
3. Roberto Alomar
After once again failing to get over the hump and win their first World Series title, the Blue Jays figured it was time to make a big trade to help win them a championship. They did that when they sent Fred McGriff and Tony Fernandez to the Padres in exchange for Roberto Alomar and Joe Carter. This kind of trade is very rare as usually, a team would trade prospects for stars, not swap major league talent.
At the time, that deal didn’t look great. Fernandez was a Jays icon and McGriff had an unbelievable start to his career. However, it ended up paying off big time for the Jays.
In his five seasons as a Blue Jay, Alomar was an All-Star each season and won five Gold Gloves as well. He won the Silver Slugger Award in each of his first three seasons in Toronto and finished sixth in the MVP balloting in each of those three seasons as well.
He slashed .307/.382/.451 with 55 home runs and 342 RBI for the Blue Jays. His best season as a Blue Jay came in 1993 when he posted a .326/.408/.492 line with 17 home runs and 92 RBI. The unreal offensive production along with what he could do in the field made Alomar one of the best players in the game, which is one reason why he is in the Hall of Fame.
He’s second in franchise history in batting average and stolen bases. He had been honored with a spot on the Level of Excellence but was removed due to his sexual misconduct allegations in recent years.