Nationals' all-time Top 5 in-season trades
Deal with Pirates in 1990 that landed Expos great Alou tops list of moves
Will the Nationals swing a deal before the July 31 Trade Deadline? Sometimes it takes years to determine how well a team did in a trade. With the benefit of hindsight, the following are the five most notable trades in franchise history that were conducted during the regular season, according to Bill Ladson. Agree? Disagree? Comment below:
No. 1: August 16, 1990: Pirates sent Moises Alou to the Expos as the player to be named to complete a deal made a week earlier.
On Aug. 8, The Pirates sent a player to be named, Willie Greene and Scott Ruskin to the Montreal Expos for Zane Smith.
Smith helped the Pirates win the National League East Division in 1990, '91 and '92. However, Alou turned out to be one of Montreal's best players for six years. He made one All-Star appearance as a member for the Expos.
No. 2: July 29, 2010: The Twins traded catcher Wilson Ramos and pitcher Joe Testa to the Nationals for reliever Matt Capps.
Capps is now out of the league, while Ramos is the starting catcher for the Nationals.
No. 3: April 5, 1972: The Mets traded outfielder Ken Singleton, shortstop Tim Foli and first baseman/outfielder Mike Jorgensen to the Expos for Rusty Staub.
Singleton, Foli and Jorgensen were prospects at the time of the trade, but were never All-Stars during their time in Montreal, but they were productive. Singleton drove in 103 runs in '73, while Foli was the everyday shortstop for five years and Jorgensen won a Gold Glove in '73. Staub was a veteran who helped the Mets win the pennant in '73.
No. 4: June 27, 2002: The Indians traded pitchers Bartolo Colon and Tim Drew to the Expos for Cliff Lee, Brandon Phillips, Grady Sizemore and Lee Stevens.
The Indians were able to get the best of this deal. Lee was a Cy Young Award winner and Sizemore was a three-time All-Star. As for Colon, he was with the Expos for four months and was productive, going 10-4 with a 3.31 ERA.
No. 5: June 28, 2009: The Mariners traded infielder/outfielder Mike Morse to the Nationals for outfielder Ryan Langerhans.
Morse was was a great reserve for two years and was Washington's top power hitter for two years, He was Washington's MVP in 2011, hitting .303 with 31 home runs and 95 RBIs. Langerhans was a reserve in Seattle for three years and hit .200 in 117 games.