15 worst trades in Los Angeles Dodgers history

Eric Karros to the Cubs

Eric Karros was well past his prime in 2002 when this move went down. Karros won the NL Rookie of the Year award in 1992 and was a consistent source of offense in the Dodgers' lineup for almost a decade after that, but he was on the decline when he was sent to the Cubs during the 2002 offseason along with Mark Grudzielanek for catcher Todd Hundley.

While Karros was perfectly serviceable with the Cubs and Grudzielanek was downright good in Chicago, the bigger issue was the return. The Dodgers had a weird fascination with Hundley as this was the second time LA traded for him (the first time didn't go particularly well, either). What did LA get from Hundley's second stint with the team? 21 games with a .735 OPS and two homers. Hundley would not play another game after the 2003 season.

Dave Stewart to the Rangers

Dave Stewart is probably best remembered for his time with the Oakland Athletics in the late 1980s when he finished in the top four of the AL Cy Young voting, but he actually started his career with the Dodgers earlier in the decade (mostly out of the the bullpen).

Stewart took a while to reach his peak, but he ended up being a dominant force on the mound. The Dodgers' return? Rick Honeycutt who was decidedly mid for a few seasons for LA before the Dodgers shipped him out after he went 2-12 with a 4.59 ERA in 1987.

Henry Rodriguez to the Expos

Some of you out there may remember the phenomenon that was "O' Henry" in the mid 90s, but Henry Rodriguez was a hot commodity when he came out of almost nowhere to hit 36 homers in 1996 and put together a string of decent seasons after that.

Well, he started his career with the Dodgers and he clearly wasn't in their plans as they traded him in 1995 along with Jeff Treadway to the Expos for Roberto Kelly and Joey Eischen. If you don't remember either of them, we wouldn't blame you.

Jose Offerman to the Royals

Once Jose Offerman made an All-Star team in 1995, the Dodgers may have felt that they were selling high when they traded him to the Royals for reliever Billy Brewer. Unfortunately for the Dodgers, Offerman would go on to continue to improve with the Royals, which included a 5.3 rWAR season in 1998 and another All-Star Game appearance for Boston the next season.

As for Brewer, he never played in the big leagues for the Dodgers and was traded away in 1996 to the Yankees. He would go on to play for a short time in Oakland and finish out his career with three meh-to-bad seasons with the Phillies. Definitely not the return you want for a talent like Offerman.

Dave Roberts to the Red Sox

Hey, look, Dave Roberts made a list and it doesn't involve his questionable in-game management decisions! Roberts' time as a player with the Dodgers wasn't particularly special, as he posted a .718 OPS season in 2002 followed by a .638 mark in 2003. However, the one thing he could do is steal bases -- he had 121 steals in 2.5 seasons of work with the Dodgers. While his ability to get on base wasn't exactly what you would want in the leadoff spot, he did cause havoc when he reached safely and that had some real value.

Trading Roberts in 2004 wasn't a terrible decision per se because, again, his value was somewhat limited. However, the return here is the problem, as the Dodgers got only outfield prospect Henri Stanley from the Red Sox. Roberts would win a World Series with Boston that year and put up some decent seasons with the Padres and Giants afterward. As for Stanley, he never made it past Triple-A and was done playing in the minors after 2005.

Don Newcombe to the Reds

There were several trades from way back that are strong contenders for this list, but we wanted to make sure to highlight when LA decided to part with legend Don Newcombe. Newcombe was just a couple of seasons removed from winning both the MVP and Cy Young Award in 1956 when the team dealt him to Cincinnati in 1958 for Steve Bilko and Johnny Klippstein.

Not only was trading away one of the franchise's few remaining stars from their days in Brooklyn not a great look (even though Newcombe was declining), Newcombe was still a useful pitcher until he retired in 1960. As for who the Dodgers got in return, Bilko would only play 47 games for the Dodgers and wasn't very good when he did play. Klippstein was decent out of the bullpen immediately after the trade, but then proceeded to post a 5.91 ERA in 28 appearances in 1959 before he got shipped off to the then-Indians.

Ron Cey to the Cubs

If you look back at most of the pre-2000's deals that involve a team trading a guy with multiple All-Star Game appearances, the returns are almost always lackluster. As it turns out, a lot of general managers were not good at getting real value for trades before analytics changed the game. That was certainly the case when the Dodgers traded six-time All-Star Ron Cey to the Cubs for Vance Lovelace and Dan Cataline.

Now, sure, Cey was not at his peak when that trade went down back in 1983, but he was still a very productive hitter who knew how to draw walks and had some real pop. Moreover, he remained productive for another four-ish seasons with the Cubs before finishing his career with the Athletics and notching three 20+ home run seasons. As for Lovelace and Cataline, they didn't amount to much on the field with most of their careers spent toiling in the minors.

John Franco to the Reds

John Franco is best known for his time with the Mets where he put together an impressive amount of saves and a long, storied career. However, he actually got his start with the Dodgers and was traded to the Reds in 1983 in a package to acquire a bench player, Rafael Landestoy.

In fairness to LA here, this one only looks bad in hindsight. Landestoy was actually one of the better bench guys available and Franco was not a prized prospect the vast majority of folks' minds. Most minor-league relievers that get traded for help at the big league level don't pan out. Unfortunately for the Dodgers, Landestoy would retire one season later and Franco would go on to save 424 games over a 21-year career. Baseball is funny, sometimes.

