The KC Royals have an interesting trade history with Seattle

The KC Royals dealt away a no-hit hurler for a utility player in 1978.

On June 1, 1978, Kansas City and the Mariners made their first player-for-player deal when Seattle swapped outfielder Steve Braun to the Royals for pitcher Jim Colborn, who’d tossed the third no-hitter in club history just a year before

Colborn, who came to Kansas City with Darrell Porter in a 1976 offseason deal with Milwaukee that sent Jamie Quirk, Jim Wohlford and Bob McClure to the Brewers, went 3-10 the rest of the way with the Mariners in 1978. He was released the following spring, ending his 10-year major league career.

Braun spent the first six years of his career with the Minnesota Twins, posting a solid .284/.376/.384 slash line with 35 home runs and more walks than strikeouts. After the trade to the Royals, he spent the rest of 1978 and all of ’79 with them, and started 1980 with Kansas City before being released. He finished his KC career with a .246 average and four home runs, filling in mostly as a pinch hitter and outfielder, and occasionally at third base.

After finishing 1980 with the Blue Jays, Braun signed with St. Louis and in five seasons there, mostly as a utility player and pinch hitter, posted a .258 average. He got an at-bat against the Royals in Game 7 of the 1985 World Series, flying out to center field against Bret Saberhagen with the Cards already down 11-0 in the seventh inning.