Introducing a new addition to the Yankeeholics blog: a Top 10 section. Every single Saturday we will have a top 10 list. This week, we will be covering the TOP 10 TRADES OF THE 2009 REGULAR SEASON. Let’s get to it.

10. 

RHP Rafael Betancourt to Rockies

RHP Connor Graham to Indians

Rafael Betancourt is one of the best middle relievers in baseball, and he played a significant role in helping the Rockies to an unlikely playoff berth. His 1.78 ERA in 25.1 innings with the Rockies was quite impressive, but the question begs to be asked: was having him for half a year worth giving away a talented prospect to the Indians? Cleveland too will be feeling pretty good about this trade. They had no shot at the playoffs, and Betancourt was probably not going to re-sign with them, so they managed to trade him away for a talented young pitcher in Connor Graham. This trade was a fair one, and it ended up panning out well for both teams, but you get the feeling that the Indians benefited more from this swap.

9. 

2B Freddy Sanchez to the Giants

RHP Tim Alderson to the Pirates

In an interesting move by the Pirates, they gave away the talented Freddy Sanchez for the pitching prospect Tim Alderson. This isn’t the last year of Sanchez’s contract; the Giants will benefit from a full season more of him. In the 25 games he played for San Francisco this season, he hit a respectable .284. But in return, the Pirates are picking up “the next big thing” in Tim Alderson. The Giants had no need for him, since they have Lincecum, Cain, Jonathan Sanchez, and Joe Martinez for the future, but the Pirates will greet him with open arms. This is another fair trade: both teams are getting a quality player.

8. 

OF Nyjer Morgan, RHP Sean Burnett to Nationals

OF Lastings Milledge, RHP Joel Hanrahan to Pirates

An unbelievably stupid move by the Pirates. Though they received two

talented players in Lastings Milledge and Joel Hanrahan, they gave up the 29-year old Nyjer Morgan, who has the potential to become one of the best in baseball. In 49 games with the Nats, he hammered .351 and stole 24 bases. As well as this, he is not at the end of his contract, so the Nats will enjoy his services for another season. Though Milledge (.291 in 58 games with the Bucs) and Hanrahan (1.72 ERA over 31.1 innings with Pittsburgh) did quite well, Nyjer Morgan is much more talented than both of them combined, and it is hard to fathom why the Pirates gave him away.

7. 

IF-OF Mark DeRosa to Cardinals

RHP Chris Perez, player to be named later to Indians

This is a trade the did not work out for either team, but in the long run, is better for the Indians. It was unlikely the Derosa would re-sign with Cleveland at the end of 2009, so the Indians went ahead and traded him for young pitcher Chris Perez. Perez has a bright future, projected to be a future star closer, but this year he had a 4.32 ERA over 33.1 innings pitched. Not too impressive, but he is a prospect. The Indians will also be receiving a player to be named, who is likely to be a prospect. The Cards on the other hand got nothing out of this trade. They picked up a 34 year old third baseman (who can play many positions) and he struggled, hitting .228 over 68 games in St. Louis. And his contract is up: he is currently a free agent. The Cardinals got nothing out of this trade, and they lost a talented prospect to the Indians. 

6.

RHP Ian Snell, SS Jack Wilson to the Mariners

C Jeff Clement, SS Ronny Cedeno, P Aaron Pribanic, P Brett Lorin, P Nathan Adcock to Pirates

A very interesting trade, one in which it is difficult to determine a team that

benefited more. The Pirates gave up two of their stars, in Ian Snell and Jack Wilson, to the Mariners. Neither player is at the end of their contract, so the M’s will get one more year of service out of both of them. Wilson only managed .224 over 31 games with the Mariners, but he will likely do better next year. Snell struggled as well, with a 4.20 ERA over 64.1 innings with Seattle, but he also will probably improve in 2010. In return, the Pirates picked up a host of talents. Jeff Clement is considered one of the best young catchers in baseball, and is considered a HUGE prospect. Cedeno is one of the best defensive shortstops around, and he can hit as well: in 46 games with the Bucs, he hit a respectable .258. If his talent is honed, he could turn into a top class infielder. Nathan Adcock is also considered a pitching prospect. The other two are relatively unknown, and it will be interesting to see how they fare. This trade seems quite even, but we will have to wait and see how it pans out. This is a trade that could influence both ballclubs in a major way. 

5. 

