Notable trades from General Managers Meetings

The annual General Managers Meetings in November don’t get as much press as the Winter Meetings a month later, but they give team executives an important opportunity to discuss issues around the league and start thinking in earnest about the directions of their offseasons.

With key decision-makers for every franchise in one place, important work can be done in laying the foundations for key trades, and as such, it’s not uncommon to see major transactions take place at this early stage of the offseason, even before the ink has had a chance to dry on the previous season.

With the 2024 GM Meetings set to begin on Tuesday, here’s a look back at some notable players who were moved during or shortly after this event in recent years.

Jake Odorizzi
Traded Nov. 9, 2022, from Braves to Rangers
The Rangers entered the 2022 GM Meetings adamant about their desire to upgrade their pitching depth and made a one-for-one deal to address it. A few months after being dealt from the Astros to the Braves, Odorizzi was moved back to Texas (along with cash) in a trade that saw the Rangers send left-handed pitcher Kolby Allard to Atlanta. Odorizzi had made 237 starts through his 11-year career but had been beset by injuries and poor performance since his 2019 All-Star campaign with the Twins. The injuries continued after the trade, too, as Odorizzi underwent shoulder surgery prior to the 2023 season and ending up never pitching for Texas. Meanwhile, Allard, a first-round Draft pick by the Braves in 2015, appeared in only four games during his reunion with Atlanta before he was shut down that July with a shoulder injury.

Mike Zunino
Traded Nov. 8, 2018, from Mariners to Rays
Seattle opted to move on from Zunino, the No. 3 overall pick in the 2012 MLB Draft, after six seasons in which the catcher hit .207 with a .682 OPS. Tampa Bay also picked up outfielder Guillermo Heredia and Minor League pitcher Michael Plassmeyer while sending outfielders Mallex Smith and Jake Fraley to the M’s in the trade. The Mariners had previously acquired Smith from the Braves in January 2017, only to turn around and send him to the Rays the same day with Ryan Yarbrough and Carlos Vargas in exchange for Drew Smyly. Zunino hit 51 homers across four seasons for the Rays, with 33 of them coming in 2021.

Ryon Healy
Traded Nov. 15, 2017, from A’s to Mariners
Healy was a young, above-average hitter with pop in his first two seasons with the A’s, but there simply wasn’t room for him in Oakland’s corner infield spots thanks to the breakout campaigns of both Matt Olson and Matt Chapman. And though Oakland slotted Healy into the lineup at designated hitter, it needed to clear that spot for Khris Davis, who struggled as a left fielder. Oakland dealt Healy to the Mariners, receiving bullpen piece Emilio Pagan and Minor League infielder Alexander Campos in return. Healy, whose last MLB appearance came with the Brewers in 2020, had 31 homers, 99 RBIs and a .703 OPS over 180 games with the Mariners.

Jeremy Hellickson
Traded Nov. 14, 2015, from D-backs to Phillies
On the move following the GM Meetings for the second year in a row, Hellickson was acquired by the Phillies two days after the meetings in the first move of general manager Matt Klentak’s tenure. Hellickson was meant to be a stabilizing veteran presence in a young rotation headlined by Aaron Nola, Jerad Eickhoff and Adam Morgan. He proved to be just that for a struggling Phillies team, pitching to a 3.72 ERA in 32 starts, and was soon on the move again in a Trade Deadline deal to the Orioles in 2017.

Craig Kimbrel
Traded Nov. 13, 2015, from Padres to Red Sox
Manuel Margot traded from Red Sox to Padres
Boston gave up four prospects to acquire Kimbrel, an All-Star closer coming off his fifth straight season of 39 or more saves. He ultimately became the bullpen centerpiece of a World Series-winning Red Sox team that ranked among the best in franchise history. None of the four players the Padres got back in the trade (Margot, Logan Allen, Carlos Asuaje and Javy Guerra) are still with the organization. Kimbrel left Boston as a free agent after the 2018 season and pitched for five teams over the next six seasons, recording a 3.90 ERA with 107 saves.

Andrelton Simmons
Traded Nov. 12, 2015, from Braves to Angels
Sean Newcomb and Erick Aybar traded from Angels to Braves
In his four seasons with the Braves, Simmons was a defensive wizard whose bat was still catching up to his otherworldly prowess with the glove. After Billy Eppler acquired him in his first major move as general manager of the Angels, Simmons went on to hit .281 with 36 homers and a .722 OPS in five seasons with the Halos before departing as a free agent. Newcomb was the big prize for the Braves, but the left-hander never reached his potential as a top-of-the-rotation starter.

Aaron Hicks
Traded Nov. 11, 2015, from Twins to Yankees
At the time, this deal seemed like a win-win — two teams swapping talented young players to better address their needs. The Yankees needed youth in their outfield and could afford to part with 24-year-old catcher John Ryan Murphy, with Gary Sanchez waiting in the wings behind Brian McCann. The Twins had too many outfielders, especially with Byron Buxton the heir apparent in center, and thought they had acquired their catcher of the future. Murphy was a flop with the Twins, however, hitting .146 in his lone year in Minnesota while spending most of the year in Triple-A, and was dealt to the D-backs for a relief arm. Hicks spent eight seasons with the Yankees and was a solid contributor for most of his tenure.

