Top 10 MLB Stars the Dodgers Let Slip Away

Since 1958, the Dodgers have made over 500 trades, with some haunting fans for decades.

It seems like the Dodgers have inside information on which prospects they should trade for to build a championship dynasty for many years to come.

Many longtime fans of the team will know that this wasn’t always the case, though, and if there’s ever a time to re-open old wounds, why not two-and-a-half months after winning a World Championship?

Let’s take a look at the Top 10 Dodgers the team let get away.

Brace yourselves – this might sting a little bit.

For the sake of what you’re about to read, Andrew Friedman, the Dodgers’ president of baseball operations, began his tenure with the Dodgers in 2015.

Bonus No. 1. Edwin Jackson

If you remember right-handed pitcher Edwin Jackson, you’ve been along for the ride since the Dodgers drafted him in 2001. He was a highly-touted prospect that made his debut in 2003 as a 19-year-old.

The next two facts are not going to make any sense.

He went on to play three seasons for the Dodgers, the most of any team he’d play for in his 17-year career.

Jackson retired in 2019 after playing for an MLB-record 14 teams!

The Dodgers moved on from Jackson on January 14, 2006, packaging he and reliever Chuck Tiffany to the then Devil Rays (now Rays) for relievers Danys Baez and Lance Carter.

Jackson went 6-4 with a 5.50 ERA, 5.29 FIP and 1.566 WHIP with a 5.7 K/9 in 19 games.

After he left the Dodgers, he went 101-129 with a 4.75 ERA, 4.44 FIP and 1.462 WHIP with a 7.0 K/9 in 393 games from 2006-2019.

Bonus No. 2. Dioner Navarro

There was so much hype surrounding catcher Dioner Navarro as a 16-year-old prospect signed by the Yankees in 2000. He was dubbed the first big prospect of the new century.

Five years later he was traded twice, first to the Diamondbacks alongside pitchers Brad Halsey and Javier Vazquez in exchange for Randy Johnson. Then almost immediately, he was moved to the Dodgers with William Juarez, Danny Muegge and Beltran Perez for outfielder Shawn Green.

Now a 21-year-old, Navarro played in 50 games for the Dodgers, hitting .273/.354/.375 with 3 HRs and 14 RBIs.

Then he got traded again.

Navarro was dealt this time in 2006 to the Devil Rays alongside Justin Ruggiano and starting pitcher Jae-Weong Seo for catcher Toby Hall, left-handed starter Mark Hendrickson and cash.

He had one All-Star season in 2008, where he hit .295/.349/.407 with 7 HRs, 54 RBIs and 43 runs scored in 120 games.

In 2011 he signed a free agent deal to return to the Dodgers for 64 games, but hit .193/.276/.324 with 5 HRs, 17 RBIs and 13 runs scored.

The Dodgers promptly released him shortly after.

In total, Navarro played 13 years for seven different teams, retiring in 2016 at 32 years old.

10. Shane Victorino

The Dodgers drafted Victorino in the 6th round of the 1999 MLB June Amateur draft. He spent five seasons in the Dodgers’ minor-league system before getting drafted by the Phillies in the 2004 Rule 5 Draft.

Victorino, also known as The Flyin’ Hawaiian, went on to hit .279/.345/.439 with 88 HRs, 390 RBIs and 179 steals, including 582 runs scored in eight years and 987 games for the Phillies.

His Phillies tenure included two All-Star appearances and three Gold Gloves in center field.

He, like so many others that left the Dodgers organization, came up to be Dodger killers after leaving the team, doing so especially as the Dodgers and Phillies did battle in the playoffs in the late 2000s.

On July 31, 2012, the Dodgers brought Victorino back to his original team, sending Stefan Jarrin (a player to be named later at the time of trade) and relievers Josh Lindblom and Ethan Martin.

Victorino played in 53 games with the Dodgers, hitting .245/.316/.351 with 2 HRs, 15 RBIs and 15 steals, scoring 26 runs.

