Philadelphia Phillies: The five worst trades of the last decade
By John Town
No. 2: Trading Hunter Pence to the Giants
In 2011, the Phillies traded three of their top nine prospects – and two of their top four – to acquire right fielder Hunter Pence. Granted, they had to pay such a high price because Pence was consistently an above-average hitter with the Astros and was in the midst of the best season of his career since his 2007 rookie season.
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After coming to Philadelphia, Pence finished out the 2011 season strong with 11 home runs and an .871 OPS in 54 games. The next year in 2012, Pence still had solid numbers through 101 games with a .271/.336/.447 line and 17 home runs.
With the Phillies at 45-57 heading into July 31, then-general manager Ruben Amaro started trading away some of the team’s players.
One of the players traded away was Pence, who was sent to the Giants for catching prospect Tommy Joseph, relief prospect Seth Rosin, and major-league outfielder Nate Schierholtz.
With Schierholtz only staying in town for the rest of the season and Rosin never working out, the entire payoff of the trade was riding on Joseph. However, a series of concussions derailed his career behind the plate, and his hitting wasn’t good enough to stay at first base. With Rhys Hoskins set to take over the position next year, Joseph’s future in Philadelphia is in question.
When you add in the fact of how much Amaro had to give up to get Pence and compare it to what he got for Pence a year later, it easily makes this trade one of the worst in the last decade.