3 of the Most Lopsided trades in BBA history #1 (according to WAR)

[Knucklehead254]

So if you know me by now I love trades. I love to look back at those deals where it made or break a team. So of course I got curious to see some of past trades pf the BBA. Some of my favorite videos to watch on Youtube are about trades that ended up being in favour of one team, and got inspired to do this based on this video. Of course I'm not gonna do the exact rule they did and go based off just team control. If a player doesn't test free agency and re-signs with the team before hand, I'm counting it because simply put, it's more fun! Also there is no exact order based on anything, it's just three random trades.

While I am aware that WAR is not always the best tool to decide a players worth, I also try consider if a team has success after making a deal. For example if a team gets a one year rental which helps them win a title, even if they give up a future franchise player, I'll try not to consider it unless that rental doesn't have a good season.

DISCLAIMER: This was simply done for fun and not in anyway to trash other GM's whatsoever. Teams at the time made these deals because they thought it was best for the team. You know what they say, hindsight is 20/20.

Jan. 2, 2024

Des Moines receives:
SP Mike Davis 13 WAR

Montreal receives:
SS Jared Gillstrom 61 WAR

The story of Mike Davis is an interesting one. Selected 2nd overall by Des Moines in the 2021 Draft, he was dealt that same year to Huntsville for Jeremy Carter, Maxim Knight, and Reynaldo Garza, before then being dealt to Montreal the next year, just as Des Moines selected Jared Gillstrom with the 1st Overall pick. 2 years later in the 2024 offseason, Des Moines sent Gillstrom to Montreal for Davis. Davis would go on to have a decent career in a Kernel's uniform and even made an All-Star game appearance in 2032. It's just that Gillstrom would go on to have a hall of fame career with Montreal alone. 3 MVP's, 6 All-Star games, 7 SS Silver Sluggers and led the league in WAR 5 years in row.

Both Mike Davis and Jared Gilstrom were highly touted prospects at the time of this deal so I can see at the time why this deal was made. It's not like Davis was a bad player in his time at Des Moines but the fact that they could have had both of these guys is just insane to me. Des Moines around the time of the deal were just missing the playoffs and if they had Gillstrom still with them, who knows how far they couldve pushed. As for Montreal it helped set up a huge post season streak and while they never did win the big one with Gillstrom on the roster, this is a trade they could look back on and be proud of.


July 21, 2018

Yellow Springs receives:
SP Esteban Benítez 9.6 WAR
SP Carlos Acevedo 1.75 WAR

Seattle receives:
1B Juan Escobar 96 WAR
RP Don Miller 1.5 WAR

And I thought Yellow Springs had bad luck with Ron as there GM, but this trade is certainly up there. Seattle got they're greatest player in Franchise history for essentially peanuts. In the 2018 season, Yellow Springs started out hot and looked to help beef up their pitching staff by trading for long time Storm pitcher Esteban Benitez and pitcher Carlos Acevedo. Benitez had been an All-Star in 2014 and had roughly 30 WAR in his 11 years at Seattle. At first the Nine looked like they got their missing piece, as Benitez started 13 games the rest of the season and went 8-2 with a 2.41 ERA. The Nine won their division with a 98-64 record before being swept in the Doubleday series 4-0 against the Halifax Hawks. However in 2019 they did make the finals but unfortunately got swept by New Orleans. Benitez pitched good during that time, but just 2 years after the finals loss, Benitez was gone. The Nine finished the 2021 season with 118 losses.

Escobar on the other hand went on to become one of the greatest players in BBA history. I'll let the accolades speak for themselves:

5X MVP
8X All-Star
3X Gold Glove
8X 1B Silver Slugger
6X WAR League Leader
5X RBI League Leader
3X AVG/OBP/SLG/OPS League Leader

Whilst he lead Seattle to the postseason 7 times, they were never able to win a championship let alone make a finals appearance. But considering the player Escobar turned out to be, it's safe to say this move more than paid off for the Storm.


Dec. 16, 2047

San Antonio receives:
C Augusto Vargas 1.4 WAR
SS Ignacio Venegas 3.6 WAR
RP Toshikazu Sardinha -1.4 WAR

Calgary receives:
1B Larry Stinson 50 WAR (and counting)

A more recent trade that more GM's are probably familiar with, Larry Stinson started his BBA career with the San Antonio Outlaws after being selected 6th overall in the 2038 draft. He rose to the majors in 2042 with a a great slash of .329/.416/.642/1.058, enough to win Rookie of the year. In just his second season, he won League MVP. In his first 6 years with San Antonio, he had an impressive 36.6 WAR generated with a slash of .309/.377/.615/.992. In 2044, he lead San Antonio to it's second title in franchise history. However coming into the 2048 season after finishing under .500 with Stinson set to become a free agent the next year, the Outlaws knew they weren't going to be able to afford the big contract Stinson deserved and so they understandably dealt him to Calgary for Augusto Vargas, Ignacio Venegas, and Toshikazu Sardinha. Long story short, neither of those 3 players would amount to anything much and are already off the team. At the very least Venegas should be credited for his stellar defensive play at Shortstop for 3 years.