He would move on to play for the Red Sox and Angels in the final three years of his big-league career.

9. Nathan Eovaldi

The numbers were never the sexiest for Eovaldi, but he’s been a serviceable pitcher throughout his career, and it’s possible the Dodgers might have given up on him too early.

They drafted him with their 11th round pick in the 2008 MLB June Amateur Draft, and watched him pitch in 10 games (six starts) in 2011, going 1-2 with a 3.63 ERA.

He struggled the following season, though, going 1-6 with a 4.15 ERA in 10 starts.

An opportunity to acquire Hanley Ramirez was on the table, though, and the Dodgers went for it, sending Eovaldi and Scott McGough to the Marlins for Hanley and Randy Choate.

The more I think about this one, it really just makes you think that there might have been another prospect the team could have parted ways with.

He just finished his 13th big-league season, going 12-8 with a 3.80 ERA for the Rangers. He’s a two-time All Star and a World Series champion with the Rangers in 2023.

He’s pitched for six teams in his career, posting a 4.07 ERA, 3.83 FIP and 1.282 WHIP, with a 7.8 K/9.

Hanley was a stud for LA, though, hitting .299/.368/.506 with 43 HRs, 172 RBIs and 31 steals in 278 games, posting a 9.7 WAR.

8. Sid Fernandez

The 3rd Round pick of the 1981 MLB June Amateur Draft, right-hander Sid Fernandez pitched in just two games for the Dodgers, one start, and it did not go well. He allowed four runs and seven hits in 6.0 innings pitched, striking out nine, but walking seven and hitting a batter.

Following the 1983 season, the Dodgers moved Fernandez and Ross Jones to the Mets for Bob Bailor and Carlos Diaz.

Fernandez went on to win 98 games in 10 seasons for the Mets, including a 16-6 campaign in 1986, helping the Mets to win the World Series that year. He was named a National League All Star, posting a 3.52 ERA, 3.01 FIP, 1.233 WHIP and 8.8 K/9 in 32 games.

Bailor hit .261/.295/.297 with no HRs and 15 RBIs for the Dodgers in 139 games over two seasons.

Diaz was a figure in the Dodgers’ bullpen from 1984-86, appearing in 102 games, finishing 47 of them, going 7-3 with a 3.71 ERA, 3.15 FIP and 1.366 WHIP, with a 7.8 K/9 and one save.

The first of many, “what could have been” candidates.

7. Jayson Werth

One of the better trades made by the Dodgers in the early 2000s was immediately offset by one of their biggest blunders of the century.

The Dodgers acquired outfielder Jayson Werth from the Blue Jays in 2004 in exchange for reliever Jason Frasor.

Werth hit .247/.338/.426 with 23 HRs, 90 RBIs and 15 steals, scoring 102 runs and posting a 4.3 WAR in two seasons.

It all fell apart for the Dodgers and Werth from there.

Following the 2005 season, Werth underwent multiple surgeries to repair injuries that had bothered him throughout the previous season. He was given a recovery time of five months.

After that time passed by, he received a second opinion and was diagnosed with a split tear of the ulnotriquetral ligament, which of course needed another surgery to repair his wrist.

It was anticipated that Werth would not play again until Spring Training in 2007.

When then-Dodgers manager Grady Little was asked about an update on Werth’s condition, Little responded, “Who?”

The Dodgers declined to offer a contract in arbitration to Werth in 2007 and he moved on to the Phillies.

In 11 seasons following his exit from the Dodgers, Werth hit .270/.365/.460 for the Phillies and Nationals, hitting 204 HRs, 693 RBIs, 115 steals, 770 runs scored in 1,351 games, posting a 24.7 WAR.

He would earn $136 million over the course of his career.

6. Paul Konerko

A highly-touted prospect coming soon to the Dodgers was the 1st Round, 13th overall pick of the 1994 MLB June Amateur Draft, Paul Konerko.

