Reason behind the trade
The Red Sox were adamant about solidifying their bullpen. Boston needed to get an extra arm come playoff time in order to have a shot at beating the A’s. The reason why Bagwell was viewed as “expendable” (it truly pains me to use that word) is because Mo Vaughn was set to become the first baseman for the Red Sox of the future. Vaughn was the 1st round selection of the ’89 draft and Bagwell was taken in the 4th round. Vaughn had also put up bigger numbers than Bagwell had in 1990 and at AAA in comparison to AA. To the Red Sox, the trade made sense.
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Vaughn had more value between the two with Bagwell still playing at the AA level. There was no question that Bags was the best hitter for the New Britain Red Sox in 1990. While he crushed AA ball, it didn’t automatically translate to dominating major league pitching. Just imagine, what if the Red Sox had never traded Bagwell away to Houston and had Mo Vaughn playing at the same time? Two MVP caliber first basemen? This could have been the original David Ortiz and Manny Ramirez one-two punch for the Sox in the 90’s.
Vaughn as the DH and Bagwell at first base? Defensively Bagwell was better. Bags could also play multiple positions as he had experience playing second and third base. It would theoretically allow both guys to get a day off and play DH. Was this a royal mistake? Both had great careers in the mid to late 90’s. Only one of the two continued playing at a high level past the year 2000.
We’ll take a painful trip down memory lane to look back at both Andersen and Bagwell’s numbers and then explain why the Jeff Bagwell for Larry Andersen trade was a mistake. We’ll find out if this was one of the worst moves in history or the worst trade in Red Sox history.