E-Rod-to-LA the latest blockbuster deal that almost happened

Amidst a flurry of moves at the 2023 MLB Trade Deadline, one of the most notable headlines was a trade that didn't actually happen.

Eduardo Rodríguez, one of the top available starters at the Deadline, invoked his 10-team no-trade clause to block to trade to the Dodgers. The 30-year-old Tigers starter can opt out of the remaining three years and $49 million remaining on his contract after the season.

What other blockbuster deals, whether via free agency or trade, nearly got done before they didn't -- moves that could've significantly altered the course of MLB history?

Here's a look at some of the biggest blockbusters that never happened, but very nearly did:

Roberto Clemente almost signed with the Giants, 1954

Before he ultimately became a legend with the Pirates, Clemente actually signed with the Brooklyn Dodgers in 1954, only to be taken by Pittsburgh in the Rule 5 Draft that winter. The rest is history.

But even before the Dodgers signed him, the Giants were after him, and Brooklyn, surely shuddering at the thought of Clemente joining Willie Mays in the Giants’ outfield, outbid New York for Clemente before letting him get away.

It seems likely Clemente would’ve signed with the Giants if not for the Dodgers swooping in -- he reportedly wanted to play in New York because he had relatives there within the large Puerto Rican community.

The Yankees almost traded Don Mattingly to the Giants for Will Clark, 1988

Talk about a blockbuster “what if?” scenario. Mattingly was the premier first baseman of the mid-1980s, and Clark took that mantle in the latter part of the decade 3,000 miles away. Although both the Yankees’ and Giants’ front offices denied the rumors that this was a deal that almost happened, Peter Gammons -- then writing for Sports Illustrated -- reported that it was, indeed, close to fruition in 1988.

“Mattingly was told during the World Series by sources outside the Yankees that [owner George] Steinbrenner had made a deal with the Giants that would have sent Mattingly and pitcher Rick Rhoden to San Francisco for first baseman Will Clark and pitchers Atlee Hammaker and Craig Lefferts,” Gammons wrote. “But the Giants had backed off trading the two left-handed pitchers when they learned that another San Francisco southpaw, Dave Dravecky, had a tumor on his pitching arm.”

The Yankees almost traded Rickey Henderson to the Giants, 1989

Another big Yankees-Giants “almost-happened” deal? You bet. On June 21, 1989, Henderson was traded to the A’s and helped them win the World Series over their cross-bay rivals, the Giants. But two days earlier, he was nearly dealt to San Francisco.

According to multiple reports at the time, the Man of Steal vetoed a deal reached between the Yankees and Giants that would have sent the all-time stolen base king to San Francisco in exchange for Candy Maldonado and Scott Garrelts.

The Pirates almost traded Barry Bonds to the Braves, 1992

Atlanta’s general manager, John Schuerholz, and the Pirates agreed in principle on a trade that would have sent reliever Alejandro Peña and outfield prospect Keith Mitchell to Pittsburgh for Bonds, who had won the 1990 National League MVP Award and would win his second MVP Award a few months later.

Whoa. Imagine if that had actually come to fruition -- would the Braves have gone better than 1-4 in five World Series appearances during the 1990s? And what would the Pirates have gotten from their return in the exchange?

Peña was very good in 1991, his age-32 campaign, posting a 2.40 ERA in 59 appearances between the Mets and Braves. But over the final five years of his MLB career, his ERA was 4.57. Mitchell, meanwhile, made his big league debut in ’91 for Atlanta, hitting .318/.392/.409 in 74 plate appearances. But he would only appear in 80 games the rest of his MLB career.

All Bonds did from that point through the rest of his career was win six more MVP Awards and set the single-season and all-time home run records.

Barry Bonds almost signed with the Yankees, 1992

Later in the same year as Bonds was nearly dealt to the Braves, and just after his Pirates came up short in their third consecutive NL Championship Series with a crushing loss to the Atlanta, the writing was on the wall: Bonds would be leaving Pittsburgh as a free agent that offseason. What wasn’t written, of course, was where Bonds would sign.

We now know the answer to that question, but it was nearly very different. Bonds told Michael Kay and Alex Rodriguez on their ESPN KayRod simulcast of a Sunday Night Baseball game last September that he was “very close” to signing with the Yankees.

“It was very close for about 15 or 20 minutes,” Bonds said. “ … The Yankees offered me the same contract, I think, that Ryne Sandberg had at the same time [with the Cubs] or a little bit more than that.”

Bonds said that his agent told the Yankees he’d get back to them, and Bonds went out to lunch. By the time he got to the restaurant, the Giants had made an even better offer than New York -- six years and $43.75 million. The rest, as they say, is history.

Greg Maddux almost signed with the Yankees, 1992

What an offseason of “almosts” for the Yankees in ’92. Maddux said on David Cone’s “Toeing the Slab” podcast last year that he was ready to sign with the Yankees after the 1992 season, when he won the first of four NL Cy Young Awards in the final season of his first stint with the Cubs. But apparently someone in New York’s front office had a heart attack as Maddux traveled to the Big Apple to ink a deal with the Yanks, and Maddux never received an offer.

Meanwhile, the Braves were preparing an offer of their own for the right-hander, and since Atlanta was Maddux’s first choice, that’s where he went on a five-year, $28 million deal. Maddux in Yankee pinstripes would’ve been something -- imagine him joining New York’s rotation just before the Yanks would win four World Series titles in five years.

The Yankees almost traded Mariano Rivera to the Mariners for Felix Fermin, 1996

Say what? Remember, now, that at the time this deal almost happened, Rivera had a career 5.51 ERA in 67 Major League innings. The Yankees were also looking for a short-term solution at shortstop until a rookie named Derek Jeter was ready to be the everyday man there -- Jeter was expected to be the Opening Day shortstop, but he wasn’t faring well in Spring Training.

