Washington, on the other hand, was on a four season streak of finishing above .500 but unable to crack the playoffs. As great as Brian Colley was, he was due a very big contract on a team that wasn't ready to compete yet. As a result, they saw two offers extended to them: One by the hard-charging Minnesota Twins and one by the Detroit Tigers.
The tale of the Twins offer is a major part of why this deal makes the list, but we'll deal with that last. The offer presented to Washington that was accepted was the following: P Victor Keaton, P Joe Gorman, LF Ervin Coggeshall, P Nicanor Calmelat, CF Lorenzo Cain, and 5 million in cash.
Let's talk impact on Detroit first. After being traded over in 2021, Colley went 8-5 with a 2.79 ERA. Detroit finished in third place with 90 wins, but the table was set. They improved to 95 wins the following year, and then finished in first with 98 wins two years later. The Tigers stayed atop the central for two seasons and had two appearances in the ALCS in the years after Colley's arrival. There are many reasons for this success but chief among them is the performance of Colley. He finished 2022 20-5 with a 2.33 ERA and won the AL Cy-Young. He was 15-8, 16-6, and 18-8 in the years 2023-2025 and has made four all-star appearances as a Tiger. After the addition of Boris Turner later, Detroit has been a lead team that is a force to be reckoned with year in and year out, in large part due to the addition of one of FCM's elite arms.
On the flip side, Washington was getting a number of prospects who were elite at the time. keaton, Gorman, Coggeshall, and Calmelat well all players with high peaks and solid overalls at the time of the trade. By most accounts, the haul gotten by Washington was excellent on paper. As history shows us, it wasn't nearly as good as it looked. Joe Gorman looked like a very good up and comer - he was 22 years old and ready to step into the rotation. Unfortunately, Washington has never seen that potential come to fruition. He's won 44 games at the major league level, but he's been a mediocre, back-end starter rather than an impact arm. He still pitches for the nationals, but is relegated to their fifth starter spot. Outfielder Ervin Coggeshell has played for four teams in six seasons - usually a good indication of what a player has accomplished when they haven't accomplished much. He was able to develop enough ability to get some at-bats at the major league level, but his biggest impact was to be added to Jeff Shinault in a trade that acquired Washington's current #3 starter Jeff Bunning. In this sense, Coggeshell had some clear value, but in terms of his own contributions they have been minimal to FCM.
Another of Washington's current starters (three of their current rotation members have ties to this trade) is Nicanor Calmelet. So far in his young career he is 34-18 with a 3.88 ERA and solid peripheral numbers. He's by no means a great player, but he's developed into a solid, reliable arm. Victor Keaton is currently pitching for the Texas Rangers. He's managed 118 career saves, largely as the closer in Washington. Victor has not been an elite reliever in the league and many would argue he hasn't lived up to his potential, but he's been a solid arm. He meets the theme of this deal - nothing flashy, but a lot of solid building blocks for a Washington team on the verge of contending in 2026. Lorenzo Cain? let's not waste our breath....not much of an impact.
Here is where things get interesting. Prior to the completion of this deal, there was an agreed upon trade that was actually sent to the FCM Commissioner's office for approval between Minnesota and Washington. However, at the last minute, Washington backed out of the trade. So now, for the first time in this countdown, we get to play "What If?". "What if Minnesota...not Detroit....had landed Brian Colley?" The impact, would have been felt by all three teams:
Minnesota's offer? P Jason Reiter, P Neil Crawley, RP Alexander, RP Ishikawa, and 3M
Let's start first with the impact for Minnesota. Adding a pitcher the caliber of Colley may have been enough to push the Twins over the top. In the years between 2021 and 2025 the Twins finished in second place four out of five seasons. The gap between first each time? 12 games, 1.5 games, 1 game, and 2 games. It's perfectly reasonable to assume that a pitcher the caliber of Colley may have been enough to put them over the top. At the same time, Jason Reiter is in his sixth year in the big leagues and is still only 25 years old. While he hasn't put it together completely yet, many would argue that his 2025 season at 14-9 with a 3.60 ERA may be his first major step towards becoming a bonafide ace. So would Minnesota have been better with Colley in the short-term and possibly lead to a play0ff appearance, one could argue they would've been better off long term with Reiter. Crawley was a solid spec who has developed into a middle of the rotation arm currently pitching for Kansas City. After not being moved in this deal, he was later moved in a deal to Kansas City for reliever Regan Tyler. Steve Alexander has appeared in over 300 games for the Twins but hasn't been impressive in his performance. Likewise, Ishikawa has been a poor player in his time in the big leagues and was later flipped for about 150 at-bats of Saruwatari Chiaki in 2021-2022. It's hard not to argue that this deal would have favored the Twins and would have likely changed the dynamics of the central division dramatically.
Without Colley, the Tigers probably never pursue Turner later. They may have also set their sights on other available stars like Max Roberts, Angel Munoy, Ed Edwards, Roy Beeman, or Marcus Avellar. Obviously any of these deals would have had major effects on other teams in the league.
Washington, on the other hand, would have Jason Reiter and Neil Crawley in their rotation as opposed to Bunning and Calmelat. One could argue that long-term this would've been a better deal for the Nats. As far as I can see, if I were the Nationals GM, I'd rather have Reiter and Crawley than Bunning and Calmelat. in the end, we would have had a win-win deal with Minnesota and Washington. The Twins win in the short-term with a much stronger chance to win a tightly contested division and the Nationals gain a young stud to build their rotation around.
So why did it make he list? An elite arm in FCM on the move for one, but more importantly the deal was made to Detroit mere hours after an agreed upon deal to Minnesota. That swing in the balance of power in the AL Central had years of ramifications and set a precedent for teams backing out of a trade. The trickle down of the impact of this move was felt throughout the league still to this day.
Next Up: Trade #17 - Down goes Rocky....and a new power rises.
Next Up: Trade #17 - Down goes Rocky....and a new power rises.
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