Stinson on the other hand would get a massive 6 year, $110 Million extension and continue to produce at an elite level. In the following 10 years at Calgary, he would finish each season with no less than 3.41 WAR (2054) and even finished runner-up in the MVP last year, losing to fellow Calgary teammate Carlomaria Donadoni. He has made it to 6 All-Star teams, 5 1B Silver Sluggers and 1 Gold Glove. However despite this massive steal, they have only made the playoffs twice, neither time resulting in a championship.

Despite San Antonio not getting anything of worth for their franchise player, I suppose it's better than just losing him for nothing, as the team commenced a rebuild right after this deal. However they have not had a winning season since the trade so you have to wonder if things could be different had they kept Stinson instead.

[trmmilwwi]

I never realized Stinson was an Outlaw. Great read, thanks for this!

[Dington]

Great work!

[jiminyhopkins]

wow how is Phoenix not on this list. We certainly have had some doozies.

[7teen]

Outstanding work....

Glad part 1 didn't yield a Madison trade from my time. I had some bad ones.

[lordtoffee]

Very interesting idea for a series, and interesting to look back at some trades that were before I joined up. Interesting that all three of those trades weren't able to result in a title.

[RT60]

Love this. One day down the road, a wise bard will write tales of my lopsided trades.

[Rubaboo]

Still, to this day, glad that I didn't draft Davis #1 the year he was in the pool.

[trmmilwwi]

That '30-'32 stretch for Gillstrom. Wow.

[Trebro]

Great feature!

[CTBrewCrew]

<cough-cough> #NoMons...... worst salary retain E-V-E-R Madison prev GM before me and Edmonton.

[cheekimonk]

When I joined the league in 2010 it was the last couple months of the 1997 season. After we won the Landis, I made a trade that threw the league into turmoil. GMs were appealing to Matt to cancel it because it was so lopsided. I can’t remember who was in the trade (though I still remember how stupid I felt). Maybe someone from back then remembers.

[cheekimonk]

A few years later, I also traded one of the best closers in the game because I just don’t pay closers more than the entire salary of all pitchers combined. Some people disagree but I’ll always die on that hill. I think the closer was Jonathan Sorensen?

I know there are a few real-life MLB GMs who have said the same thing but it seems to be just the older generation.

[Trebro]

A few years later, I also traded one of the best closers in the game because I just don’t pay closers more than the entire salary of all pitchers combined. Some people disagree but I’ll always die on that hill. I think the closer was Jonathan Sorensen?

I know there are a few real-life MLB GMs who have said the same thing but it seems to be just the older generation.

I'm of the opinion, especially in a salary cap situation, that paying top dollar in the bullpen is madness.

[Knucklehead254]

When I joined the league in 2010 it was the last couple months of the 1997 season. After we won the Landis, I made a trade that threw the league into turmoil. GMs were appealing to Matt to cancel it because it was so lopsided. I can’t remember who was in the trade (though I still remember how stupid I felt). Maybe someone from back then remembers.

I think i found it?

[Knucklehead254]

A few years later, I also traded one of the best closers in the game because I just don’t pay closers more than the entire salary of all pitchers combined. Some people disagree but I’ll always die on that hill. I think the closer was Jonathan Sorensen?

I know there are a few real-life MLB GMs who have said the same thing but it seems to be just the older generation.

This deal right here!

[Lane]

nice finds, Aaron.

For anyone taking a look at those, the links are broken, but here's the link to the HTML player history page where you can find them: https://statspl.us/brewster/reports/new ... index.html

[cheekimonk]

A few years later, I also traded one of the best closers in the game because I just don’t pay closers more than the entire salary of all pitchers combined. Some people disagree but I’ll always die on that hill. I think the closer was Jonathan Sorensen?

I know there are a few real-life MLB GMs who have said the same thing but it seems to be just the older generation.

This deal right here!

Oof...shouldn't have asked but that's a helluva digging job, Aaron! Sorensen was jacked! I still hold firm to my strategy, but could've gotten more. Brennan put up some solid WAR, but I'd love to see his defensive stats...hopefully I was factoring that in. And now that I look at Hall it wasn't terrible.

[cheekimonk]

When I joined the league in 2010 it was the last couple months of the 1997 season. After we won the Landis, I made a trade that threw the league into turmoil. GMs were appealing to Matt to cancel it because it was so lopsided. I can’t remember who was in the trade (though I still remember how stupid I felt). Maybe someone from back then remembers.

I think i found it?

Man alive! Guzman was definitely in his prime, but he posted +3.9 WAR for both Hackensack and Marquette so wound up somewhat even. Robbins took a nose dive after joining Hackensack/Carolina but he was 31, whereas Quinney was only 23 and would go on to post at least +3.0 WAR for Baltimore, Madison, and Hackensack.

[cheekimonk]

I'm not inquiring about any other trades I made. Was good to see if I learned anything but hard to tell if I did.