Top Could-Have-Beens of NYY History: Rickey Trade Prizes

Just last Saturday, we got the very sad news that Hall of Famer and legendary baseball player Rickey Henderson had passed away at the way too young age of 65.

People far more eloquent than me have put together far better words to describe just how good Henderson was, so I wont try to eulogize him other than saying this: for as braggadocious as Henderson could be about his own skills, you could argue that he didnt do so as much as he could have.

His tenure with the Yankees didnt work out as we may have hoped, but none of that had to do with the way he played in his 4.5 years in pinstripes.

Rickeys passing also leads to some awkward timing with this post.

Long before we found out the sad news, we were planning on a tandem look at two of the top prospects who the Yankees sent away for Henderson as part of our ongoing Could Have Beens series.

None of the players the Yankees gave up in the initial trade with the Athletics to bring Henderson to New York were as good as Rickey.

That should be obvious, as the list of players who were better than Rickey is a short one; we even ranked as the 40th-best player in Yankees history despite his somewhat-short tenure.

In the moment, it always makes sense to acquire a 26-yer-old who already looks like hes on a Hall of Fame track.

The reason were highlighting a couple of these guys is because the Yankees ended up dealing Rickey right back to Oakland within a couple years.

Hendersons production with the Yankees was arguably better than anything these guys did in the majors; its just that the Bombers didnt put all of Rickeys production to use, as generally was their wheelhouse in the 1980s.

Also, what they ended up getting back for Henderson* amounted to a whole lot of nothing.

*Although he will not be chronicled here, it is at least mildly amusing that one of the other prospects sent to Oakland for Rickey, pitcher Eric Plunk, returned to New York in the 1989 trade.

Righty middle relievers only mean so much.

With that in mind, lets take a look back at a couple players who couldve been of some use had the Yankees not ultimately mishandled the majority of their mini-Rickey Era.

Jose Rijo Years in Yankees Organization: 1980-84 How They Left: Traded to Athletics in December 1984 Career Yankees Statistics: 24 games, 5 games started, 2-8, 62.1 IP, 4.76 ERA, 3.94 FIP, 0.6 fWAR Career MLB Statistics: 14 seasons, 280 games, 215 games started, 116-91, 1880 IP, 3.24 ERA, 121 ERA+, 3.28 FIP, 38.8 fWAR Signed as a 15-year old out of the Dominican Republic in 1980, Rijo began to make waves as still just an 18-year old in 1983.

Across both Single-A and Double-A in the Yankees org, Rijo put up a 1.88 ERA with 184 Ks in 200.2 innings pitched, despite being well below the league average age of either level.

Baseball America had already been high on Rijo entering 83, when he was the sixth-ranked Yankees prospect, before his 17th birthday.

They then named Rijo the No.

1 prospect in the Yankees organization at the start of 1984.

That season led to the Yankees, and probably specifically George Steinbrenner, rapidly moving him up through the system.

Even though would be a bit iffy in Triple-A in 1984, the Yankees had him up to the majors that year anyway as Steinbrenner reportedly wanted him and Stan Javier, who well get to in a bit, to be the Yankees answer to the Mets young starters of Doc Gooden and Darryl Strawberry.

Rijo debuted at age-18 with 5.1 innings of one-run ball against the Royals in relion April 5, 1984.

Between getting called up too early, regularly flip-flopping between the bullpen and the rotation, and also according to him often getting inconsistent coaching techniques from people in the Yankees organization, Rijo looked fairly so-so in his MLB stint in 84.

Dia como hoy, 1984, Jose Rijo (18 anos) se convirtio en el pitcher mas joven en registrar un salvado en MLB.

El dominicano relevo al cuarenton Phil Niekro en el 7mo-inning, lanzo 3-entradas solidas, 0-hit, 0-carrera en la victoria de Yankees 5-0 vs Royals.

Hmm, edad dominicana! pic.twitter.com/AzNQhr94Uq With some extreme reluctance from New Yorknotably, BA had once again named Rijo the top Yankees prospect during the 1984-85 offseasonthey included him as part of their Henderson trade package the following winter, and Rijo was relieved to get away from New York.

However, despite showing flashes of brilliance with the As, injury issues and rubbing some people the wrong way with his confidence never allowed him to fully get going in Oakland.

Eventually, the Athletics traded him to the Reds in December 1987 for now-Hall of Famer and former MVP Dave Parker.

While Parker would help Oakland to the 1989 World Series title, Rijo would very much get his revenge.

In Cincinnati, Rijo began to full put things together, although the hiring of Lou Piniella as the teams manager helped him and the Reds take things up a notch.

With a 2.70 ERA (148 ERA+) in 29 starts, Rijo helped the Reds to the 1990 NL West title.

After an okay but not outstanding NLCS, Rijo found himself matched up against his former Oakland teammates in the World Series.

Drawing the Game 1 assignment, Rijo shut out the As over seven innings, despite allowing seven hits and two walks as Cincinnati won 7-0.