Jeremy Hellickson
Traded Nov. 14, 2014, from Rays to D-backs
New D-backs general manager Dave Stewart entered the 2014 offseason needing to acquire starting pitching after finishing with the worst record in the big leagues. In his first major move with the team, Stewart acquired Hellickson, the former AL Rookie of the Year, after the right-hander had spent the first five seasons of his career with the Rays, sending low-level prospects Andrew Velazquez and Justin Williams to Tampa Bay in return. He wasn’t done, though — later in the offseason, he shipped Didi Gregorius to the Yankees and netted Robbie Ray in return, and acquired Zack Godley in a deal that sent Miguel Montero to the Cubs. Hellickson had a 4.62 ERA in 27 starts before Stewart sent him to Philadelphia exactly a year later.

Devon Travis
Traded Nov. 13, 2014, from Tigers to Blue Jays
Anthony Gose traded from Blue Jays to Tigers
Travis hit .301 with 19 homers and an .811 OPS over 163 games in his first two seasons with the Blue Jays, but injuries derailed his career and he retired in 2021. Gose spent a pair of seasons with the Tigers, but in order to keep his career going, he converted from a center fielder to a left-handed pitcher with a 100-mph fastball and made it back to the Majors with Cleveland in 2021.

Francisco Cervelli
Traded Nov. 12, 2014, from Yankees to Pirates
Justin Wilson traded from Pirates to Yankees
Both Cervelli and Wilson were swapped by clubs that went on to win Wild Card berths the following season, as the Yankees lost to the Astros in the AL Wild Card Game while the Pirates fell to the Cubs in the National League. Wilson pitched well for the Yankees in ’15, posting a 3.10 ERA over 74 relief appearances, as well as 1 1/3 scoreless innings in the AL Wild Card Game, but New York dealt him to Detroit that offseason. By contrast, Cervelli spent five years with the Pirates, taking over for Russell Martin as the team’s starting catcher and hitting .264 with 26 homers and a .735 OPS over 450 games.

Dan Uggla
Traded Nov. 16, 2010, from Marlins to Braves
Omar Infante traded from Braves to Marlins
Uggla was a two-time All-Star with a penchant for home runs and strikeouts, heading toward free agency when the Marlins dealt him to the Braves in 2010. Though he would be named an All-Star once more in ’12, Uggla’s best days were behind him, and Atlanta released him in July 2014, after which he played in only 71 games the rest of his career. Infante would only play with the Marlins for a season and a half before Miami traded him to the Tigers along with Anibal Sanchez.

Brad Lidge
Traded Nov. 7, 2007, from Astros to Phillies
Michael Bourn traded from Phillies to Astros
Lidge had two strong seasons with Houston from 2004-05, posting a 2.07 ERA with 71 saves. But he struggled in ’06, with his ERA ballooning to 5.28 for the 82-80 Astros, a season after reaching the World Series. Though he would improve in ’07, Philadelphia sought to get something in return for him as he neared free agency, and dealt him for Bourn. In his first season with the Phillies, Lidge posted a 1.95 ERA with 41 saves to help the franchise win its first World Series title in 28 years. Bourn stole 193 bases and won two NL Gold Glove Awards in center field for the Astros over three-plus seasons before Houston traded him to Atlanta in ’11.

A.J. Pierzynski
Traded Nov. 14, 2003, from Twins to Giants
Boof Bonser, Francisco Liriano and Joe Nathan traded from Giants to Twins
This trade will be remembered most for the Twins making Nathan their closer after he had made 92 career relief appearances for San Francisco. Nathan saved 44 games with a 1.62 ERA in his first season with Minnesota, and went on to notch 260 saves with a 2.16 ERA over seven seasons for the Twins. Liriano made his big league debut with the Twins in ’05, and posted a 4.33 ERA over seven seasons before being traded to the White Sox in ’12. Bonser had a four-year MLB career, three of which came for Minnesota, during which he had a 5.12 ERA. Pierzynski spent only one season with the Giants, one of seven clubs he played for during his career. He slashed .272/.319/.410 with 11 homers in 131 games in ’04, and signed with the White Sox as a free agent that offseason.

Mike Hampton and Juan Pierre
Traded Nov. 16, 2002, from Rockies to Marlins
Charles Johnson and Preston Wilson traded from Marlins to Rockies
When Hampton signed an eight-year, $121 million contract with the Rockies on Dec. 12, 2000, it was the largest contract in MLB history at the time. But Hampton’s Colorado tenure was short-lived, as the left-hander was unable to replicate the success he had previously with the Astros and Mets, posting a 5.75 ERA over two seasons. Pierre was heading into his fourth Major League season after stealing 110 bases in 359 career games with Colorado. Though he would play three seasons with the Marlins, including the ’03 World Series championship, Hampton was traded just two days later, to the Braves. Johnson was a well-established catcher with four Gold Glove Awards when he was sent to Colorado, but he would also only play a pair of seasons with his new club. Wilson had a resurgent year in ’03 with the Rockies, being named an All-Star for the first time and driving in an NL-best 141 runs. Colorado traded him to the Nationals in July 2005.