best trades ever

itt: trades that worked out really well for both teams

#1 for me is

Hanley Ramirez was traded to the Florida Marlins in 2005 together with Aníbal Sánchez for Josh Beckett, Mike Lowell, and Guillermo Mota.

if this thread ends up sucking we can just lol at other trades idk

another one

padres traded sheffield to the marlins for trevor hoffman

sheff was a key member of the 97 world series team, and hoffman was obv hoffman

Hamilton for Volquez, unless Volquez continues to suck this year.

Smoltz for Alexander was a pretty good deal.

For about two months, yeah.

best as in good for both teams kind of best?

itt: trades that worked out really well for both teams

Woops! N/m.

oops. i have coffee now.

"For about two months, yeah."

They made the playoffs, didn't they?

Which considering they only finished two games ahead of the Jays was not a foregone conclusion.

It was beneficial for both teams going by what they wanted at the time, sure, but I think Detroit would have rather had Smoltz on the Tigers for 20 years than the one agonizing playoff appearance. (Though Randy Smith would have probably traded Smoltz in the mid '90s for someone like Chris Snopek.)

Well there is no saying that they would have had him for 20 years (I mean you still had to sign the guy post-arb years.) If they hadn't made the playoffs that year, I'm sure you would have been bummed and wondered why they didn't trade for another starter.

Had they not made a deal for a starter, yes, I would have been bummed for a couple months. But I am far more bummed about never seeing Smoltz in a Tiger uniform.

I'd like to think the Tigers would have kept him for at least a few years since he was both awesome and from the area. Even a few years of having one awesome starting pitcher would have been preferable (for me, at least) to one awful ALCS played, in part, in the Metrodome.

Jason Bay & John Grabow to Boston Red Sox; Manny Ramirez & rest of Manny's'08 salary to Dodgers.

Hardball Times once analyzed the Smoltz for Alexander trade ... using some really shady metrics, the writer concluded that the trade was a slight win for the Tigers.

http://www.hardballtimes.com/main/article/smoltz-for-alexander/

Rafael Palmeiro -- December 5, 1988: Traded by the Chicago Cubs with Drew Hall and Jamie Moyer to the Texas Rangers for Luis Benitez (minors), Pablo Delgado (minors), Paul Kilgus, Curtis Wilkerson, Mitch Williams and Steve Wilson.

Mitch Williams was a big part of the Cubs club that won a division, but you have to wonder what would have happened if Palmeiro would have gotten the clear when he was playing in Chicago. It is too bad that Jamie Moyer also didn't learn how to pitch until he turned 33.

Adam Kennedy -- March 23, 2000: Traded by the St. Louis Cardinals with Kent Bottenfield to the Anaheim Angels for Jim Edmonds.

This is a really lopsided trade by value, but Kennedy was a big reason the Angels won a world series in 2002. This is one of those exception to the rule deals where you would lose the long time all-star if you get a world title.

Joe Morgan -- November 29, 1971: Traded by the Houston Astros with Ed Armbrister, Jack Billingham, Cesar Geronimo and Denis Menke to the Cincinnati Reds for Tommy Helms, Lee May and Jimmy Stewart.

Lee May was a pretty good player, but man this deal kind of cemented the Big Red Machine giving them a 2 time MVP, a gold glove centerfielder and one of the main starters of their run. It also allowed Cinci to move Tony Perez to first base, Rose to third and eventually find a position in the outfield for George Foster.

Grady Sizemore, Brandon Philips, Cliff Lee, and Lee Stevens for Bartolo Colon and Tim Drew

How did that work out well for the Expos?