3 worst trades in KC Royals history

1993: KC Royals traded Jon Lieber and Dan Miceli to the Pittsburgh Pirates for Stan Belinda

In 1993, Ewing Kauffman — the original owner of the Royals — was suffering from bone cancer, and general manager Herk Robinson made a last ditch attempt to try and lock in one last playoff run for Kansas City before Kauffman passed. With that in mind, the Royals traded prospects Jon Lieber and Dan Miceli to the Pittsburgh Pirates in exchange for closer Stan Belinda on July 31, 1993 — a move that is now largely deemed to be one of the worst trades in Royals history.

Robinson called his boss that night to inform him of the trade, and that was the last time the two men spoke before Kauffman died just hours later.

Unfortunately for the Royals, Belinda was only ever as effective as they arguably should've expected him to be. He'd been the Pirates' closer in the sense that he often, if not always, pitched in the last inning, but he certainly didn't possess the talent that being a closer usually inferred — he'd never posted an ERA below 3.15, and he was a long way from the strong punch the Royals needed at the back of their bullpen. From when he arrived in Kansas City in mid-1993 until he became a free agent at the end of the 1994 season, Belinda accumulated a 3-3 record with a 4.83 ERA in 76.1 innings of work, allowing 49 runs (41 earned) and 30 walks.

The Pirates, however, were much happier with their trade return of Micelli and Lieber.

Micelli debuted in the majors just six weeks after the trade — on his birthday, September 9 — and while Pittsburgh trialled him in both the rotation and the bullpen, he stuck as a reliever, closing a career-high 21 saves in 1995. He was traded to the Detroit Tigers at the end of 1996, and while he never really became more than an average arm out of the bullpen, the journeyman had a 14-year career across 11 different organizations.

Lieber made his major league debut with the Pirates in 1994, and across five seasons as an above-average starter, he posted a 4.36 ERA in 682.2 innings before being traded to the Chicago Cubs at the end of 1998. He received an All-Star selection for his work with the Cubs in 2001, and even after taking the 2002 season off to recover from Tommy John surgery, Lieber joined the New York Yankees as a solid innings-eater in their rotation.

Neither Micelli or Lieber ever threw a pitch in the major leagues for Kansas City, but both went on to have careers that lasted well over a decade at the top level. Instead, the Royals got Belinda — a mediocre reliever who became a free agent just a season and a half later — and the team continued what would eventually be a 27-year postseason drought.