in Cincy as injuries caught up to him, it still served as a mile-marker moment of the changing of the guard for a franchise that has still never quite regained its footing.

Clemens’ exit from Boston in 1996 had proved to be a controversial one for the club’s fan base, with general manager Dan Duquette quoted as saying Clemens was in his "twilight." This proved to be far from the truth, as Clemens won the AL Cy Young in both seasons after departing from Boston, in 1997 and ’98. However, when he was dealt from the Blue Jays to the Yankees two years later, it was the ultimate rubbing of salt in the wound. Clemens would go on to win World Series in 1999 and 2000 in New York, along with his third Cy Young Award since leaving the Red Sox in 2001.

Just months after landing one ace, the D-backs dealt for a second one to take their deck to another level. Schilling came over from the Phillies for Travis Lee, Vicente Padilla, Nelson Figueroa and Omar Daal. Schilling and Johnson went on to become arguably the most formidable duo of arms in MLB history, with Schilling going 22-6 the next year and winning 55 games over his first two years in the desert while striking out 607. In the 2001 postseason, Schilling would go 4-0 over six starts with a 1.12 ERA, winning World Series MVP honors as Arizona upset the Yankees for the franchise’s first title.

The third leg of the big-ticket exodus from the Mariners came when A-Rod hit the open market following the 2000 season, a year after hitting 40 home runs for the third straight year and leading the Mariners to the American League Championship Series. While interest in the then-25-year-old was expected to be immense, nobody could anticipate just how high the bidding would go. The Texas Rangers reset the bar on blockbuster contracts, inking Rodriguez to a 10-year, $252 million deal. In his three years in Arlington, Rodriguez made good on the deal, winning the 2003 AL MVP and leading the league in home runs each season. However, it only set the table for a much bigger move that was to come down the road surrounding the superstar (then) shortstop.

After three years in Texas, the Rangers were ready to get out from underneath the massive commitment to Rodriguez. Of course, only one team could take on that type of cost and attraction: the New York Yankees. Following a brief bidding war that pit the Red Sox and Yankees against each other for his services, New York emerged victorious after offering up Alfonso Soriano. It paired Rodriguez and Derek Jeter in the Yankee infield, with Rodriguez relocating to third base to assure the superstar tandem could co-exist (at least on the field).

The direction of two franchises exploded in vastly different directions when the Tigers and Marlins got together for a swap of eventual superstar youngsters. Miguel Cabrera was already one of the great young hitters in the game when he was sent, along with Dontrelle Willis, to the Tigers in exchange for seven young Detroit prospects (including future relief ace Andrew Miller). The Tigers clearly won out in one of the biggest heists in recent years, as they would emerge with a two-time MVP and Triple Crown winner.

After years of being a good soldier north of the border and being one of the great tough-luck pitchers of all time, Doc Halladay was ready to move on to pitch for more a competitive purpose. Phillies general manager Ruben Amaro Jr. sent a stockpile of prospects to the Blue Jays in exchange for the best pitcher in baseball, and Halladay made an immediate impact. In his first year in Philly, Halladay won 21 games, threw a perfect game in May and a no-hitter in his first career postseason start, and he became the fifth pitcher ever to win the Cy Young Award in both leagues.

After a thrilling victory in the 2011 World Series, the Cardinals faced a winter full of significant change. Manager Tony La Russa retired shortly after the season, but what came next was a shift of mammoth proportions when franchise cornerstone and three-time MVP, Albert Pujols, surprisingly bolted for Anaheim in free agency. Pujols and the Cardinals had long been of a different mind regarding the slugger’s price tag for a new deal, and the Angels seemingly out of nowhere offered 10 years and $254 million, which was more than enough to woo the most productive Cardinal hitter since Stan Musial to head west.

With new management in Miami spearheading yet another face-lift for the Marlins, the first place it looked was at the payroll and its biggest obligation — which belonged to the biggest hitter in the game. Fresh off a 59-home run, 132-RBI campaign that won him 2017 NL MVP honors, Stanton pulled in suitors far and wide vying for the right to swing a trade for his services. However, armed with a full no-trade clause, Stanton forced his way into a move that landed him in the Bronx — and into a fearsome alliance next to the game’s other formidable slugger in Aaron Judge.

Coming off the franchise's worst season in over 25 years, the Giants looked to kick-start their turnaround by grabbing a couple of veterans well-equipped for carrying the load in their previous lives. First, they acquired third baseman Evan Longoria, who is the all-time leader in home runs, doubles and RBIs in Tampa. Less than a month later, the club made a second move to land former NL MVP Andrew McCutchen, who resurrected the Pirates from obscurity during his nine years in Pittsburgh.

Machado joined Bryce Harper to form a pair of precocious youth available for the taking in the winter of 2018/19. But like Harper, Machado’s tenure on the open market was an unpredictable one, with plenty of interested suitors but a final destination slow to develop. Eventually in February, Machado and the Padres stunned the baseball world, with small-market San Diego awarding the third baseman a 10-year, $300 million deal, the second-highest contract ever by a positional player at the time.

The most anticipated free agency foray in history belonged to Harper, with every big name team in the game being connected to the 26-year-old superstar. Ultimately Harper did not move far, as the former MVP relocated from Washington D.C. to Philadelphia, where he signed a 13-year, $330 million pact — with a no-trade clause and no early opt-out clauses — which was (briefly) the largest contract in professional sports history.