Boston Red Sox: Remembering the best trades in franchise history
By Drew Athans
Orlando Cabrera
This trade is as much about the Red Sox making a defensive upgrade at shortstop as it is addition by subtraction. Nomar Garciaparra was one of the best and most popular Red Sox players of the 1990s and early 2000s, but by 2004 had turned into a bit of a problem.
He was upset about his contract status heading toward free agency and felt like the Red Sox had low-balled him when they offered him an extension. He was also battling injuries and was no longer an everyday player. Wishing to improve the team’s defense at shortstop (and the mood in the clubhouse), Nomar was traded at the deadline in a four-team deal.
In return, the Red Sox got shortstop Orlando Cabrera from the Montreal Expos while Nomar ended up with the Cubs. While Cabrera would only spend 58 regular season games and the 2004 postseason with the Red Sox before leaving in free agency at the end of the season, he was a vital part of the World Series winning team.
In those 58 games, he hit .294 with 6 home runs and 31 RBI while playing excellent defense (.966 fielding percentage in Boston). In the 2004 postseason he hit .256 (including .379 in the ALCS) with 11 RBI. There’s no doubt that while Nomar had been a great player for the Red Sox, they probably don’t win the World Series without Cabrera.
Sometimes the trades where you don’t necessarily get the most talent back end up being the best ones you make.