After the 2018 season the Toronto Blue Jays were fresh off their first FCM championship and looking to secure a permanent spot atop the league. Charlie Siegel and Kenny Wilson were providing some speed for the team, but they felt that what they needed to take the next step as a team was to add one of the best leadoff hitters in FCM: Brett Gardner. The problem? The Jays put all their cards on the table and their desire to land him wasn't well hidden. As a result, number 12 on our list is easily the biggest heist pulled off on the Jays in this league. A move that did nothing to secure a title for Toronto and actually undermined their future while they moved one of FCM's all-time greats.
In 2019 Brett Gardner was an elite defensive outfielder with tremendous lead-off skills. He was a 3 time gold glover, former world champ, and a consistent threat to score 100 runs. The Jays boasted a deep lineup featuring Brett Wallace, Adeinny Hechavarria, Thomas Neal, Jose Castillo, Jeff Anderson, and Kenny Wilson. The pitching staff of Bosworth, Eickholt, Smith, and DeRose was primed to lead the team to FCM's best record - 120-42. But perhaps the team's greatest strength was the group closing games down - Rob Wood, Shawn Bauer, Jesse Perry, Brian Kartman, and Brett Jacobsen. The group was dominant, young, and deep. The downside? It was that depth that spurred this bone-headed deal.
The owner of Brett Gardner was jhc, GM of the Chicago White Sox. The Sox were still building and their rise to power was still a few years away. However, one of the big pieces of their eventual rise came through this deal. In many ways, this deal opened up that climb:
The Jays sent, to the White Sox for only Brett Gardner: OF Denard Span, OF Raphael Urdanivia, C Armando Echave, P Christian Friedrich, and (of course) RP Ryan Christner.
During negotiations the White So were insistent on landing both Christner and Perry. The Jays, heavy on top-end relievers and right-handers, decided to keep Perry. Instead, they dealt Ryan Christner. Horrifically stupid doesn't begin to describe the move. The Jays only had Brett Gardner for one year, and while he was a contributor on a team that went to the World Series and fell short of back-to-back championships, his injuries were too much for the team to keep him. In the end, they got only 242 ABs for the best reliever in FCM history.
Before we get to Christner, we'll look at the rest of the group in this deal. Echave managed a mere 77 mediocre at-bats in his career. It's safe to say he was a non-factor. Friedrich had 9 starts for the CHW before retiring the offseason after. Denard Span had 397 ABs for Chicago in 2019 batting .285 with a .741 OPS and 9 homeruns. It was his last season in the big leagues.
Raphael Urdanivia quickly moved into position for major league playing time after the trade. Urdy had gold glove caliber defense for Chicago for 4 full seasons. In that time he hit 79 homeruns, drove in 236 runs, and stole 88 bases. He was, almost from the start, as good or better than Brett Gardner. He later returned to the Jays as a FA, was dealt to SFG as part of the deal for current CF Jorge Vasquez, hit FA, and was signed by the Dodgers for 4 years and 4M. He won his first grand slam in 2025 and continues to be a surprising valuable part of the Dodgers.
The real prize was Ryan Christner, currently a starter for the Colorado Rockies after signing a 7 year 18.5M deal as a free agent. Christner was a late third round pick by the Jays in 2016 and showed all the signs of being a very good reliever. How good he became, however, was not something the Jays foresaw. Christner has gone on to sport a career 2.39 ERA with 485 strikeouts and 272 career saves. He was a dominant stopper for the White Sox as they rose to power in the AL and helped form a dynamic bullpen with fellow Jays-draftee Roy Beeman. It simply cannot be said enough how great Christner became immediately after the deal and the blow that was to the Jays.
Imagine, with Wood/Bauer/Perry/etc. in fold and Christner at his best, the value that was lost to the Jays in this deal. With Christner they would have had a massive trade chip that could have helped land any number of talents to aid the Jays' offense of pitching staff. Toronto continued to build a dominant dynasty, but they lost one of the biggest trade chips of the next decade in the name of 242 at-bats from a leadoff hitter. That is a massive mistake that caused a ripple effect throughout the league. The AL Central's future champion was given several big trade pieces while the top power of the AL East was delivered a huge body blow on the way to a 120 win season and the beginning of a dynasty. There is no doubt in my mind that if not for this deal, the Jays would be more than two time champions. So in one fell swoop, this deal pulled that out from under them. GMs throughout FCM owe jhc a round of thanks for using his leverage to pull off this heist.
Next Up: FCM's 11th Most Impactful Trade: "Scrooge gets his Tiny Tim"
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