Blockbuster MLB Deal Almost Realized

In one of the wildest free-agent tales we’ve seen, star shortstop Carlos Correa spent $300 million with the Giants and Mets before finally signing a six-year deal with the Twins. I almost signed the above mega deal.

The contract marathon with Correa made me wonder: are there any other blockbuster deals, whether free agency or trade, that came close to closing before they did?

Here are some of the blockbusters that so far have never materialized, but have almost.

In 1954, Roberto Clemente almost signed a contract with the Giants.

But even before the Dodgers signed him, the Giants were after him.

Clemente would likely have signed with the Giants if the Dodgers hadn’t swooped in. He reportedly wanted to play in New York because he had relatives within the large Puerto Rican community.

Yankees nearly traded Don Mattingly to Giants for Will Clarke in 1988

Talk “what if?” about blockbusters. scenario. Mattingly was his best first baseman of the mid-1980s, and Clark took that mantle later in his decade with his 3,000 miles out. His offices at both the Yankees and Giants fronts denied rumors that this nearly happened, but at the time Sports Peter, who was writing for Illustrated, said that Gammons did, in fact, come to fruition in 1988. Reported to be approaching.

“Mattingley was told by a non-Yankee source during the World Series: [owner George] Steinbrenner signed a deal with the Giants that would send Mattingly and pitcher Rick Rhoden to San Francisco for first baseman Will Clarke and pitchers Utley Hammaker and Craig Lefferts. When we learned that San Francisco southpaw Dave Draveckey had a tumor in his pitching arm, we canceled the trade of two left-handed pitchers.”

Yankees nearly traded Ricky Henderson to Giants in 1989

Has another big deal between the Yankees and the Giants “nearly come true”? You bet. On June 21, 1989, Henderson was traded to his A’s and helped win his World Series against Cross Bay rivals the Giants. But two days before he was handed over to San Francisco.

According to multiple reports at the time, the Man of Steel vetoed an agreement between the Yankees and the Giants to send the all-time leading stolen base champion to San Francisco in exchange for Candy Maldonado and Scott Garertz.

Pirates nearly traded Barry Bonds to Braves in 1992

Atlanta general manager John Schuurholz and the Pirates recruited reliever Alejandro Peña and outfield prospect Keith Mitchell to win the 1990 National League MVP Award and win his second MVP Award for Bonds. agreed in principle on a trade to send to Pittsburgh. months later.

Wow. If that actually happened, would the Braves have done better than he did in his five World Series appearances in the 1990s, 1-4? What did you get out of the return?

Peña excelled in his 1991 32-year-old campaign, appearing in 59 games between the Mets and the Braves, posting a 2.40 ERA. However, in his last five years of his MLB career, his ERA was his 4.57. Mitchell, meanwhile, made his big-league debut for Atlanta in 1991, batting .318/.392/.409 in 74 plate appearances. However, he only appeared in 80 games for the rest of his MLB career.

From that point on, all Bonds did for the rest of his career was win six more MVP awards and set a single-season and all-time home run record.

Barry Bonds nearly signed with the Yankees in 1992

Later that same year, when Bonds was nearly handed to the Braves, the writing was on the wall shortly after his Pirates suffered a devastating loss to Atlanta in their third straight NL Championship Series. Free agent that offseason. What wasn’t written, of course, was where Bonds would sign.

We now know the answer to that question, but it was mostly different. Bonds told Michael Kay and Alex Rodriguez During an ESPN Kayrod simulcast of a Sunday night baseball game last September, he said he was “very close” to signing with the Yankees.

“We were very close for about 15 to 20 minutes,” Bonds said. “…I think the Yankees offered me the same contract that Ryne Sandberg had at the same time. [with the Cubs] Or a little more than that. ”

Bonds said his agent told the Yankees that he would come back to them, and Bonds went out to lunch. year and $43.75 million. The rest, as they say, is history.

In 1992, Greg Maddux nearly signed a contract with the Yankees.

What an “almost” offseason for the Yankees in ’92. Maddux says in his David Cone’s: “Toeing the Slab” Podcast Last year, after the 1992 season, in which he won the first of four NL Cy Young Awards in the final season of his first stint with the Cubs, he was poised to sign with the Yankees. It looks like someone had a heart attack. Maddux went to Apple to sign a deal with the Yanks, but Maddux never received an offer.

Meanwhile, the Braves were preparing their own offer for a right-hander, and since Atlanta was Maddux’s first choice, he signed a five-year, $28 million deal there. Maddux in Yankees pinstripes would have been something. Just imagine him joining New York’s rotation just before the Yanks win his four World Series titles in his five years.

