Who Traces The Tracers?
Almost ten years ago we made a trade in which the other team complained that the player we had traded them was damaged goods. In point of fact a) he WASN’T damaged goods; he was a damned good player, and is still in the major leagues today, and b) the player they had traded us WAS hurt, although I believe he may also still be in the majors. But, because we were new, we couldn’t risk the damage to our professional reputation, so we re-structured the trade so that the other team couldn’t possibly complain.
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I think this is the Brandon Lyon trade. On July 22, 2003, the Red Sox sent Brandon Lyon, Anastacio Martinez and cash to Pittsburgh for Scott Sauerbeck and Mike Gonzalez. A few days after the trade, the Pirates placed Lyon on the 15-day disabled list (elbow) and filed a grievance.
A week later, Pittsburgh returned Lyon and Martinez to Boston, and Boston sent Gonzalez back to Pittsburgh (with cash). Immediately following that deal, the Sox traded Freddy Sanchez to the Pirates for Jeff Suppan.
Lyon, 32, is still a reliever for the Astros.
Gonzalez, 33, appeared in 56 games with Texas last season. He had knee surgery over the winter, and his agent, Scott Boras, is currently shopping him around.
