PITTSBURGH (93.7 The Fan) – With all of the buzz of the NBA trade of Anthony Davis for Luca Doncic, is there a trade like that in Pittsburgh sports history? There have been some big move over time including Jerome Bettis, Ron Francis, Andy Van Slyke, but those are decades old. Here are the best trades in Pittsburgh sports since 2000.
5. Pirates add Rookie of the Year
· Brian Giles was coming off a 38-home run, 103 RBI, 1.072 OPS season in 2002 and finances come into play. Pirates management thought they wouldn’t be able to afford the left-handed outfielder, so they sent him mid-season to San Diego. On the premise sending because of money always sucks, but they got back Jason Bay and left-handed starter Oliver Perez. In his first full season with San Diego the home run numbers dropped by 15 and kept dropping, while Bay was the National League Rookie of the Year. Before he was later dumped for money concerns, Bay would hit 139 home runs, drive in 452 in 719 games with a .890 OPS. In his first full year with the Pirates, Perez led the majors in strikeouts per nine innings with 11 finishing with a 2.98 ERA and a 5.7 WAR. Perez would be shipped off two years later to the Mets for Xavier Nady. Bay was part of a three-team trade that included Manny Ramirez to the Dodgers, while the Pirates return would never make a best trade list.
4. Steelers trade for McFadden nets best receiver ever
· A two-time Super Bowl champ with the Steelers, GM Kevin Colbert traded a fifth-round pick to Arizona to get corner Bryan McFadden back as he would start 16 games helping the Steelers win another AFC Championship. They also acquired Arizona’s sixth-round pick, which they used to select Antonio Brown. In 103 starts, Brown amassed 11,207 yards and 74 touchdowns leading the league in seven different categories during his time with the Steelers. He gave the Steelers a chance to win a title every year. Brown averaged 15.6 yards-per-catch in the postseason and the one playoff game he missed, the Steelers lost in overtime at Denver. This trade would rank higher given a title or a more amenable ending.
3. Pirates trade for AJ Burnett
· It’s the offseason in 2012 and this time it’s the Yankees looking to dump salary, or just get rid of a player. They sent AJ Burnett to the Pirates with cash for Exicardo Cayones and Diego Moreno. Burnett brought an attitude to the Pirates. At age 35 he transformed his career and the Bucs organization. He went from 11-11 in 2011 with a 5.15 ERA and league-leading 25 wild pitches with the Yankees to three seasons with the Pirates where he won 35 games, 3.34 ERA, 532 strikeouts and a 1.26 WHIP. The best numbers he had with any franchise in his career. Batman not only made the clubhouse believe, but the fan base as well while he seemed to soak up every minute. This could be the best trade on the list, and one of the best in baseball history, if the Bucs had won a World Series.
2. Phil Kessel to the Pens
· After winning the Stanley Cup in 2009-10, it had been 5 years with nothing but playoff disappointments with a core of legendary players still in their prime. Pens needed a spark, in 2014-15, they finished in fourth place with only 43 regular season wins and out in the first round. They were 18th in goals and a third line with Nick Spaling, Brandon Sutter and Steve Downie. GM Jim Rutherford traded Spaling, first-round pick Kasperi Kapanen, Scott Harrington and a first-and-third-round pick for Phil Kessel. It was a risk, reports of Kessel not training hard, being out of shape. He was a minus 34 in 2014-15 with Toronto. His shot was the spark the Pens needed to help win back-to-back Stanley Cups where he scored 49 goals with 80 assists in the regular season on the best third line in hockey. He would score five power play goals each of the Cup winning years finishing with 18 postseason goals and 27 assists on those pair of championship teams.
1. Steelers trade up for Troy
· Needing a difference maker on defense after getting close, but not breaking through to a return to the Super Bowl, Colbert traded the 27th overall pick in 2003, plus the third and sixth round picks to Kansas City to move up 11 spots and select USC safety Troy Polamalu. It was a risk, Polamalu had concussion history in college, but he would go on to play a huge role in the Steelers winning three AFC Championships and two Super Bowl titles and to date is one of only two players from the 2003 draft in the Pro Football Hall of Fame.