Joe Rudi
The case of Joe Rudi is an interesting one as he was acquired by the Red Sox twice but only played for them once. A core member of the Kansas City, and then Oakland Athletics from 1967 to 1976, Rudi was a big part of the A’s teams that won five straight division titles and three straight World Series in the first half of the 1970s.
During the 1976 season, A’s owner Charles Finley sold Rudi and future Hall of Fame relief pitcher Rollie Fingers to the Red Sox for $1 million each in order to avoid losing them for nothing in free agency. Rudi and Fingers reported to the Red Sox and even posed for photographs in their new uniforms, but then-commissioner Bowie Kuhn voided the deals and they never played a game for Boston.
Rudi ended up signing with the California Angels in 1977 and played for them until 1981 when he was traded to the Red Sox for Fred Lynn. In his one and only season in Boston, Rudi only played in 49 games and batted .180 with 6 home runs and 24 RBI, a far cry from his 1970s prime when he was good for 15-20 home runs and 50-100 RBI every year. He went back to the A’s in 1982 to play a final season before retiring.