MLB's biggest trades of the 2010s

A number of trades altered the landscape of Major League Baseball over the past decade. Let's countdown the top 20 since 2010:

20. Royals-Rays swap changes KC's fortunes

Date: Dec. 9, 2012

The Kansas City Royals were coming off their fourth straight 90-loss season and had missed the playoffs for the 27th consecutive year when they made this win-now deal with the Tampa Bay Rays. Myers was one of baseball's top prospects - he won American League Rookie of the Year in 2013 - and Odorizzi was acquired by the Royals two years prior in a deal that shipped out 2009 AL Cy Young Award winner Zack Greinke.

This trade worked out for the Rays, too, but it changed the course of history for Kansas City. Shields and Davis led the Cinderella Royals on a magical postseason run, which ended when they lost Game 7 of the World Series. Shields then departed in free agency, but Davis remained a force in the Royals' bullpen and was a hero of their 2015 World Series championship club.

19. Yankees acquire Jeter's heir apparent

Date: Dec. 5, 2014

Gregorius did an admirable job performing an impossible task when he was asked to replace a retiring Derek Jeter. The New York Yankees shortstop slashed .269/.313/.446 with 97 home runs across five years, which included three straight seasons of 20-plus homers.

Greene struggled throughout most of his tenure with the Detroit Tigers but eventually put it all together last season as an All-Star closer. Ray's time with the Arizona Diamondbacks can probably be summed up in one word: frustrating. The left-hander puts up big strikeout numbers but walks too many batters.

18. D-Backs ship out franchise cornerstone

Date: Dec. 5, 2018

In what seemed to signal that the club was entering a partial rebuild, the Diamondbacks made the unpopular decision to trade away perennial MVP candidate Goldschmidt. However, early returns suggest an alternate narrative. For the first time since 2012, Goldy didn't make the All-Star Game, and he didn't win the Silver Slugger Award for the first time since 2016. Meanwhile, Weaver posted a sterling 2.94 ERA over 64 1/3 innings before suffering an injury and Kelly proved to be a plus-defender behind the dish.

17. Indians, Reds, D-Backs pull off 9-player trade

Date: Dec. 11, 2012

This type of trade doesn't come along often. The swap between the Cleveland Indians, Cincinnati Reds, and Diamondbacks stood out not only because of the sheer number of players involved but also due to the status of said players. Choo had an MVP-caliber season with the Reds, which led to a long-term deal with the Texas Rangers a year later. Bauer and Shaw were integral members of the Indians during their 2016 American League Championship campaign, and Gregorious, as you know, wasn't long for the desert.

16. Pirates trade haul to Rays for Archer

Date: July 31, 2018

The Pittsburgh Pirates were merely on the periphery of the wild-card race at the 2018 non-waiver deadline, but they surrendered three of their top young pieces for Archer, whose stock was falling. Pittsburgh missed the playoffs that season before sinking to 90 losses this past one. Archer has been worth just 1.5 WAR since the trade, and 2019 was the worst campaign of his career. Sixteen months after swinging the deal, longtime Pirates general manager Neal Huntington was fired.

Tampa Bay, on the other hand, is still doing cartwheels, as Meadows and Glasnow quickly turned into stars and Baz remains a top-10 prospect.

15. Rangers, Tigers flip All-Stars

Date: Nov. 20, 2013

These two combined for eight All-Star appearances prior to this swap, though they each made just one following it. Fielder played in 289 games over three seasons with Texas and was forced to retire after his age-32 campaign due to a neck injury - the Rangers are still paying the remainder of his contract through 2020. Kinsler posted a .764 OPS across four years with the Tigers and recently called it a career, too, after suiting up for three other clubs and winning a World Series with the Boston Red Sox in 2018.

14. Rays part with Game 162 icon

Date: Dec. 20, 2017

Trading away almost everyone is kind of the Rays' modus operandi. However, Longoria seemed like the exception. The man who dragged his team into the 2011 postseason with his Game 162 heroics was traded away following a season during which he posted his first below-average OPS+ (99) of his career. The Rays included $14.5 million in the deal to help cover Longoria's remaining $87-million salary and, in return, got no one of much value. Arroyo appeared to be a promising infield prospect but struggled and has since been traded away.

