The Philadelphia Phillies have made many trades this century. Some of those trades have been their best in that time frame. Others have been the Phillies worst trades in that span. At the time, these deals may have looked great for the Phillies. However, when all was said and done, these moves aged poorly. The Phillies have made a few blockbuster deals in this span. Some trades simply do not work out for a team or player. The Phillies have missed out on making some big moves lately. Time will tell if their recent moves were good or not.
The Five Worst Trades The Phillies Have Made Since 2000
5. Trading Plácido Polanco to the Detroit Tigers
Phillies Received: Ramón Martínez + Ugueth Urbina
Tigers Received: Plácido Polanco
While Polanco would return to the Phillies a few years later in free agency this deal was not great. Polanco would win a Gold Glove and a Silver Slugger Award in 2007 with the Tigers. Additionally, Polanco recorded 6.1 bWAR and made the All-Star team that year. Martinez and Urbina had -0.1 bWAR combined with the Phillies. Neither player the Phillies got in the June 8, 2005 deal stayed with the team beyond that season. Polanco recorded 4.3 bWAR in 86 games with the Tigers that season after the trade. In addition, Polanco had a 103 OPS+ with the Tigers.
4. Trading For Freddy García from the Chicago White Sox
Phillies Received: Freddy García
White Sox Received: Gavin Floyd + Gio González
While González did not appear in a major league game for the White Sox until 2019, the Phillies might regret trading him away. González became a two-time All-Star and had a major league-leading 21-win season in 2012. That season González, playing for the Washington Nationals, finished third in NL Cy Young Award voting. García went 1-5 with a 5.90 ERA in 11 outings for the Phillies after the Dec. 6, 2006, trade. Later on, García would reunite with the White Sox for the 2010 and 2011 seasons. Floyd would have a 105 ERA+ in seven seasons with the White Sox.
3. Trading Bobby Abreu to the New York Yankees
Phillies Received: C.J, Henry + Jesus Sanches + Carlos Monasterios + Matt Smith
Yankees Received: Bobby Abreu + Cory Lidle
Two of the four players the Phillies received from the Yankees, Abreu, Henry, and Sanchez, ended up never appearing in a major league game. Monasterios never appeared in a game for the Phillies. The New York Mets would later acquire him in the 2009 Rule 5 Draft. After having a 2.08 ERA in 14 games with the Phillies after the July 30, 2006 deal, Smith would go on record for an 11.25 ERA in nine outings the following year. Abreu recorded a 120 OPS+ in two and a half seasons with the Yankees. In 2007 Abreu received votes for AL MVP.
2. Trading Hunter Pence to the San Francisco Giants
Phillies Received: Tommy Joseph + Seth Rosin + Nate Schierholtz
Giants Received: Hunter Pence
The Phillies sent him to the Giants one year and two days after trading for Pence. The July 31, 2012, deal helped the Giants win the World Series that season. Pence also helped lead the Giants to a World Series championship in 2014. Pence had a .996 OPS and a 12.5% cWPA in those two World Series. Joseph played two seasons in the majors, both with the Phillies. Rosin recorded a 22.50 ERA in his lone appearance in a Phillies uniform. Schierholtz had an 88 OPS+ and a .698 OPS in 37 games with the Phillies. None of the players the Phillies acquired were on the team after the 2017 season.
1. Trading Cole Hamels to the Texas Rangers
Phillies Received: Jorge Alfaro + Alec Asher + Jerad Eickhoff + Matt Harrison + Jake Thompson + Nick Williams
Rangers Received: Cole Hamels + Jake Diekman + cash
On July 31, 2015, the Phillies dealt franchise icon Hamels to the Rangers in a major move. Of the trades the Phillies have made, this one has been their worst since 2000. While the Phillies got six players for Hamels and Diekman, none turned into stars for the team. That said, Alfaro was later traded to the Miami Marlins in the J.T. Realmuto deal. Hamels made the All-Star team with the Rangers in 2016. That year Hamels recorded 5.2 bWAR and 200 strikeouts. Hamels would record 11.1 bWAR in 88 games with the Rangers. Harrison did not appear in a game for the Phillies.
Main Photo Credits: H. Darr Beiser / USA TODAY NETWORK
The post The Five Worst Trades The Phillies Have Made Since 2000 appeared first on Last Word On Baseball.