So, enter the Mariners, who were willing to send Fermin to New York for Rivera. Fermin wasn’t a star, but he was serviceable and could potentially hold down the position until Jeter was ready. According to Yankees general manager Brian Cashman, “that decision was something that was, I think, right on the fence.”

Imagine how things might have been different had that deal gone down. Rivera to the Mariners, Fermin opens the 1996 season at short for the Yankees, and Jeter gets sent back to Triple-A or -- gasp! -- traded.

Things worked out OK for the Yanks -- Rivera and Jeter helped them win their first World Series in 18 years that fall, and then helped them win four more en route to a plaque in Cooperstown for each of them.

The Expos almost traded Pedro Martinez to Cleveland for Bartolo Colon, Jaret Wright and prospects, 1997

Pedro could have been winning a pair of Cy Young Awards in 1999 and 2000 in Cleveland instead of Boston. But Cleveland reportedly backed away from this one because it wanted to retain Wright, who was only 21 years old and had just pitched very well in the World Series against the Marlins.

Colon would eventually be traded from Cleveland to Montreal anyway, in the deal that sent him there along with fellow right-hander Tim Drew in exchange for Cliff Lee, Grady Sizemore, Brandon Phillips and Lee Stevens in June of 2002.

Two years after that, Martinez helped the Red Sox win their first World Series since 1918. Meanwhile, Cleveland still hasn’t won it all since 1948.

The Mariners almost traded Ken Griffey Jr. to the Mets, 1999

In December of 1999, the Mariners were in a tough spot -- they wanted to extend the greatest player in franchise history, but he wasn’t ready to sign a new contract due to wanting to be closer to his family in Florida. The Reds seemed to be a cinch for a potential trade, given that Cincinnati was Griffey’s hometown, his father -- who played for the “Big Red Machine” clubs in the mid-1970s -- was a coach for the team, and it was much closer to Orlando than Seattle was.

But a deal with Reds hit a snag, and a window of opportunity opened for the Mets during the Winter Meetings in Southern California. In fact, Seattle and New York reached an agreement in principle, needing only Griffey to sign off on it. The deal would have sent outfielder Roger Cedeño and relievers Octavio Dotel and Armando Benitez to the Mariners in exchange for Griffey.

The Mets were so confident the deal would happen that the front office told veteran Todd Zeile, who wanted to sign with New York, that Griffey was going to be acquired and that would complicate matters with respect to signing Zeile. Zeile was even ready to restructure his contract to make it all work.

But in the end, it didn’t materialize because Griffey vetoed the deal. He eventually did go to the Reds prior to the 2000 season.

The Rangers almost traded Alex Rodriguez to the Red Sox for Manny Ramirez and Jon Lester, 2004

Wow. This deal was very close to the finish line, and had it gotten there, who knows how baseball history might be different?

Texas signed A-Rod to a then-record 10-year, $252 million contract prior to the 2001 season. But the Rangers finished in last place each of the next three seasons and put the superstar shortstop on the trade market. The deal with Boston would’ve been Rodriguez for slugger Manny Ramirez and a left-handed pitching prospect named Jon Lester.

It was nixed, however, when the MLB Players Association objected because in order for it to work, Rodriguez would have to take a pay cut (which he was willing to do).

The Marlins almost traded Miguel Cabrera to the Angels, 2007

Think about this one: Miggy and Vladdy Sr. in the same lineup? It was nearly a reality when the Marlins almost sent the future MVP and Triple Crown winner to Anaheim, where he would’ve teamed up with Hall of Famer Vladimir Guerrero Sr.

It might just have gotten done if the Angels were willing to part with some pitching prospects. According to an ESPN report from back then, that was the hangup. The Marlins’ asking price apparently changed to include more pitching.

Per Jayson Stark, if the Halos threw in Ervin Santana, Joe Saunders or Nick Adenhart in addition to agreed-upon players in the deal -- Howie Kendrick and Jeff Mathis -- Cabrera may very well have wound up in Anaheim rather than Detroit, where he burnished his Hall of Fame credentials.

Another huge “what if?”

The Royals almost traded Zack Greinke to the Nationals, 2010

Until they finally won the World Series in 2019, the Nationals had been unable to get beyond the NL Division Series four times in the previous seven years. Might they have brought home the first World Series championship in franchise history earlier had they landed Greinke prior to the 2011 campaign?

It was close to happening. Greinke himself put an end to the possibility by vetoing the deal because he didn’t think Washington was headed in a winning direction. Instead, Kansas City dealt the former Cy Young Award winner to the Brewers, for whom he’d only make 49 starts before being traded to the Angels.

After finishing out the 2012 season with the Halos, Greinke signed with the Dodgers, for whom he posted a 2.30 ERA over the next three years. The right-hander has remained effective since then, pitching for the D-backs and Astros before returning to the Royals last season.

Carlos Correa nearly signs with the Giants and Mets before landing in Minnesota, 2023

In one of the wildest free-agent sagas we've ever seen, star shortstop Carlos Correa nearly signed megadeals north of $300 million with the Giants and the Mets before ultimately inking a six-year deal with the Twins.

On December 13, Correa agreed to a 13-year, $350 million deal with the Giants, but his introductory press conference was abruptly canceled amid reported concerns regarding the physical. On December 21, Correa instead agreed to a 12-year, $315 million contract with the Mets -- again, pending a physical.

Instead, Correa returned to the Twins on a six-year, $200 million deal. Correa signed a three-year, $105.3 million deal with the Twins prior to the '22 season but opted out after having a strong debut season in Minnesota.