In fact, the Dodgers had been watching Konerko since he was a 13-year-old prospect in grade school.

He got a chance to showcase the hype in the Bigs, but struggled.

Konerko hit .212/.271/.298 with 4 HRs, 16 RBIs and 14 runs scored in 55 games across the 1997-98 seasons. This all despite hitting .323 with 37 HRs and 127 RBIs in 130 games for Triple-A Albuquerque.

At midseason in 1998, the Dodgers moved on from Konerko, packaging him with left-handed pitcher Dennys Reyes to the Reds for closer Jeff Shaw.

Konerko didn’t pan out with the Reds either; but his next stop was a really good one for him.

He ranks lower on this list as the Dodgers didn’t do terribly in the deal, nor did they watch him blossom on the team they traded him to.

Moving on to the White Sox in 1999, Konerko arrived in a big way.

He spent 16 years in the Windy City, hitting .281/.356/.491 with 432 HRs, 1,383 RBIs and scoring 1,141 runs in 2,268 games, posting a 29.3 WAR. He was named an All Star six times, won the ALCS MVP in 2005 before winning the World Series that same season.

His No. 14 is retired by the White Sox.

Shaw became the closer for the Dodgers for four seasons, converting 129 saves, which sits third all-time in franchise history. His 3.37 ERA, 4.06 FIP and 1.186 WHIP were respectable numbers.

This one wasn’t necessarily a bad trade at the time. It was completely possible that Konerko would never pan out.

A case of ‘it happens’ is probably what it is.

5. Dave Stewart

Perennial Cy Young Award candidate, Dave Stewart began his career in Dodger Blue. He was the 16th Round pick of the Dodgers in the 1975 MLB June Amateur Draft.

Stewart, known throughout his career as “Smoke”, had a brief appearance in 1978 for the Dodgers, and didn’t resurface until 1981.

In pieces of four seasons with the Dodgers, Stewart went 18-13 with a 3.33 ERA, 3.62 FIP, 1.274 WHIP and 5.5 K/9, mainly as a reliever.

Late in 1983, the Dodgers moved on from Stewart, sending him to the Rangers along with Ricky Wright in exchange for All Star starter and future Dodgers pitching coach, Rick Honeycutt.

Stewart was traded again in 1985, this time to the Phillies, who would then release him. He signed as a free agent in 1986 with the A’s and made his name stand out.

Stewart won 116 games for the A’s in six seasons, including posting a 3.60 ERA, an All-Star appearance and a Cy Young runner-up in a World Series campaign in 1989.

4. John Wetteland

The Dodgers drafted the reliever Wetteland with their 2nd Round pick in the 1985 MLB June Amateur Draft and called him up in 1989.

Wetteland’s hype wasn’t realized in Dodger Blue, though. He posted a record of 8-12 with a 3.84 ERA, 3.28 FIP and 1.190 WHIP. He struck out 8.2 batters per 9 in 59 games, starting 17 of them.

Following the 1991 season, the Dodgers traded Wetteland to the Reds along with starter Tim Belcher in exchange for outfielder Eric Davis and starter Kip Gross.

A month later, Wetteland was sent to the Expos. He would never start a big-league game again. He didn’t have to.

Wetteland was electric out of the bullpen, saving as many as 43 games twice en route to 330 saves, which currently ranks 17th all-time in Major League history. He only recorded one of those saves with the Dodgers.

Davis’ best days were behind him by time he arrived in Los Angeles. He hit .232 /.315/.362 with 19 HRs, 85 RBIs and 52 steals in 184 games for the Dodgers in parts of two seasons.

3. Roberto Clemente: One of Baseball’s Best Slipped Away

Yes, that Roberto Clemente. He was technically a Dodger.

Clemente signed with the Brooklyn Dodgers in 1954 and played at Triple-A Montreal for 87 games. There, the 19-year-old hit .257/.286/.372 with 2 HRs, 12 RBIs and a steal.

