Shane Victorino was a staple of the Phillies during the five straight years of division titles. His Game Two grand slam against C.C. Sabathia was one of the highlights of the 2008 World Series run. He was a fan favorite his entire time as a Phillie, but he was also one of the first to go during the teardown of that core.
With the Phillies well below .500 at the 2012 trade deadline, the writing was on the wall that the club’s run of dominance was over. Victorino was due to be a free agent after the season, making him an attractive rental piece.
The Dodgers traded for Victorino in exchange for reliever Josh Lindblom, pitching prospect Ethan Martin, and a player to be named later who eventually became minor-leaguer Stefan Jarrin.
Lindblom was the only one who provided anything of real value for the Phillies as he was part of the Michael Young trade that winter. Martin made 17 major-league appearances in 2013 and 2014 with a 5.93 ERA. Jarrin was released in May of 2013 by the team and hasn’t played professionally since.
Victorino didn’t finish the year well with the Dodgers but still managed to get a three-year, $39 million contract from the Red Sox during the offseason. He had one last good year in 2013, winning another World Series in Boston, before tailing off and eventually ending his career as a minor-leaguer with the Cubs.
The real impact of the Victorino trade was not the return Philadelphia got. Instead, it was the beginning of the end for the core group of players that fans devoutly watched from 2007 to 2011. Other key players from that group were traded in the following years (more on them soon) as the team fell into a hole it still has yet to climb out of.