A Future Blockbuster

Three years ago on this date, a future blockbuster deal was completed by the Candy Colored Clowns and David’s Ruffins.  

I say “future” blockbuster because at the time the key components of the trade were a couple of highly regarded but unproven rookies. When Rich reported the deal on the Front Office Blog, he described it as “an interesting trade,” which was probably an apt description.

However, if the same deal were made today, just three years later, it would be huge news. We’d be talking about the swap of two All Star hitters, both of whom are not only among the Top 20 hitters overall, but are now each the premiere hitter at their position … positions that are both among the weakest-hitting in the game.

If you haven’t figured it out yet, on May 9, 2010, David’s Ruffins traded catcher Buster Posey and their 14th round pick in the 2011 Rotation Draft to the Candy Colored Clowns for shortstop Starlin Castro and their 8th round pick in the 2011 Rotation Draft.

Castro had only made his major league debut just two days before this deal was reported. Posey had a bit more time under his belt, having accrued 17 AB in 7 games at the end of the 2009 season, but he had started 2010 back in the minors and was still there at the time of the deal, though he was called up to the majors within a few weeks.

Castro and Posey both had excellent seasons in 2010, both of them finishing in the Top 5 in Rookie of the Year voting, with Posey taking the honors:

Posey: .357 OBP – 205 TB – 58 RS – 67 RBI – 0 SB
Castro: .347 OBP – 189 TB – 53 RS – 41 RBI – 10 SB

Since then, of course, both players have continued to grow, with Posey advancing a bit ahead of Castro so far, winning the NL MVP award in 2012, though he is 4 years Castros’ senior.

So how has the trade worked out for the Clowns and Ruffins?

Posey has been a key cog for the Clowns since they acquired him, and they have since signed him to a long term contract through the 2014 season. Posey’s already paid dividends on that payoff as his MVP season in 2012 coincided with the Clowns’ first CFCL Championship.

As a matter of fact, Castro contributed to a Championship for the Ruffins as well, albeit less directly. Starlin spent less than a month with the Ruffins. He put up decent stats in that time, but the Ruffins were in a pennant race and when they had the chance to acquire two rock-solid outfielders, they didn’t hesitate to include their young shortstop in a the deal. On June 2, 2010, the Ruffins sent Castro, along with pitchers Mike Leake and Sergio Romo plus outfielder Tyler Colvin to Dem Rebels for Andrew McCutchen and Adam Dunn.

The deal paid off for the Ruffins, as Dunn and McCutchen helped power the Ruffins to their third CFCL title – finishing just 7 points ahead of the Candy Colored Clowns.