6 franchise-altering MLB trades made in August

While MLB's July non-waiver trade deadline tends to get all the attention, August has had its fair share of franchise-altering deals.

This year's action got underway Saturday, when the Pittsburgh Pirates traded for Sean Rodriguez, before the Seattle Mariners acquired Yonder Alonso on Sunday.

Though the Rodriguez move seems minor, these trades can be the difference between missing the playoffs and clinching a pennant. But teams must be wary of trading away top prospects or unheralded players, as they might just turn into superstars somewhere else.

Here are six of the most memorable August trades in MLB history:

1987: Tigers send Smoltz to Braves

Trying to leapfrog the first-place Toronto Blue Jays, the Detroit Tigers brought in Doyle Alexander to bolster their pitching staff. The Atlanta Braves didn’t receive much for Alexander, or so they thought, acquiring John Smoltz, who'd pitched to a 5.68 ERA in 130 innings with the Tigers’ Triple-A affiliate.

Alexander went 9-0 with a 1.53 ERA in 11 regular-season games, but collapsed in the playoffs against the Minnesota Twins. Smoltz didn’t struggle for long. After fixing his command issues, he became a Hall of Famer for the Braves, recording 213 wins, 154 saves, and 66.5 WAR over his illustrious 21-year career.

1990: Astros swap Andersen for Bagwell

Going for their third AL East title in five years, the Boston Red Sox traded Double-A prospect Jeff Bagwell to the Houston Astros for right-hander Larry Andersen to strengthen their bullpen. Andersen pitched in 15 games, registering a 1.23 ERA and leading the Red Sox to the postseason, but he blew a save in Game 1 of the ALCS against the Oakland Athletics. Bagwell went on to have a Hall of Fame career, hitting .297/.408/.540 with 449 homers in 15 memorable years with the Astros.

1992: Blue Jays deal Kent for Cone

Loading up for a playoff push, the Blue Jays brought in New York Mets ace David Cone to complete an already dangerous roster. Toronto certainly gave up a lot, flipping borderline Hall of Fame second baseman Jeff Kent and outfielder Ryan Thompson to the Mets for just seven regular-season starts from Cone. But the righty pitched to a 3.22 ERA in 22.1 playoff innings, including the World Series-clinching Game 6. Unfortunately for the Mets, Kent didn’t round into form until joining the San Francisco Giants in 1997.

1992: Oakland ships Canseco to Rangers

With a 7 1/2-game lead over the second-place Minnesota Twins, the Athletics did the unthinkable, trading Jose Canseco to the Texas Rangers just hours before the 1992 August trade deadline.

Owed $13.6 million over the next three seasons, the A’s offloaded the superstar for outfielder Ruben Sierra and pitchers Jeff Russell and Bobby Witt. It’s not often a first-place team sells off a 27-year-old franchise icon under team control, but Oakland has always been full of surprises. Canseco hit .269/.363/.512 with 45 home runs in two-and-a-half injury-plagued seasons with the Rangers, while Sierra, Russell, and Witt combined for 1.5 WAR with the Athletics.

2008: Blue Jays acquire Bautista

"This guy isn't like Mike Schmidt … He's not going to come out and hit 40 home runs," then-Blue Jays general manager JP Ricciardi said after dealing for Jose Bautista on Aug. 21, 2008. Ricciardi certainly didn't know he was sitting on a gold mine when he acquired the then-27-year-old third baseman from the Pirates for a PTBNL.

Pittsburgh would later receive catcher Robinzon Diaz, who hit one home run in 43 career games with the Pirates. Bautista, conversely, has hit 281 home runs in 10 years with Toronto and is one day assured a spot on the Blue Jays’ Level of Excellence.

2012: Red Sox dump Crawford, Beckett, Gonzalez, Punto

Red Sox GM Ben Cherington orchestrated one of the most shocking salary dumps in recent memory, trading Adrian Gonzalez, Josh Beckett, Carl Crawford, and Nick Punto to the Los Angeles Dodgers for James Loney and four prospects. Boston didn’t receive much from the deal, but cleared $264 million in salary and kick-started a rebuild that resulted in a World Series championship just a year later. Gonzalez, Beckett, Crawford, and Punto all had varying degrees of success in L.A., but combined for 19.5 WAR.

(Photos courtesy: Action Images)