Due to the fact that the Dodgers gave Clemente a bonus of $10,000 and sent him to the minor leagues, Clemente was eligible to be selected in the Rule 5 Draft, and immediately was selected by the Pirates.

In a big case of “What if?”, Clemente went on to be a 12-time All Star, 12-time Gold Glove winner and an NL MVP.

A career that stemmed 18 seasons saw Clemente hit .317/.359/.475 with 240 HRs, 1,305 RBIs and 83 steals, scoring 1,416 runs in 2,433 games.

Who would have known?

2. Yordan Alvarez: We Hardly Knew Him

The Dodgers signed future AL Rookie of the Year Yordan Alvarez as an international free agent in 2016 for $2 million.

Two months after signing Alvarez, without ever seeing him take one at-bat in the minors, they traded Alvarez to shore up a desperate need for relief pitching, sending him to the Astros for Josh Fields.

In 2019, Alvarez arrived and immediately made a name for himself. He hit .313/.412/.655, becoming one of the game’s most feared hitters, smacking 27 HRs, 78 RBIs and scoring 58 runs in 87 games.

The last four seasons have been more of the same. He’s hitting .296/.387/.571 with 136 HRs, 384 RBIs and 352 runs scored in 540 games played, posting a 19.9 WAR in that timeperiod.

He’ll turn 28 years old in June and is entering the third year of a six-year, $115 million deal he signed in 2022.

Fields was serviceable to the Dodgers, but nowhere near at the cost of a superstar. He went 8-2 with a 2.61 ERA, 3.89 FIP and 1.040 WHIP and 8.8 K/9.

He would be a part of the 2017 World Series team that fell to the Astros in the garbage-banging incident. Alvarez hadn’t suited up for Houston yet.

1. Pedro Martinez: A Dynasty Piece Overlooked and Lost

For as long as I’ve been a Dodger fan, I’ve heard about this trade. Though, I think at some point, numbers one and two will be able to be interchangeable.

The younger (and smaller) brother of Dodgers starter Ramon Martinez, Pedro was overlooked by many because of his stature. Dodgers manager Tommy Lasorda only started him for three games. He was often used in the bullpen in 1993.

His numbers weren’t bad. He went 10-6 with a 2.58 ERA, 2.95 FIP and 1.217 WHIP, with a 9.9 K/9.

After a contract dispute came up with second baseman Jody Reed, the Dodgers found a taker for the younger Martinez, the Expos. The two teams made a trade that is still talked about over 30 years later.

The Dodgers traded Pedro Martinez to the Expos for second baseman Delino DeShields.

Big mistake.

In four years with the Expos, Martinez with 55-33 with a 3.06 ERA, 3.17 FIP and 1.089 WHIP and a 9.5 K/9 in 118 games (117 starts). This included winning the 1997 Cy Young Award, and two All-Star appearances.

He then got moved along to the Red Sox for starters Tony Armas and Carl Pavano.

Then Martinez went to the moon.

In seven years with Boston, Martinez was arguably baseball’s best pitcher, going 117-37 (a whopping .760 win percentage; unheard of), with a 2.52 ERA, 2.45 FIP and 0.978 WHIP and a 10.9 K/9. This in the American League against teams with a designated hitter.

For comparison’s sake, in his best seven-year stretch, Clayton Kershaw from 2011-17 went 118-41 (a .742 win percentage) with a 2.10 ERA, 2.36 FIP and 0.913 WHIP and a 10.1 K/9.

If you remember how dominant Kershaw was in this timeperiod, you understand how the Dodgers messed up and let Pedro go.

Only because I have to, DeShields played 370 games in three seasons for the Dodgers, hitting .241/.326/.327 with 15 HRs, 111 RBIs, 114 steals and 192 runs scored.

That hurt to revisit.

Your Turn: Which trade do you wish the Dodgers would never had made? How would this have changed Dodger history? Tell us below in the comments!