Five Worst Trades In Oakland Athletics’ History
Jose Canseco for Ruben Sierra, Bobby Witt and Jeff Russell – 1992
Athletics fans were stunned on August 31, 1992 when possibly the best player in baseball at the time, Jose Canseco, was pulled from the on-deck circle and it was announced that he had been dealt to the Rangers for Ruben Sierra, reliever Jeff Russell and starting pitcher Bobby Witt. The deal turned out to be a big disappointment, and possibly derailed Canseco from a certain Hall of Fame career.
Canseco, who was also in the news for off-field antics, had been Rookie of the Year in 1986. Just two years later, at age 23, he won the MVP Award after becoming baseball’s first 40-40 man, with 40 home runs and 40 steals. The A’s won the first of three consecutive pennants in 1988, with Canseco as their biggest name. In 1991 he led the AL in homers with 44.
Russell, a closer, wasn’t needed at the time – the A’s had Dennis Eckersley. Witt, who became part of the rotation in 1993 and 1994, went only 22-23 in two seasons with 58 starts. Sierra spent the longest time with the Athletics, lasting until mid-1995, but he turned into a huge disappointment; in 1,560 plate appearances he hit only 60 HRs with a .253 average, and he was a risk in the field with a .963 fielding percentage.
The A’s still made it to the ALCS that year, but were defeated by the Toronto Blue Jays. Had they had Canseco and his abilities, there is no doubt that they would have competed for another World Series title that year.
Canseco has gone on record to state that the move messed with his head and caused him to go into a funk. He hit only .233 with four homers in the last month of 1992 for the Rangers, then bounced around teams. First he played for the Boston Red Sox, then went back to the A’s in 1997 – before stops with the Blue Jays, Rays, Yankees and White Sox until he left baseball in 2001.
Unfortunately, Canseco went from being a superstar with high potential while with Oakland to a what-might-have-been type of player after being dealt.
Next: Trade Messes Team Chemistry