13. Manny goes to Hollywood 2.0

Date: July 18, 2018

Ten years after "Mannywood" became an overnight sensation with the acquisition of Manny Ramirez, the Los Angeles Dodgers attempted to recreate the magic by trading for Machado. The All-Star infielder became an instant force on a team that reached the World Series. Machado was also frequently under the spotlight for his "Johnny Hustle" comments and antics during the National League Championship Series against the Milwaukee Brewers. He signed a long-term deal with the San Diego Padres following the season.

12. Cano returns to New York in mammoth deal

Date: Dec. 3, 2018

After his surprise hiring last winter as New York Mets general manager, former agent Brodie Van Wagenen went big almost immediately. It hasn't quite worked out as he had hoped. Diaz, the 2018 AL Reliever of the Year, was awful during his first season with the Mets, while Cano - who was coming off an abbreviated campaign due to a suspension and is owed $24 million per year through 2023 - showed signs of decline and dealt with various injuries.

We won't fully know how the Seattle Mariners fared in this deal until highly regarded prospect Kelenic shows up in the majors. This is a trade that will be debated in both Queens and Seattle for decades to come.

11. Jays land reigning NL Cy Young winner

Date: Dec. 17, 2012

Many Toronto Blue Jays fans condemn this trade, but it really wasn't that bad. Dickey never recaptured the form that netted him a Cy Young Award. However, the sage knuckleballer provided Toronto with a stable presence in the rotation by pitching at least 214 innings for three straight seasons from 2013 to 2015.

The real question about this deal is whether Syndergaard will ever cash in on his enormous potential. The hard-throwing righty looks like an ace at times and sports a career 3.31 ERA, yet there are no personal accolades to speak of. D'Arnaud, who was a can't-miss catching prospect, flopped in New York and only now looks to be coming into his own at 30 years old.

10. Padres rookie GM pulls off Opening Day blockbuster

Date: April 5, 2015

The Padres - under new general manager A.J. Preller - were on an absolute heater, having already added Myers, Shields, Justin Upton, Matt Kemp, and Derek Norris. They saved their biggest move for last when they lured Kimbrel from the Atlanta Braves on Opening Day.

Kimbrel had the worst year of his career, authoring a 2.58 ERA and 2.68 FIP over 59 1/3 innings. The other trades blew up in spectacular fashion and the closer was shipped out seven months later for a prospect package headlined by Manuel Margot and Logan Allen.

9. Cubs add Chapman, end WS drought

Date: July 25, 2016

With World Series aspirations and a lack of confidence in closer Hector Rondon, the Chicago Cubs made a splash by acquiring Chapman from the Yankees before the trade deadline. The Cuban Missile was phenomenal in the Windy City, recording a 1.01 ERA and helping the team end its 108-year championship drought. For his part, Torres has become one of baseball's brightest young stars.

8. Blue Jays, Marlins swing controversial 12-player blockbuster

Date: Nov. 13, 2012

This one left most of the baseball community stunned. The Miami Marlins had just spent lavishly on free agents as they prepared to open their new ballpark, and then just as quickly began the umpteenth fire sale in franchise history by sending three of their high-priced stars north of the border. The Marlins were immediately vilified - with some even calling for then-commissioner Bud Selig to step in - and Buehrle felt betrayed by the team.

But the Blue Jays were praised for the bold move, and though the immediate impact was marginal (Reyes got hurt and Johnson was awful in what was his final big-league season), it signaled a shift in priority for the team. Meanwhile, none of the young players the Marlins received made an impact for them.

7. Brewers bring Yelich to Milwaukee

Date: Jan. 25, 2018

The Brewers got Yelich, who has blossomed into one of the best players in all of baseball, for what's looked so far to be essentially nothing. The 28-year-old superstar was crowned the 2018 NL MVP and led Milwaukee to within a game of a World Series berth that season. He just missed out on winning the award in back-to-back campaigns after his incredible 2019 was cut short due to an injury.

