Which team does your team have the longest trade drought with?
Trade droughts: which teams have not traded in the longest
In pairings of MLB teams, there are deals ... and there are some very long stretches of no deals. Some current trade partner droughts are so long that guys like the ones you see above were the players involved in the last trade between two given clubs.
With the non-waiver Trade Deadline upon us and trade news and rumors flying everywhere, it seems like a good time to examine the longest trade partner droughts for each of the 30 clubs. Which, if any, of these streaks will be over after the deadline passes?
Check after the chart for some thoughts and observations.
Longest trade partner droughts of every MLB team
| Team | Trade Partner | Date | Last Trade |
|---|---|---|---|
| Arizona | San Francisco | 6/3/2005 | Doug DeVore for Matt Herges and cash |
| Atlanta | San Francisco | 12/17/2002 | Damian Moss and Merkin Valdez for Russ Ortiz |
| Baltimore | Washington | 10/3/2001 | future considerations for Tim Raines |
| Boston | New York Yankees | 8/13/1997 | Randy Brown and Mike Stanley for Tony Armas and Jim Mecir |
| Chicago Cubs | Los Angeles Angels | 3/25/2001 | Jose Nieves for Mike Fyhrie |
| Chicago White Sox | Baltimore | 1/29/2002 | Chris Singleton for Willie Harris |
| Cincinnati | San Francisco | 7/21/1995 | Dave McCarty, Ricky Pickett, John Roper, Deion Sanders and Scott Service for Dave Burba, Darren Lewis and Mark Portugal |
| Cleveland | Miami | 3/27/2000 | Steve Falteisek for Victor Rodriguez |
| Colorado | Milwaukee | 12/13/2004 | cash for Marcos Carvajal |
| Detroit | San Francisco | 7/16/1997 | Brian Johnson for Marcus Jensen |
| Houston | Los Angeles Angels | 4/1/1981 | Ken Forsch for Dickie Thon |
| Kansas City | Cleveland | 6/4/2004 | future considerations for Matt White |
| Los Angeles Angels | Houston | 4/1/1981 | Dickie Thon for Ken Forsch |
| Los Angeles Dodgers | Texas | 12/30/1990 | Jim Poole and cash for David Lynch and Steve Allen |
| Miami | Cleveland | 3/27/2000 | Victor Rodriguez for Steve Falteisek |
| Milwaukee | Miami | 7/11/2004 | Chris Michalak for future considerations |
| Minnesota | Houston | 8/3/1999 | George Williams for Josh Dimmick |
| New York Mets | Philadelphia | 7/27/2001 | Dennis Cook and Turk Wendell for Bruce Chen and Adam Walker |
| New York Yankees | Boston | 9/29/1997 | Tony Armas and Jim Mecir for Randy Brown and Mike Stanley |
| Oakland | San Francisco | 7/16/2004 | cash for Adam Pettyjohn |
| Philadelphia | Los Angeles Angels | 7/29/2000 | Ron Gant for Kent Bottenfield |
| Pittsburgh | St. Louis | 7/29/2000 | Jason Christiansen for Jack Wilson |
| San Diego | San Francisco | 7/13/2003 | Matt Herges for Clay Hensley |
| San Francisco | Cincinnati | 7/21/1995 | Dave Burba, Darren Lewis and Mark Portugal for Dave McCarty, Ricky Pickett, John Roper, Deion Sanders and Scott Service |
| Seattle | Chicago White Sox | 3/20/2006 | Matt Thornton for Joe Borchard |
| St. Louis | Pittsburgh | 7/29/2000 | Jack Wilson for Jason Christiansen |
| Tampa Bay | Boston | 7/21/1999 | Julio Santana for Will Silverthorn |
| Texas | Los Angeles Dodgers | 12/30/1990 | David Lynch and Steve Allen for Jim Poole |
| Toronto | Chicago Cubs | 12/10/2001 | Alex Gonzalez for Felix Heredia and Jim Deschaine |
| Washington | Baltimore | 10/3/2001 | Tim Raines for future considerations |
-- The team with the most recent fully-comprehensive list of trade partners is the Mariners; over the past eight years and five months, they've traded with all 29 other teams at least once.
-- Two sets of trade partners on the list, Phillies-Angels and Pirates-Cardinals, last traded on the same day: July 29, 2000.
-- Two players involved in these trades are currently active: Royals starter Bruce Chen, who was in the Mets' last trade with the Phillies, and Yankees reliever Matt Thornton, who was in the Mariners' last trade with the White Sox.
-- The team that holds the "longest trade drought" title for the most other teams is the Giants. Six out of their 29 possible trade partners (Arizona, Atlanta, Cincinnati, Detroit, Oakland and San Diego) have traded with every other team since they traded with San Francisco.
-- The conventional wisdom is that teams try to avoid trading within their division, but only 11 out of 30 teams (36.7 percent) have their longest trade drought with a division opponent -- and two of those are those are the Angels and the Astros, both of whom have their longest trade drought with the other, and only became division rivals in 2013.
-- And if their new status as division-mates increases their chances of not trading with each other, Los Angeles and Houston will be extending the longest trade drought in baseball -- they haven't made a swap since April 1981, when they exchanged Dickie Thon and Ken Forsch, as seen above.