8 Halloween-scary trades that still haunt Phillies fans
By Matt Rappa
5. Traded RHPs Trevor May and Vance Worley to the Minnesota Twins for OF Ben Revere
December 6, 2012
Outfielder Ben Revere‘s Phillies stint actually was not bad. In 335 games, he slashed .303/.331/.363 with 35 doubles, 16 triples, and 71 RBI. The Phillies traded Revere to the Toronto Blue Jays midway through the 2015 season; he would also play for the Washington Nationals (2016) and Los Angeles Angels (2017) to finish his career.
What makes this trade still sting is not that the Phillies had to part ways with Vance Worley, but rather one of their former top pitching prospects Trevor May in the process.
May went on to debut with the Minnesota Twins in 2014 and had been with them ever since, until now as he enters free agency. Through 215 career appearances, May has logged a 23-21 record, 1.304 WHIP ratio, and a 367-103 strikeouts-to-walks ratio across 316 innings.
The Longview, Washington, native’s best season came in 2019, in which he appeared in 65 games, finishing 13. Then, he posted a 2.94 ERA and 1.073 WHIP, while striking out 79 batters in 64 1/3 innings.
What makes parting ways with May particularly haunting is that, so far, he has been perfect as a postseason pitcher. Facing the New York Yankees and Houston Astros two games each in the 2019 ALDS and 2020 Wild Card Series, respectively, he has tossed a combined three scoreless innings, allowing only one hit and no walks while striking out two of his 10 batters faced.
It felt like the opportune time to part ways with Worley when the Phillies did, as he went just 6-9 with a 4.20 ERA for the team in 2012, a considerable decline from 2011 when he went 11-3 with a 3.01 ERA. But, dealing May still may haunt the Phillies to this day; of course, they can try to improve their bullpen this offseason by bringing him back.