For the Marlins, this trade has been nothing short of a disaster. Brinson, the key player going back to Miami, hit zero homers last season in 75 contests. In 205 career games, the 25-year-old has gone deep 13 times. Yamamoto showed some flashes and Diaz posted a .566 OPS across 49 games in 2019. Harrison hasn't played a game in the majors but is the club's fifth-best prospect, according to MLB Pipeline.

6. A's trade Donaldson to Blue Jays

Date: Nov. 28, 2014

The Oakland Athletics have a penchant for unloading players at the peak of their value, right before they become expensive, for decent returns that keep them in contention. That's not what they did here, as Donaldson was a late bloomer. In 2015, he was crowned the AL MVP and helped lead the Blue Jays to their first playoff berth since 1993.

For Oakland, the belief was that Barreto would one day become an infield cornerstone. That hasn't been the case, as he's barely been able to stick in the majors, hitting .189/.220/.378 over 80 games since 2017. The other three players in the deal are now on different teams or, in Lawrie's case, unofficially retired.

5. Stanton heads to New York

Date: Dec. 11, 2017

Here we are again, with the Marlins looking to trade one of their stars - in this case, the reigning NL MVP - to shed money from the payroll. After failed attempts by the St. Louis Cardinals and San Francisco Giants to acquire the slugger, the Yankees swooped in to nab him and beef up an already deadly lineup. While the cost in players was minimal, it did add more than $250 million in potential salary commitments for New York.

4. Astros land Verlander at deadline

Date: Aug. 31, 2017

The Houston Astros changed their fortunes forever when they acquired Verlander at the now-nonexistent waiver trade deadline in a last-minute deal. The future Hall of Famer has discovered the fountain of youth in Houston, leading the club to two World Series appearances, which included the franchise's first championship in 2017. In terms of personal accolades, the 36-year-old won the 2019 AL Cy Young Award and finished runner-up in 2018. The three players who the Tigers got back are in the organization's top 10 for prospects, according to MLB Pipeline.

3. Blue Jays land Price, Tulo in same week

Date: July 28, 2015

Date: July 30, 2015

Ahead of what would be his final three months with the team, Blue Jays general manager Alex Anthopoulos revitalized baseball in Toronto with a flurry of blockbuster deals that few saw coming. The Tulowitzki trade came down just after midnight and left many with their jaws on the floor. Two days later, Price was also on his way north, where he was greeted as a savior by a fan base starved of optimism. The result was a summer to remember for the Blue Jays, who rode Price's Cy Young-caliber pitching and a nearly unstoppable offense to their first playoff berth in 22 years. Both Tulowitzki and Price played pivotal roles in the Blue Jays' epic five-game ALDS win over the Rangers. It was one of the best deadline hauls in years, and, for the Blue Jays, worth every penny.

2. Red Sox get ace, White Sox get prospect haul for disgruntled lefty

Date: Dec. 6, 2016

Let's take a trip down memory lane for this one. In the days leading up to the 2016 trade deadline, Sale infamously took scissors to his Chicago White Sox throwback uniform because he said it interfered with his pitching mechanics. That led to him being scratched from his start and sent home, causing rampant speculation that a trade was on the horizon. The White Sox wound up retaining him through the controversy, but he was lured away the ensuing winter as the club sold off its stars.

The Red Sox gave up No. 1 overall prospect Moncada to get it done, as well as a top pitching prospect in Kopech. The consensus at the time was that White Sox GM Rick Hahn sped up his team's rebuild and raised its ceiling with the move. That has yet to come to fruition, though it could be right around the corner.

1. Red Sox-Dodgers blockbuster

Date: Aug. 25, 2012

With a new ownership group in place, the Dodgers pulled off a bold and expensive trade with the Red Sox, adding more than $250 million in salaries by acquiring Beckett, Crawford, and Gonzalez. L.A. fell short of the postseason that year, losing the division to the Giants. But the Dodgers turned it around to win the NL West the following campaign. As for the Red Sox, they retooled in 2013 and secured the franchise's eighth World Series title thanks to David Ortiz and the "Boston Strong" movement.