Phillies Trade for Von Hayes
This trade is all about expectations as well as the significant value lost in the deal. Von Hayes was a highly coveted bat in the early 1980’s, so it was going to require a big trade package to land him. The Phillies obliged as they sent Manny Trillo, Jerry Willard, George Vuchovic, and Jay Baller to the Indians for just Hayes.
Honestly, the problem wasn’t that Hayes was bad, because he was fine. In nine seasons with the Phillies, he produced 27.2 WAR, made an All-Star game, and was a pretty consistent hitter throughout. The problem was that the Phillies paid a price that needed Hayes to be great and he just…wasn’t. Franco would become a Rookie of the Year contender in 1983 and be a fine hitter for the vast majority of his 23 YEARS in the big leagues. Manny Trillo was a multi-time All-Star when he was traded and would play reasonably well for the next six years before retiring. Hayes was fine, but the Phillies paid for a star and they didn’t get one.
Phillies Trade Jack Sanford
Remember when we said that trades involving pitchers have a high risk of being busts? Yeah, this is the other end of the spectrum. Jack Sanford was the Rookie of the Year in 1957 for Philadelphia, but had regressed a bit the following season. So, Philadelphia traded him to the Giants for Valmy Thomas and Ruben Gomez.
Neither Thomas nor Gomez amounted to much of anything. Sanford, however, turned out to be an absolute workhorse for the Giants where he posted a 3.59 ERA over 1314.2 innings in six seasons. He would go on to pitch three more seasons elsewhere before ending his career after the 1967 season. As it turns out, Sanford had plenty left in the tank and Philly gave him up for basically nothing.