Detroit Tigers: The Five Worst Trades in Franchise History

The Detroit Tigers send Francisco Cordero, Frank Catalanotto, Alan Webb, Gabe Kapler, Bill Haselman, Justin Thompson to the Rangers for Juan Gonzalez, Danny Patterson, Gregg Zaun

The Detroit Tigers no doubt wanted to open Comerica Park in 2000 with a bang. Adding a superstar in their prime, like Rangers slugger Juan Gonzalez, seemed like the perfect solution. They gave up a pretty penny to acquire ‘Juan Gone’, giving up six young players in exchange for Gonzalez and a pair of veterans in Danny Patterson and Gregg Zaun.

This deal, as you likely already know, was a disaster. Gonzalez never settled in to Detroit. He was unsettled by the spacious confines of the new park, only hitting 22 home runs with 67 RBI. He hit .289 and posted a 116 OPS+ in his lone season in Detroit, signing with the Indians during the offseason. There’s no doubt this was a trade that decimated the franchise. Having players like Catalanotto, Cordero and Kapler would very likely have prevented the 2003 Tigers from being the worst AL team in baseball history.

Gonzalez’s 1.9 bWAR with the Tigers wasn’t even the best the Tigers acquired, as journeyman reliever Danny Patterson posted a 2.4 bWAR in five years out of Detroit’s bullpen. Gregg Zaun was sent to Kansas City before ever playing a game in the Motor City.

All-in-all, it’s fair to call this one of the worst trades in Tigers history. Cordero went on to save 329 games and make three All-Star teams. Catalanotto played ten more seasons, hitting .293 with a 109 OPS+. Kapler also played ten more years, hitting .272 with 64 home runs and 64 steals. All three of them became very useful, above average big leaguers. Meanwhile, the Tigers got one down year from an aging slugger and five average seasons from a journeyman reliever.

The Tigers traded for a superstar eight years later in Miguel Cabrera and managed to redeem themselves. However, the Gonzales ordeal was a cautionary tale on trading multiple prospects for one slugger.