Today we discuss the second most impactful FCM trade. Much like the deal that sits at the top of our list, this deal goes back to the beginning of FCM. It has this position not because of controversy or a mass number of players, but because it was a franchise changing move. This trade could be said to have completely altered the landscape of FCM still to this day.
In 2010 the Oakland Athletics finished 83-79 and won the AL West by three games. They were an offensively challenged team who's best player was Kevin Kouzmanoff. What they had was an outstanding young group of pitchers that they were building around. With Wellington Castillo (an excellent hitting catcher) on the way and trades for Ian Kinsler and Carlos Zambrano among others - the Athletics were hoping to take a "win-now" approach. To do this they felt they needed to jumpstart their young staff with more established arms.
The trade partner they found was the 69-93 Florida Marlins. With a significant amount of established talent this record was a major disappointment. In response, the Marlins declared a full rebuild and put elite pieces like Hanley Ramirez, Josh Johnson, Cole Hamels, and Chris Coghlan on the market for prospects to rebuild their team. What developed was a very natural swap: Josh Johnson and Cole Hamels heading across the country to Oakland with Brett Hunter, Brett Anderson, and Jemile Weeks heading to south-beach.
Oakland saw immediate benefits in this deal. The A's won 96 games in 2011 behind a 17-7 Cy Young season for Josh Johnson. Hamels went 14-11 on the season and was more mediocre but the two arms made 66 starts for the AL West champions. They didn't make it far that season as they were bounced in the first round by the Cleveland Indians. Josh Johnson continued his dominant seasons in 2012 and 2013 with the A's winning 86 and 91 games respectively in those seasons. An injury in 2014 spelled the end of his stay in Oakland as he was moved for contract relief along with Johan Santana to the Arizona Diamondbacks for Bryan Shaw, Aaron Shafer, and Mark Reynolds at the trade deadline of the 2014 season. Shaw and Shafer had no impact on the A's while Reynolds had two decent seasons before moving on. Cole Hamels was much the same way - mediocre and dealt for mediocrity.
For the Marlins the deal was a complete success. They jumped to 85 wins in 2011, 84 in 2012, 93 in 2013, and they haven't looked back since. The Marlins have dominated the NL East ever since and gone on an almot unprecedented run of success winning their division. Two large cornerstones for that success were Hunter and Anderson. Anderson was 94-67 in his Florida career including a 21-5 season in 2017. He also claimed a rare feat in pitching a No Hitter on July 30th of 2013. He left as a free agent in 2017 but not until he had helped pitch the Marlins to a World Championship in 2015.
Jemile Weeks played 7 seasons for the Marlins and provided a roughly .800 OPS from their second base position with solid defense. But the real gem is Brett Hunter.
The great Brett Hunter is still with the Florida Marlins in 2028. He had a brief two year stay with Seattle before Florida recently brought him home to retire with his true career team. In his Florida career Brett won 205 games and lost only 83. In his career he boasts a 2.62 ERA with 2289 strikeouts in nearly 3000 innings. He limited opposing batters to a .219 batting average, walked only 716, and had a career 10-6 record in the playoffs. Brett Hunter was always overshadowed by fellow Ace Donovan Pace including seasons a few remarkable seasons that did not win him a Cy Young. He was 15-5 with a 1.84 ERA in 2020, 21-7 with a 2.83 ERA in 2021, 20-3 with a 2.29 ERA in 2022, and 19-6 with a 2.06 ERA in 2023 - all without winning a Cy Young. His elite performance teamed with Pace made the Marlins a perennial contender for the FCM crown.
Imagine if this deal had not happened. The A's had Ryan Flaherty, Brett Hunter, Josh Donaldson, Christopher Carter, Allen Lehman, and Trevor Cahill to build around for the future. The Marlins would've had Josh Johnson for a shorter time to pair with Pace and may not have been able to land the same caliber of player as they did here. Given the dominance of the NL East the Marlins have enjoyed, it's hard not to recognize this move as the key move that lead to this dynasty. The drafting of Donovan Pace is likely the number one reason, but this move is 1A. For a team built on dominant pitching the acquistion of Hunter in 2010 was the beginning of a complete shift in FCM. Had this deal not happened, who knows what the future might have held for the league.
We know that because it did the Marlins are one of the league's most storied franchises and Brett Hunter one of the most dominant starters in the history of the league.
Next up, the grandaddy of them all: FCM's Number One Most Impactful Trade: "Building Blocks in the Dawn of a New League"
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