With the Reds then taking a commanding 3-0 lead, Piniella brought back Rijo on three days rest for Game 4 and he dazzled, striking out nine As in 8.1 innings.

He allowed one run, but the Reds won the game, and Rijo would be named World Series MVP for his 0.59 ERA in 15.1 Fall Classic innings, twice beating As ace Dave Stewart.

Rijo followed that year up with top-five Cy Young finishes in both 1991 and 93.

However injury issues began to arise, and Rijo eventually underwent Tommy John surgery in August 1995 in the era before the procedure became extremely common.

It did not work as well for him as it often can for pitchers of today, and Rijo reportedly went too hard too soon in his recovery process.

Initially expected to just miss most of the 1996 season, complications arose and Rijo ended up undergoing four total procedures on the elbow by the end of 1997.

Throughout every setback, Rijo continued to try and comeback, and he eventually did in 2001 , over six years after his last MLB game.

He had been gone from the game so long that he had even received a Hall of Fame vote in the time since his last pitch.

Rijo appeared in 44 games from 2001-02 before retiring at age 38 in wake of injuries that cost him his 2003 campaign.

The ailments finally got the best of both his ability to play through pain and pitch to an acceptable level.

With a 2.83 ERA in 10 years in Cincinnati, Rijo was inducted into the Reds Hall of Fame in 2005 and remains popular in Cincy as the dominant pitching force on their last World Series championship team.

Stan Javier Years in Yankees Organization: 1982-84 How They Left: Traded to Athletics on December 5, 1984 Career Yankees Statistics: 7 games, 7 plate appearances, .143/.143/.143, -25 wRC+, -0.1 fWAR Career MLB Statistics: 17 seasons, 1,763 games, 5,755 PA, .269/.345/.364, 1,358 hits, 95 wRC+, 19.4 fWAR The son of a major leaguer former All-Star second baseman Julian Javier, Stan Javier reportedly only ended up in the Yankees organization to begin with partially because of a Could Have Been situation that was touched on last week .

After badly botching the Willie McGee-for-Bob Sykes trade, Yankees owner George Steinbrenner got annoyed enough at the Cardinals foras he believedknowingly trading them an injured pitcher, that the St.

Louis brass did a deal in the Yankees favor to get The Boss off their case.

Said deal brought Javier to the Bronx along with Bob Meacham in exchange for three minor leaguers who never cracked the majors.

#OTD 1982 - The #STLCards swap top prospects Stan Javier (Hollie's son!) and Bobby Meacham to the Yankees for 3 minor leaguers Some observers think this is a lagniappe to New York for sending Willie McGee to the Cardinals last year in exchange for pitcher Bob Sykes @DrJJJavier pic.twitter.com/pqv9D739fa In the Yankees organization, Javier established himself as one of the systems top prospects thanks to a 1983 season where he hit .311/.403/.479 with 33 stolen bases in Single-A.

He ranked fourth in the Yankees system by BAs measures prior to 84, and he then rocketed through the Yankees system the following year even playing a handful of games in the majors as a 20-year old in 1984.

As mentioned, he and Rijo were reportedly called up a bit early due to Steinbrenner meddling, but theres no doubt that Javier had plenty of talent.

It was enough talent that after that season, the Yankees included him in that trade that landed them Henderson.

Javier had been right behind Rijo in BAs offseason list of top Yankees prospect at No.

2, but it made sense to give up whatever it took to land the future Hall of Famer.

Despite having appeared in the majors in 84, Javier spent all of the following season in the minors, but began to get regular playing time in Oakland in 1986.

While he was hardly a dominant middle-order bat, Javier would become part of a center field platoon along with Luis Polonia, as the As became a force in the AL in the late 80s.

While only getting eight plate appearances, he put up a 1.000 OPS in the 1988 playoffs, helping the As reach the World Series.

He was again part of the team the following year, as Oakland bettered their previous years results by defeating the Giants to win the World Series title.

By then, the man he had been traded for in Henderson had returned to Oakland.

With the Athletics having plenty of outfielders in the fold, Javier was traded to the Dodgers in May 1990 in a one-for-one deal for another former Yankee in Willie Randolph.

There Javier would start to show more of his potential at the plate, putting up a 119 OPS+, as he would generally become an at least league average hitter over the remainder of his career after that.

Javier became a bit over a journeyman over the rest of his long 17-year career, spending time with the Phillies, Angels, As, Giants, Astros, and Mariners from 1992-2001.

No, he was never a star, but he certainly was better than a lot of what the Yankees ran out in the early 90s, including some of what they got back for Rickey in the 1989 trade.

Sources Baseball Reference FanGraphs SABR BR Bullpen Baseball Reference FanGraphs SABR BR Bullpen Previously on Top Could-Have-Been Yankees Jim Deshaies Full List (to date).

This article has been shared from the original article on pinstripealley, here is the link to the original article.