Notable August Trades in Major League Baseball History

The Yankees season is not over because the team did not make any notable acquisitions at the July 31st trading deadline last month. Earlier today I brought you my wish list for the August 31st trade deadline which included James Shields, Craig Kimbrel, Aroldis Chapman and Martin Prado and I almost immediately caught a ton of flack on Twitter about it. Apparently many fans don't think that big trades like this can happen in July so here are a few notable August trades in the history of the August 31st waiver wire trade deadline.


The Detroit Tigers acquired Doyle Alexander in August of 1987 in a trade with the Atlanta Braves. Who? Yeah, that is exactly what I said until I saw who the Braves got back in return for Alexander, a young right-handed starting pitcher by the name of John Smoltz. Smoltz at the time was just 20-years old and struggling in Double-A with a 5.68 ERA, but the rest, as they say, is history.


A similar situation happened in 1990 when the Houston Asteos traded relief pitcher Larry Andersen to the Boston Red Sox for a first baseman named Jeff Bagwell. Bagwell, then a 22-year old third baseman, quickly became a household name in Houston and eventually ended up in the Hall of Fame as a first basemen with Houston in 2017.

In 2003 the Pittsburgh Pirates sent one of their best players on the team, Brian Giles, to the San Diego Padres for a pair of prospects. You may recognize some of the names that were traded for Giles, Oliver Perez and Jason Bay.


On this day in 2008 the Toronto Blue Jays acquired a player who was not even on the Major League roster at the time. The most notable player at the tgime of the trade was the Pittsburgh Pirates newest player Robinson Diaz but the clear cut winner was Toronto who acquired some dude named Jose Bautista.


In 2000 the New York Yankees acquired a familiar face to complete their dynasty years, the team sent a prospect to the Pittsburgh Pirates for infielder Luis Sojo. Sojo was a big member of the 1996-1999 Yankees before leaving for Pittsburgh via free agency. Sojo was acquired for the playoff and World Series run and did just that with a four-hit game and the game winning hit to clinch the 2000 World Series over the New York Mets. This isn't exactly a notable trade as much as it was a stretch to include the Yankees on the post. We're a Yankees blog after-all.


And who could forget the mega-deal between the Los Angeles Dodgers and the Boston Red Sox where over $250,000,000 in dollars changed hands overnight. The Dodgers sent James Loney, Allen Webster, Ivan De Jesus, Rubby De La Rosa and Jerry Sands to the Boston Red Sox for Adrian Gonzalez, Carl Crawford and Josh Beckett.




The Houston Astros acquired Justin Verlander last year before the August 31st trading deadline and the veteran right-hander led the team to the American League Championship and a World Series title. Verlander pitched in 11 games for Houston during the regular season and postseason combined, with the Astros winning 10 of them. Verlander allowed 13 runs total and a minuscule 1.66 ERA along the way.