Decade in Review: The Five Biggest Trades of the 2010s

By: Chris Larson

Tomorrow is the last day of 2019 and that means that a new decade is on deck. Looking back at the last ten years of baseball, there have been plenty of moments of excitement and defeat, joy and disappointment, blissfulness and sadness and virtually every other type of emotion in between. In sports, they say that the average fan goes through an array of emotions during every game and if there's anything that the last decade has shown us, it's the fact that there's no denying that.

As part of a mini-series taking a look at the last decade in review, today's focus will be around the five biggest trades from the last ten years. There have been plenty of notable ones and trades that have either completely changed the course of the regular season for certain teams or catapulted a team to the postseason and even the World Series. While there have definitely been more than five blockbuster trades that have happened over the last ten years, here are five of the biggest and most notable ones.

Photo Courtesy of The Denver Post

1. July 2016: LHP Aroldis Chapman was traded from the New York Yankees to the Chicago Cubs in exchange of SS Gleyber Torres, RHP Adam Warren, OF Billy McKinney, and OF Rashad Crawford 

Over the last ten years there have definitely been some major blockbuster trades that have gone down, but it's hard to argue that this wasn't the biggest of them all. If it weren't for the acquisition of Aroldis Chapman to lock down the back end of the Chicago Cubs bullpen, the Cubs probably wouldn't have ended up winning the World Series in 2016. Aroldis Chapman was an instant hero for the Chicago Cubs and was easily the most influential pitcher during the World Series, but things got a little scary during Game Seven when Joe Maddon left Chapman in a little too long and Chapman ended up giving up the game-tying home run to Rajai Davis. Luckily, Mike Montgomery was able to come in and shut the door to give the Cubs their first World Series Championship in over one-hundred years, but if it weren't for Aroldis Chapman, there's no telling how that World Series would have ended and if the Cleveland Indians ultimately would have won instead. Granted, the famous Game Seven rain delay caused plenty of havoc during the ninth inning, but that only added more excitement to that game. What's even more ironic is that following the 2016 regular season, the New York Yankees reunited themselves with Aroldis Chapman through free agency on a five-year, $86 million dollar deal and he's been their closer ever since.

Photo Courtesy of USA Today

2. July 2015: OF Yoenis Cespedes was traded from the Detroit Tigers to the New York Mets in exchange of RHP Michael Fulmer and RHP Luis Cessa 

When the July 2015 Trade Deadline rolled around, the New York Mets knew they needed to make one final push and acquire a big-time bat to go along with their dominate starting rotation that was headlined by the likes of Bartolo Colon, Jacob deGrom, Matt Harvey, Jon Niese, and Noah Syndergaard. As a result, the Mets identified outfielder, Yoenis Cespedes as the guy that they wanted to acquire and it was a good thing they ended up pulling the trigger on the deal. Cespedes helped lead the New York Mets to their first World Series appearance in fifteen years and seemed to fit in like a perfectly-new glove with the Mets offense. Over the months of August and September that year, Cespedes hit (15) home runs and really was a key cog for the rest of the lineup. Later on that offseason, Yoenis Cespedes went onto sign an extension with the New York Mets before opting-out of that one and signing a different contract the following offseason which obviously has yet to yield any significant results for the organization. Regardless, the Mets are likely very thankful they were able to boost themselves into the World Series and didn't necessarily lose anything significant because Michael Fulmer has yet to turn into the pitcher the Detroit Tigers thought he would be and Luis Cessa is now a part of the aforementioned, New York Yankees.

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3. July 2015: LHP David Price was traded from the Detroit Tigers to the Toronto Blue Jays in exchange of LHP Daniel Norris, LHP Jairo Labourt, and LHP Matthew Boyd 

When the Toronto Blue Jays acquired left-hander, David Price prior to the July 2015 Trade Deadline, it was an extremely pivotal moment in the history of the franchise. Not only had the franchise missed out on the playoffs for well over twenty years, General Manager Alex Anthopoulos ended up making a significant splash that practically caught the rest of the industry off guard. The Blue Jays certainly weren't alone in their pursuit of David Price, as virtually every other contender or team that had a chance of contending that season, inquired at some point in time prior to the deadline. Although the Blue Jays ended up losing to the Kansas City Royals in the American League Championship Series that October, it was still a trade that was needed and one that helped to cause plenty of excitement across the entire country of Canada. On the other side of the coin, the Detroit Tigers did well in their acquisition of left-hander, Daniel Norris who has been a nice back of the starting rotation option for the organization, along with lefty, Matthew Boyd. Matthew Boyd has turned into a hot commodity on the trade market over the past year and that speaks to the skill set that he brings to the mound every time he makes a start. If this trade taught every General Manager something, it's the idea of pushing all of your chips in when you feel as though you have a chance to do big things come October.

Photo Courtesy of The Los Angeles Times

4. July 2015: RHP Johnny Cueto was traded from the Cincinnati Reds to the Kansas City Royals in exchange of LHP Brandon Finnegan, LHP John Lamb, and LHP Cody Reed 

Yet another significant trade that happened prior to the final bell of the July 2015 Trade Deadline was the trade that sent Johnny Cueto to the Kansas City Royals in exchange of three left-handed pitchers. At the time of the deal, the Kansas City Royals were right in the middle of their window and knew that it was the time to go all-in in an effort to win a World Series. The only problem that was standing between the Royals and the team being able to accomplish that goal was a lack of impact starting pitching and that's where Johnny Cueto came to the rescue. Cueto didn't necessarily put up stellar numbers during August and September that season, but when the calendar flipped to October, it was almost as though a switch was turned and Cueto turned into quite a dominant right-hander. If you recall, the highlight of that postseason for Johnny Cueto, was when he tossed a complete game during Game 2 of the World Series, which resulted in a 7-1 victory for the Royals. If Johnny Cueto had failed to step up in that big moment and perform the way he did on the mound, there's no telling what type of momentum the New York Mets would have gained or what the final outcome of the World Series would have been. Luckily for Johnny Cueto and the Kansas City Royals it turned into a World Series Championship - the first one in franchise history.

Photo Courtesy of SF Gate

5. July 2010: LHP Cliff Lee and RHP Mark Lowe were traded from the Seattle Mariners to the Texas Rangers in exchange of 1B Justin Smoak, RHP Blake Beavan, RHP Josh Lueke, and IF Matthew Lawson 

Not only was this one of the top blockbuster trades for the last ten years, it was one that saw the New York Yankees flat out lose out in acquiring left-hander, Cliff Lee. A big reason why was likely because of the inclusion of first baseman, Justin Smoak who the Seattle Mariners were very bullish about at the time and wanted to have compliment both their offense and defense. It was a significant moment for the Texas Rangers because not only did that happen, but they ended up making it to the organizations first World Series because of the effectiveness of Lee. Like Johnny Cueto, Cliff Lee ended up struggling over the course of August and September that season, but basically flipped the script when the postseason rolled around and turned into a completely different pitcher with the exception of during the World Series. During the American League Divisional and Championship Series that postseason, Lee posted a 1.13 ERA over 24 innings of work, but during the World Series that ERA skyrocketed to 6.94 over the span of two starts. All of that was quickly erased though because of the final outcome of the series and the fact that it helped to alter the story of the Texas Rangers franchise history. Cliff Lee's time with the Texas Rangers didn't last long, as he wound up signing five-year, $120 million dollar deal with the Philadelphia Phillies in free agency, that  offseason.