Blue Jays Trade History Part 4: Roberto Alomar

In 2011 Roberto Alomar became the first person to enter the Hall-Of-Fame as a Blue Jay, but before that, he was part of one of the biggest trades in Blue Jays history in 1990.

In my last post I mentioned that the Blue Jays made two trades in 1990 that changed the course of the franchise. The first was when the Jays got outfielder Devon White. The second was when they got 1993 World Series hero Joe Carter, and future hall-of-fame second baseman Roberto Alomar from the San Diego Padres.

Although they had to give up some talented players in order to make the trade happen, it’s hard to argue with how it worked out for the franchise.

This is what the trade looks like:

Dec. 5, 1990

To Toronto: Joe Carter, OF, Roberto Alomar, 2B

To San Diego: Fred McGriff, 1B, Tony Fernandez, SS

At the time of this trade, there were likely mixed feelings. Fernandez was a fan-favourite, while Carter and Alomar were great players, but not at the level they would approach once they came to the Jays.

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I mentioned McGriff as the key piece in the first major Jays trade that happened back in 1982. He was also a key piece in this trade, but this was because he was a known commodity. The season prior to the trade, he hit .300, with 35 home runs and 88 RBI for a 5.2 WAR, which isn’t bad. But it was not too close to the 6.6 WAR he put up in 1989.

With the Padres, McGriff had a league-leading 35 home runs in 1992, while winning a silver slugger. He was traded in the 1993 season to Atlanta. Because of the value McGriff brought offensively, the Jays were able to get another offensive machine in Carter. And with John Olerud coming up, it was easy to replace McGriff at first.

Tony Fernandez has become one of the most-loved Jays of all-time. Fans appreciated the heart and hustle he played with, and were a bit saddened to hear he had been traded. Prior to the trade he hit .276, with four home runs and 66 RBI, and a league leading 17 triples. This was also the first season since 1986 that he didn’t win the gold glove at shortstop, ending a four year run. He did end up coming back to the Jays in 1993 through a different trade. With the Padres he got an All-Star berth in 1992. Because of the defence and offence that Alomar brought, they were able to trade Fernandez with no worries.

Joe Carter is one of the best-known names among Jays fans, casual and hardcore alike. This is because of his walk-off home run in game six of the Word Series in 1993. With the Jays, he was an all-star five times, top 12 in MVP voting four times, and a silver slugger twice. He finished with 203 home runs as a Jay. Touch ’em all Joe.

Despite Carter being in this trade, the “piece de resistance” is Roberto Alomar. In five seasons with the Jays he won five gold gloves, was an All-Star every season, and was sixth place in MVP voting his first three years with the club. He was also a very key piece in the back-to-back World Series championships.

Next: Blue Jays were reportedly a finalist for Derek Norris

The Jays won this trade hands down, because they got their first and second championships with these two pieces being the best players, and they got their first hall-of-fame player.