I don’t think this is the first time I’ve heard of this deal, but Jeff Passan brought it up again on Twitter, so I thought I would talk about what could have been. Passan was asked about potential trades that fell through that never really came out to the public while the negotiations were occurring. His response was jarring, mentioning Acuna, Albies, Kyle Wright, and more were nearly traded to the Yankees.
That would have been a bombshell, but Passan then took to Twitter to correct himself, saying it was the other way around. The Yankees nearly traded Aaron Judge, Luis Severino, and more to the Braves for a package surrounding Jason Heyward and Andrelton Simmons.
I’m old and got it backward. The deal actually would’ve sent Aaron Judge, Luis Severino, Gary Sanchez, Manny Bañuelos and Ian Clarkin to Atlanta for Jason Heyward, Andrelton Simmons, B.J. Upton, Chris Johnson and David Carpenter. Safe to say Yankees are happy they didn’t say yes.
— Jeff Passan (@JeffPassan) March 5, 2023
This had the potential to go down as one of the most lopsided trades in MLB history. Jason Heyward and Andrelton Simmons had a couple of good seasons after they were traded, but both of them have severely underachieved over the latter part of their careers. B.J. Upton, Chris Johnson, and David Carpenter did next to nothing after they were done with the Braves. The Yankees would have gotten very little production, and in return, they would have helped the Braves fast-track their rebuild.
Imagine if Aaron Judge was roaming around in outfield with Ronald Acuna, and Luis Servino was added to Atlanta’s rotation. They would probably have at least one more World Series under their belt. Who knows why this didn’t end up coming to fruition. I imagine the Yankees brass went and took a long look at Aaron Judge while he was on the farm before pulling the trigger on this deal, and came back knowing there was no way they could trade that guy. There’s simply zero chance they would still have their jobs if this deal went down, and it’s a reminder that sometimes the best trades are the ones teams pass on. This would have set the Yankees back a decade and made the Braves perennial title contenders much quicker.
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Photo: Julian Avram/Icon Sportswire
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