Yordan Alvarez to the Astros

Yeah, this one definitely hurts a bit in hindsight, but was somewhat understandable at the time. The Dodgers needed help in their bullpen back in 2016 at the trade deadline. They had spent big money to sign Yordan Alvarez out of Cuba and while they still liked him, he wasn't mashing the ball like he is in the big leagues right now. So, they made the decision to send him to the Astros in exchange for reliever Josh Fields.

Fields did well for the Dodgers across 2.5 seasons with ERAs under 3.00 each year, totaling 124 appearances before his big league career came to an end in 2018. The Dodgers got exactly what they wanted out of him. Unfortunately, it cost them a guy that turned into one of the best power hitters on planet Earth right now.

Rick Sutcliffe to the Indians

Whenever you trade a guy that goes on to win a Cy Young, it never feels great, and that's what happened when the Dodgers sent Rick Sutcliffe to the Indians back in 1981 for a package of prospects. While one can be certain that the Dodgers liked the prospects they got at the time, the return for a guy that had won Rookie of the Year feels like it needed to be better than what the Dodgers got.

Sutcliffe would go on to finish out an 18-year career that included three top-five Cy Young finishes, including a win in 1984, and 31.2 rWAR throughout his career. As for Jorge Orta, Jack Fimple, and Larry White (the Dodgers' return in that ill-fated trade), none of them meaningfully contributed to the Dodgers at all.

Carlos Santana to the Indians

Back in 2008, Carlos Santana was considered by many to be one of the Dodgers' best minor-league prospects since catchers that can mash are tough to come by. However, that didn't stop LA from moving him to the Indians in deal to acquire third baseman Casey Blake near the trade deadline.

In fairness to Blake, he played well for the Dodgers after the trade, posting a 4.6 rWAR season in 2009. The Dodgers wanted production and they got it out of him. Santana, though, has gone on to have a very nice 14-year career (and counting), which includes six 20+ homer seasons and a 33.6 rWAR career.

Paul Konerko to the Reds

This move comes from the time when Tommy Lasorda was in the general manager's chair back in 1998. LA needed some help in the bullpen, so they traded then-rookie Paul Konerko and swing man Dennys Reyes to the Reds (why is it always the Reds?) for reliever Jeff Shaw.

Konerko's time in Cincinnati was short-lived, but he would join the White Sox in 1999 and play for 16 seasons. He made six All-Star Games and was one of Chicago's most consistent offensive threats until he started to tail off the last couple of years. It sure would have been nice to see what he could've done in a Dodgers uniform even though Shaw did pitch well for LA across four seasons.

Mike Piazza to the Marlins

This move is on most folks' list given Mike Piazza's stature as one of the better catchers to ever play the game, but also because of the sheer scope of the trade itself. In 1998, Piazza was at the top of his game and it was clear that negotiations on a potential extension were not going well. Instead of just letting him walk, they traded him to the Marlins for Gary Sheffield, Bobby Bonilla, Jim Eisenreich, Manuel Barrios, and Charles Johnson. The Marlins would then flip Piazza to the Mets for Geoff Goetz, Ed Yarnall, and Preston Wilson.

The Mets clearly ended up the winners here as they got a Hall of Famer for the better part of a decade. The Marlins and Dodgers? Yeah, not so much, although Sheffield did have some nice seasons in LA. It's still funny that Bobby Bonilla is still getting paid by the Mets and will until 2035.

Gary Sheffield to the Braves

Speaking of Gary Sheffield, he gets the nod next. After three straight excellent seasons with the Dodgers, Sheffield wanted out of Los Angeles if they weren't going to commit to him. He got his wish when he was traded to the Atlanta Braves for Brian Jordan, Odalis Perez, and Andrew Brown. This one isn't completely on the Dodgers since Gary was pretty clearly trying to force his way out, but it still feels bad.

Sheffield would go on to play two very strong seasons in Atlanta and then continue to rake with the Yankees before his borderline Hall of Fame career tailed off with the Tigers and Mets. LA did get some decent work from Odalis Perez at the beginning, but Brown didn't go anywhere with the Dodgers and Brian Jordan was only mediocre in 1.5 seasons of work before he moved on to the Rangers and then finally back to the Braves.

Pedro Martinez to the Expos

Yep, if you have followed the Dodgers for a while, you knew this one was coming. While we don't have hard and fast rankings here, this one is likely on the top of everyone's lists of worst trades in Dodgers history. Pitchers are always tricky because they are very clearly the most volatile of any type of player and the most likely to flame out completely. But back in 1993, the Dodgers traded with the Expos to get Delino DeShields, who was a perfectly reasonable player to want on your roster. Who did they send to get him? Pedro Martinez. Yes, that Pedro Martinez.

DeShields wasn't terrible, but Pedro's career speaks for itself. He has a very strong claim to being the best pitcher of his era after racking up three Cy Young Awards, multiple ERA titles, eight All-Star Game appearances, and of course being enshrined in Cooperstown in his first year of eligibility back in 2015 with 91.1% of the vote. He's one of the best to ever play the game and was a Dodger once upon a time. Oh, what could've been.