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MINNESOTA TWINS
July 1989: Traded Frank Viola to Mets for Rick Aguilera, Tim Drummond, Jack Savage, Kevin Tapani and David West.
It couldn't have been easy giving up the reigning Cy Young Award winner, but the move paid off for the Twins eventually. In 1991, Tapani went 16-9, Aguilera had 42 saves and Minnesota won the World Series.
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NEW YORK METS
June 1977: Traded Tom Seaver to Reds for Doug Flynn, Steve Henderson, Dan Norman and Pat Zachry.
It was the end of an era in Queens when the Mets traded their future Hall of Famer amid a contract dispute. Seaver finished 1977 with 21 wins and threw a no-hitter for Cincinnati the following year. The Mets didn't have another winning season until 1984.
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NEW YORK YANKEES
August 1949: Acquired Johnny Mize from Giants for cash.
New York's most famous deal -- the one that made Babe Ruth a Yankee -- took place during the offseason. As for midseason swaps, this deal in 1949 gave New York a future Hall of Famer who would hit 25 home runs the following year. The Yankees won the World Series all five years Mize was with the team.
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OAKLAND ATHLETICS
August 1992: Traded Jose Canseco to Rangers for Jeff Russell, Ruben Sierra, Bobby Witt and cash.
Canseco was 28 years old and four years removed from his 40-40 season when the A's sent him to Texas. Oakland won the AL West anyway, but this was the beginning of the end for the Bash Brothers era.
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PHILADELPHIA PHILLIES
July 2009: Acquired Cliff Lee and Ben Francisco from Indians for Carlos Carrasco, Jason Donald, Jason Knapp and Lou Marson.
The Phillies won their third of five straight NL East titles after trading for Lee, who went 4-0 in the postseason and helped Philadelphia win the pennant for the second consecutive year.
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PITTSBURGH PIRATES
June 1979: Acquired Bill Madlock, Lenny Randle and Dave Roberts from Giants for Fred Breining, Al Holland and Ed Whitson.
Trading Jose Bautista a few years ago still stings, but Pirates fans can look back more fondly on this deal. Madlock hit .328 for Pittsburgh in 1979, and the Pirates won the World Series. He went on to win batting titles in 1981 and 1983.
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SAN DIEGO PADRES
June 1993: Acquired Trevor Hoffman, Andres Berumen and Jose Martinez from Marlins for Rich Rodriguez and Gary Sheffield.
The deal was part of the same fire sale that sent McGriff to the Braves, but the Padres struck gold with this move. Sheffield was a star, but Hoffman saved at least 40 games nine times for San Diego.
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SAN FRANCISCO GIANTS
July 1987: Acquired Kevin Mitchell, Dave Dravecky and Craig Lefferts from Padres for Chris Brown, Keith Comstock, Mark Davis and Mark Grant.
The Giants won the NL West in 1987 with contributions from all three players they received in this deal. Mitchell won the MVP in 1989 and Davis took the Cy Young Award that year -- two seasons after the two were traded for each other.
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SEATTLE MARINERS
May 1989: Traded Mark Langston and Mike Campbell to Expos for Gene Harris, Brian Holman and Randy Johnson.
Langston was in his prime when he was sent to Montreal, but the Mariners ended up with an even better left-hander in return. Johnson became one of the game's most intimidating pitchers while with Seattle, and he helped the Mariners to a couple playoff appearances before being traded again.
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ST. LOUIS CARDINALS
June 1964: Acquired Lou Brock, Jack Spring and Paul Toth from Cubs for Ernie Broglio, Doug Clemens and Bobby Shantz.
Brock had a hard time getting on base consistently while with the Cubs, but his career took off when St. Louis traded for him. The Hall of Famer hit .348 in 103 games for the Cardinals in that 1964 season. St. Louis edged the Phillies and Reds for the NL pennant with a memorable comeback, then beat the Yankees in a seven-game World Series.
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TAMPA BAY RAYS
August 2009: Traded Scott Kazmir to Angels for Sean Rodriguez, Matt Sweeney and Alexander Torres.
There will probably be bigger deals in the future for this young franchise, but Kazmir had been a solid left-hander for the Rays for a few seasons before they cut ties with him when his performance took a downward turn.
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TEXAS RANGERS
July 2007: Traded Mark Teixeira and Ron Mahay to Braves for Beau Jones, Elvis Andrus, Neftali Feliz, Matt Harrison and Jarrod Saltalamacchia.
The Rangers might be reaping the benefits of this one for a while. Andrus, Feliz and Harrison are key players for the two-time defending AL champions -- and at 26, Harrison is the oldest of the trio.
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TORONTO BLUE JAYS
July 1993: Acquired Rickey Henderson from Athletics for Jose Herrera and Steve Karsay.
Henderson was actually part of two big deals that might have swung championships. First he went from the Yankees to Oakland in 1989 and led the A's to a World Series title. Then he was sent to the Blue Jays and helped them win the World Series for the second year in a row. Toronto's first World Series title in 1992 came after they acquired David Cone in a deal that sent Jeff Kent to the Mets.
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WASHINGTON NATIONALS
June 2002: Acquired Bartolo Colon and Tim Drew from Indians for Cliff Lee, Brandon Phillips, Grady Sizemore and Lee Stevens.
The Expos were facing possible contraction but were also in the hunt for a playoff spot, so general manager Omar Minaya went for broke. Montreal ended up falling well short of the postseason, and Lee, Phillips and Sizemore blossomed into stars elsewhere. The Expos remained in existence but later moved to Washington.
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Information from baseball-reference.com was used in this report.
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