The Five Worst Trades in Kansas City Royals History

In theory, the idea of trading in Major league baseball involves the desire to improve both teams. That improvement can be for that season, or in the case of prospects, for the future. Even a salary dump can be an improvement, especially if that money is reinvested in players that can help out next season or later. After all, look at what the Boston Red Sox did after their salary dump with the Los Angeles Dodgers.

However, it is inevitable that some trades work out better for one side than the other. Sometimes prospects do not pan out, or a player just blossoms on another team. Changes of environment can make a huge difference. That can make a trade that seemed to make sense at the time appear rather lopsided, for one side or another.

Throughout their history, the Kansas City Royals have made 409 trades. Some have been excellent for the Royals; others have just been even. Then there are those trades that make one wonder why, exactly, the Royals made that move in the first place. This is that type of list.

With the trade deadline approaching, it is time to look back at some of the moves that the Royals have made throughout their history. Today, we look back at the first worst deals that the Royals have made.

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5. Cecil Fielder for Leon Roberts (February 5, 1983)

We all know how Steve Balboni is still the Royals single season home run hitter with 36 homers, set in 1985. Likewise, we all know that the Royals are the only active franchise in baseball history that has not had a 40 home run hitter. Well, that could have changed if they had held on to a hefty first base prospect named Cecil Fielder.

Instead, they parted with the 18 year old power prospect, sending him to the Toronto Blue Jays for Leon Roberts. Roberts spent the 1983 season as essentially a fourth outfielder, seeing majority of his time in either left or right field. He then appeared in another 29 games in 1984, his final season in the majors.

During his tenure with the Royals, Leon Roberts produced a .252/.311/.384 batting line with eight home runs. He also pitched an inning in 1984, where he gave up three runs on four hits and a walk in his inning of work. At least he can say that he struck out the first batter he faced in Mel Hall. Fielder, meanwhile, showed glimpses of his power potential for the Blue Jays, but turned into a feared slugger with the Detroit Tigers.

Those 51 home runs that Fielder hit in 1990 would have looked pretty nice in a Royals uniform. Perhaps Fielder would not have been that same type of player in Kansas City, but he would have certainly been an interesting addition to the lineup.

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3. David Cone for Chris Stynes and two minor leaguers (April 6, 1995)

This trade marked the second time that the Royals had David Cone, and the second time they traded him for virtually nothing (the first time will be a bit later in the post). However, unlike that first trade, this one was done with the desire to shed payroll.

Cone, in that final year with the Royals, went 16-5 with a 2.94 ERA and a 1.074 WHiP, winning the American League Cy Young award. One would have imagined that he could have brought in an impressive crop of prospects that could have helped the Royals become contenders in the latter half of the decade. Instead, the Royals received back two players who never reached the majors and Chris Stynes. The one major league player, Stynes, spent parts of two seasons with the Royals before being sent to the Cincinnati Reds, where he turned into a useful utility player.

Stynes, in his 58 game Royals tenure, produced a .260/.293/.315 batting line, hitting seven doubles and stealing five bases. Cone, meanwhile, pitched another seven years, making two All-Star teams and led the American League with 20 wins in 1998. Oh, and Cone was a key part of four World Series winning teams for the New York Yankees. Perhaps the Royals could have had another chance at postseason play during that time frame had he remained with the team.

One would have thought that the Royals would have learned their lesson about trading David Cone the first time. Instead, history repeated itself in Kansas City.

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2. Jose Bautista for Justin Huber (July 30, 2004)

Imagine how different the past couple of years would have been for the Royals if they had a legitimate power bat in the middle of their lineup. Picture if the Royals had Jose Bautista hitting third or fourth. What kind of a difference would that have made?

The worst part is that the Royals had Bautista. Granted, this was before he turned into the fearsome slugger that Bautista is today, but he had still displayed the potential to be a power hitter in the minors. He was not yet at that point with the Royals, producing a .200/.231/.240 batting line with a double in 26 plate appearances before being sent to the New York Mets for Justin Huber.

Huber had been a top prospect, ranked as the 66th best prospect in baseball by Baseball America prior to the 2003 season. However, he never lived up to expectations, accumulating only 175 major league plate appearances across five seasons. For the Royals, Huber produced a .204/.255/.245 batting line with four doubles.

This trade is definitely one where hindsight reveals the trade as having been a terrible move for the Royals. After all, Jose Bautista did not become a feared slugger until he went to the Toronto Blue Jays five years later. Yet, one has to wonder what the Royals would have been like had Bautista been the Jose Bautista we have come to know.

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1. David Cone for Ed Hearn (March 27, 1987)

In the latter years of Ewing Kauffman’s life, he tried desperately to bring the Royals back to the postseason. The Royals were active in free agency and on the trade front, looking for that piece that could get them another World Series title. One of the pieces that could have helped was David Cone, who went to high school right there in Kansas City.

Cone was not impressive in his first stint with the Royals, with a 5.56 ERA and a 1.853 WHiP in his eleven outings in 1986. Yet, he had been a solid prospect for the Royals, putting up solid minor league numbers as he climbed through the ranks. Instead, Cone was traded to the New York Mets for Ed Hearn, who had been a backup catcher for during the Mets run to the World Series. It was expected that Hearn would be the starting catcher for the Royals going forward.

Instead, the trade quickly became a disaster. Hearn suffered a severe should injury, as he played only thirteen games for the Royals over two seasons. Out of baseball entirely at the end of the 1990 season, Hearn suffered from kidney problems and cancer, both of which he has been able to overcome.

Ed Hearn could have been a solid player for the Royals had injuries not derailed his career. Instead, it was David Cone who went on to become a star, making his trade the worst move in Royals history.

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At the trade deadline, it is understandable to that fans get excited about the players that their favorite teams bring in. Each new player is a hope that the team can compete and make the playoffs. There is hope that any prospects acquired will develop into stars and lead the team back into contention.

Yet, not every trade goes as planned. While the Royals have typically made solid moves on the trade front throughout their history, there have been some truly terrible moves. Even though some of these did not really effect the history of the franchise, they are still enough to make one wonder what could have been.

Players such as Cecil Fielder, David Cone (twice) and Jose Bautista would have certainly looked good as members of the Royals. While their presence may not have been enough to change the Royals fortunes over the past twenty nine years, they certainly would have helped the team perform better.

Next week, we will look back at the five best trades in Kansas City Royals history, which will be a much more pleasant journey down memory lane. If there are any trades that you feel were worse but did not make the list, let us know in the comments!