In 1996, the Yankees nearly traded Felix Fermín and Mariano Rivera to the Mariners.

What? Recall that by the time this deal nearly materialized, Rivera was posting a 5.51 ERA in his 67 major league innings. The Yankees were also looking for a short-term solution at shortstop, until a rookie named Derek Jeter was ready to become an everyday man there.

So enter the Mariners, who were willing to send Fermin to New York for Rivera. According to Yankees general manager Brian Cashman, “That decision, I think, was really crossing the line.”

Imagine how things would have changed had that deal gone awry. Rivera to the Mariners, Fermin to the Yankees to open his 1996 season, and Jeter sent back to the Triple-A or gasp!–were traded.

Things went smoothly for the Yanks. Rivera and Jeter won his series at Worlds for the first time in 18 years that fall, helping him win four more en route to the commemorative plate in Cooperstown.

Expo nearly traded Pedro Martinez to Cleveland for Bartolo Colón, Jarrett Wright and Prospect, 1997

Pedro may have won two Cy Young Awards in Cleveland instead of Boston in 1999 and 2000. However, Cleveland reportedly declined this because he wanted to keep Wright, who was only 21 years old and had just pitched very well against the Marlins in the World Series.

Colon was traded from Cleveland to Montreal anyway in June 2002 in exchange for Cliff Lee, Grady Sizemore, Brandon Phillips and Lee Stevens.

Two years later, Martinez helped the Red Sox win their first World Series since 1918. Cleveland, on the other hand, has not won every game since 1948.

In 1999, the Mariners nearly traded Ken Griffey Jr. to the Mets.

In December 1999, the Mariners were in trouble. They wanted an extension for the greatest player in franchise history, but he wasn’t ready to sign a new deal, partly because he wanted to be closer to his family in Florida. Considering Cincinnati is Griffey’s hometown and his father was the coach of the team, who played for the ‘Big Red Machine’ club in the mid-1970s, the Reds appear to be a potential trade opportunity. Looked. Much closer to Orlando than Seattle.

But a deal with the Reds ran aground and a window of opportunity opened up for the Mets during a winter meeting in Southern California. In fact, Seattle and New York reached an agreement in principle, with only Griffey to sign. The deal would have sent outfielder Roger Cedeño and relievers Octavio Doter and Armando Benitez to the Mariners in exchange for Griffey.

The Mets were so confident the deal would go through that the front office told veteran Todd Zaire, who wanted a deal with New York, that Griffey was going to be bought, and that was when it came to the deal with Zaire. Zeile was even ready to restructure the contract to make everything work.

However, it did not materialize in the end as Griffey used his veto power. He eventually went to the Reds before the 2000 season.

Rangers nearly traded Alex Rodriguez to Red Sox for Manny Ramirez and Jon Lester, 2004

Texas signed A-Rod to a then-record 10-year, $252 million contract prior to the 2001 season. However, the Rangers finished in last place in each of his next three seasons, putting the superstar shortstop on the trade market. The Boston deal was Rodriguez for slugger Manny Ramirez and a left-handed pitching contender named Jon Lester.

But when the MLB Players Association objected, Rodriguez had to take a pay cut (which he gladly did) for it to work.

Marlins nearly traded Miguel Cabrera to Angels in 2007

Think about this: Miggy and Vladdy Sr. in the same lineup? The Marlins sent future MVP and Triple Crown Champion to Anaheim, and Hall of Famer Vladimir Guerrero Sr.

If the Angels were willing to let go of some pitching prospects, it might just be over. The Marlins’ asking price appears to have changed to include more pitching.

According to Jason Stark, Howie Kendrick and Jeff Mathis-Cabrera would not be in Detroit if Halos brought in Irvin Santana, Joe Saunders or Nick Adenhart in addition to the contractually agreed players. It is very likely that he wound up in Anaheim. He honed his Hall of Fame qualification.

Another giant “what if?”

Royals nearly traded Zach Greinke to Nationals in 2010

Before finally winning the World Series in 2019, the Nationals failed to advance beyond the NL Division Series four times in the last seven years. Had you won Greinke before the 2011 campaign, would you have brought home the first World Series Championship in franchise history?

It was close to happening. Greinke himself didn’t think Washington was headed for victory, so he put an end to that possibility by refusing his deal. Instead, Kansas City dealt the former Cy Young Award winner to the Brewers, and he made 49 starts before being traded to the Angels.

After completing the 2012 season with Halos, Greinke signed with the Dodgers and posted a 2.30 ERA over the next three years. Since then, his right-handedness has continued to prove effective, and last season he pitched for the D-Backs and Astros before returning to the Royals.