Which team has your team not traded with in the longest?
In pairings of MLB teams, there are deals ... and there are some very long stretches of no deals. With the Hot Stove about to heat up and trade news and rumors sure to get going in earnest soon, it seems like a good time to examine the longest trade partner droughts for each of the 30 clubs. Check after the chart for some thoughts and observations:
Longest Trade Droughts
| Team | Trade Partner | Date | Trade |
|---|---|---|---|
| Arizona | Colorado | 7/29/2003 | Cash for Willie Morales |
| Atlanta | Minnesota | 9/5/1997 | Steve Hacker for Greg Myers |
| Baltimore | Los Angeles Angels | 6/14/1994 | Bo Ortiz for Dwight Smith |
| 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 | Detroit | 3/23/1989 | Ken Williams for Eric King |
| 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 | Los Angeles Angels | 2/15/1996 | Jason Grimsley and Pep Harris for Brian Anderson |
| Colorado | Atlanta | 8/19/1998 | David Cortes for Anthony Briggs |
| Detroit | Chicago White Sox | 3/23/1989 | Eric King for Ken Williams |
| Houston | Los Angeles Angels | 4/1/1981 | Ken Forsch for Dickie Thon |
| Kansas City | Minnesota | 4/4/1978 | Cash for Randy Bass |
| 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 | Toronto | 4/26/1995 | Ernie Delgado for Aaron Small |
| Milwaukee | Miami | 3/25/1998 | Cash for Eric Owens |
| Minnesota | Kansas City | 4/4/1978 | Randy Bass for cash |
| 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 | New York Mets | 12/14/2001 | Mark Guthrie and Tyler Yates for David Justice |
| 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 | Los Angeles Angels | 3/25/1996 | Cash for Ricky Jordan |
| St. Louis | Kansas City | 12/4/1995 | Three-way trade: Mike Remlinger CIN to KC, Luis Ordaz CIN to STL, Miguel Mejia KC to STL, Andre King STL to CIN |
| 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 | Miami | 4/26/1995 | Aaron Small for Ernie Delgado |
| Washington | Baltimore | 12/22/2000 | Jorge Julio for Ryan Minor |
- The team with the most recent fully-comprehensive list of trade partners is the D-backs, who have traded with every other team since July 2003 (beating the Padres by about two weeks).
- The White Sox current executive vice president, Ken Williams, was part of his team’s last trade with the Tigers (he went to the Tigers).
- Two sets of trade partners on the list, Phillies-Angels and Pirates-Cardinals, last traded on the same day: July 29, 2000.
- Three players involved in these trades were active in 2012: Bruce Chen, Clay Hensley and Jack Wilson. None were with the teams they were traded to; however, in 2012 Hensley was back on the team (the Giants) that traded him originally.
- Although they came close to ending their drought with the Cubs with the recently aborted Dan Haren-Carlos Marmol deal, the Angels seem to avoid trading with a lot of clubs. Six out of their 29 possible trade partners (Orioles, Cubs, Indians, Astros, Phillies and Mariners) have traded with every other team since they traded with the Angels.
- Nevertheless, the Angels still aren’t a party to the longest trade drought between two MLB teams; the Royals and Twins have not traded since April 1978.
-- Dan Wohl / MLB.com