Seattle Mariners: Robbie Ray vs. ghosts of M’s past sins
Chris Phillips
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Worst Trade in Mariners History
So, a quick painful reminder of one of the worst Seattle Mariner trades. In 2008 the Seattle Mariners, under the direction of GM Bill Bavasi, sent Adam Jones (their number one prospect), left relief pitcher George Sherrill, minor league pitchers Chris Tillman, Kam Mickolio, and Tony Butler for Bedard (and no one else). Jones went on to be a five-time All-Star and four-time gold glove. The following season, Sherrill had 31 saves and went to the ASG. Tillman wound up having four good seasons, becoming an All-Star once.
Bedard was coming off a season where he finished fifth in Cy Young voting. He averaged just over 20 starts a year while pitching in the tough AL East. During his time with Baltimore, he earned a 4.08 ERA. However, advanced metrics show that his numbers should be better. For example, he compiled a 3.74 FIP.
So, it’s understandable why the Seattle Mariners wanted to trade for him. At the time it looked like the Seattle Mariners were trading for a pitcher just entering his prime. Also, a move to a more pitcher-friendly park would help him get better results as well.
Seattle made this trade expecting to have a great one-two punch at the top of their rotation with him and Felix Hernandez, to go with a good offense. At the time, the 2008 M’s were thought to be playoff contenders. Unfortunately, they finished last in the AL West, a whopping 39 games behind Anaheim. Meanwhile, Bedard threw only 81 innings over 15 starts finishing with a 6-4 record and 3.67 ERA. Was this trade failure the final straw for Bavasi? Quite possibly.