LHP Scott Kazmir to the Angels

2B Sean Rodriguez, LHP Alex Torres, IF Matt Sweeney to the Rays

Kazmir was struggling HUGE with the Rays (5.92 ERA over 111 innings), so they traded him away for 3 prospects. None of the players the Rays received are particularly talented; Alez Torres and Matt Sweeney are both minor propects, and not much is known about Sean Rodriguez. Scott Kazmir went to Anaheim and dominated: he recorded a 1.73 ERA over 36.1 innings. Kazmir isn’t at the end of his contract either; the Angels will have his services for another season. This trade clearly benefited Anaheim, but you can not blame the Rays for trading away Kazmir when he was struggling so much. Who could have guessed he would heat up so much?

4. 

RHP Jake Peavy to the White Sox

P Clayton Richard, P Aaron Poreda, P Adam Russell, P Dexter Carter to the Padres

At the beginning of the season, Jake Peavy said no to going to Chicago; but as the trade deadline grew closer, Peavy agreed to be shipped to the White Sox. He only played very little with them (because of an injury) but when he played, he starred with a 1.35 ERA over 20 innings. His contract has not expired yet either, so he will be pitching for Chicago next season as well. The Padres did not get much in return: Clayton Richards and Adam Poreda are both minor pitching prospects, and the other two are unheard of. This trade clearly favors the White Sox, and the Padres won’t be too pleased with the prospects they got for Jake Peavy.

3. 

OF Matt Holliday to Cardinals

3B Brett Wallace, P Clayton Mortenson, OF Shane Peterson to Athletics

Oakland knew that there was no chance that Matt Holliday would re-sign with

them at the end of this season, so they gave him to the Cardinals. In exchange, they picked up a MASSIVE prospect in Brett Wallace, who is projected to be the next Evan Longoria. The acquiring of Brett Wallace makes this trade an excellent one for Oakland. This trade also worked quite well for St. Louis. Holliday gave Pujols some protection in the lineup, while slugging .353 with 13 homers and 55 RBIs in 63 games with the Cardinals. He helped the Cards get to the playoffs, but once there, he made a crucial error in Game 3 of the NLDS that lost the game for his team. He most probably will not re-sign with St. Louis, and though he excelled in the regular season with them, the Cardinals had to give up their biggest prospect just to get half a season from Holliday, who could not slug the Cardinals into the World Series. This trade favors the Athletics.

2.

1B/C Victor Martinez to the Red Sox

RHP Justin Masterson, P Nick Hagadone, P Bryan Price to the Indians

The Red Sox reaped huge rewards from this trade. They picked up the talented 31-year old Victor Martinez to takes over Jason Varitek’s spot in the lineup, and he worked wonders: V-Mart slugged .336 with 8 homers and 41 RBIs in 56 games for the Sox. Brilliant for any player, espacially a catcher. He also has a year left in his contract, so he will be catching for Boston in 2010. The trade doesn’t make much sense for Cleveland: they traded away a brilliant catcher with a year left in his contract, who probably would have re-signed with Cleveland after the 2010 season (since he publicly announced he was sad and disappointed to be leaving the Indians). They didn’t get much in return; Justin Masterson can be good if his talent is harnessed, but he struggled in 2009 with a 4.55 ERA over 57.1 innings pitched with Cleveland. The other two are unheard of, and this trade helps the Indians in now way at all. On the other hand, the Sox picked up a high quality player without giving anybody important away.

1.

LHP Cliff Lee, OF Ben Francisco to the Phillies

RHP Jason Knapp, RHP Carlos Carrasco, SS Jason Donald, C Lou Marson to the Indians

According to us, the Cliff Lee trade was the biggest trade of the 2009 season.

Another debatable move from the Indians, since Cliff Lee has a year left in his contract; but all the better for Philadelphia, who will have Lee in their starting rotation in 2010. He was brilliant for the Phillies this year; he had a respectable 3.39 ERA over 79.2 innings with Philadelphia in the regular season, and in the playoffs, he was brilliant, sporting a 1.56 ERA over 40.1 innings. Without him, the Phillies might not have got to the World Series at all. Ben Francisco wasn’t too shabby either: in 37 games with the Phillies, he hit .278, and he has a year left in his contract as well. In return, the Indians got talented pitcher Carlos Carrasco, who is quite a prospect, but other than him, they acquired no one of note. So that is why, mainly because of playoff brilliance, the Cliff Lee trade was the most important one of the 2009 regular season.

There were a couple other major trades that could not make this list: Jeff Franceour went to the Mets, Yuniesky Betancourt went to the Royals, Felipe Lopez went to the Brewers, Tom Gorzenally went to the Cubs, Jarod Washburn went to the Tigers, Orlando Cabrera went to the Twins, Nate McClouth went to the Braves, and Scott Rolen went to the Reds. Though these were all significant trades, they were not important enough to make our list. 

And that will wrap up our first ever Top 10 list! Tune in next Saturday for another another Top 10 article. Do you have questions, comments, or disagreements? Feel free to leave us a comment!