Boston Red Sox pitcher Jamie Moyer was traded at the trade deadline in 1996 for Darren Bragg. Was it the right move?
The Boston Red Sox signed free agent Jamie Moyer to a one-year deal prior to the 1996 season. He had just come off a three year stint in Baltimore where he saw his ERA balloon annually from 3.43 in 1993, to 4.77 in 1994, and finally to 5.21 in 1995. He took a slight pay cut to come to Boston in hopes of resurrecting his career in a new town.
The Red Sox took a chance on the aging lefty for one-year worth $825,000, including a $225,000 signing bonus. Moyer was getting just a little more than half what he got the previous year as an Oriole. Very worth it for the Sox.
As a member of the Red Sox, Moyer recorded a 7-1 record with a 4.50 ERA. While the ERA number wasn’t exactly pretty, he still managed to get a very good record. This wasn’t a flame thrower, adding in the fact that he was 33 wasn’t scaring anyone either. Moyer had given up 14 home runs in 90 innings of work while also managing just 50 strike outs. Teams typically buy into the hype of pitchers with good records. With a 7-1 record in 10 starts, the Seattle Mariners bought into that hype sending Darren Bragg to the Red Sox.
We’ll explore what each player was able to do for their team following the trade. The Mariners and Red Sox made a few trades in the late 90’s and both were very memorable. The first was the famous Moyer for Bragg trade. So again who made out? The team trading for the aging pitcher or the team trading for the youngster in the outfield.