With all of the rumors circulating about who is on the trade market, we take a look back at some good and not so good trades the Kansas City Royals have made during the month of July. Historically the Royals have not often been a buyer in July and more often have been a seller. More often than not it tends to not work out well for Kansas City.
We now take a look back at some of the best and worst trades made at the deadline-
Top 5 Best July Royals Trades
1) 7/29/97 Royals trade P Jamie Brewington to the Milwaukee Brewers for Jason Grimsley
Brewington wouldn't appear in the majors again until 2000, sporting just a 5.36 ERA in 26 games of relief for the Indians, while Grimsley played in 251 games over four years with the Royals. While his record was just 10-21, he posted a 3.94 ERA in 253.1 innings
2) 7/1/70 Royals trade P Chris Zachary to the St. Louis Cardinals for P Ted Abernathy
Zachary went 3-10 with St. Louis in 1971 and would only pitch 50.1 innings in the big leagues after 1971. Meanwhile Abernathy was 16-13 in 144 games with Kansas City with a 2.31 ERA in 195 innings out of the bullpen.
3) 7/31/03 Royals purchase P Al Levine from the Tampa Bay (Devil) Rays for cash
In 2003 the Royals were in the midst of a pennant race and purchased the 35 year-old reliever to help the team down the home stretch. Though he left as a free agent after the 2003 season, Levine had a 2.53 ERA in 21.1 innings as Kansas City tried desperately to stay in the race.
4) 7/25/97 Royals trade OF Tom Goodwin to the Texas Rangers for 3B Dean Palmer.
Goodwin would play 316 games for the Rangers posting a .269/.348/.336 with seven home runs and 85 RBI. He also stole 93 bases before leaving for Colorado as a free agent in 1999. Palmer would play just 201 games for Kansas City before leaving as a free agent in 1998, but he was quite valuable in his time as a Royal. He batted .278/.334/.505 with 43 home runs and 150 RBI. In 1998 he hit 34 home runs and drove in 119, being named to the All-Star team.
5) 7/14/87 Royals trade utility player Juan Beniquez to the Toronto Blue Jays for P Luis Aquino
At the time of the trade Beniquez was 37 years old and would appear in just 66 games for Toronto before retiring. He batted a modest .288 with six home runs and 29 RBI during his time with the Blue Jays. Meanwhile Aquino was 22-19 in five seasons with the Royals splitting his time between the bullpen and starting rotation. He posted a 3.54 ERA before being sold to the Marlins in 1993.
Top 5 Worst July Royals Trades
1) 7/25/01 Royals trade OF Jermaine Dye to the Colorado Rockies for SS Neifi Perez
At the time the Royals traded a 27-year old outfielder who had been an All-Star and Gold Glove winner in 2000 to the Rockies for Perez, who has won a Gold Glove of his own as a shortstop with the Rockies. Dye would go on to hit 216 home runs after leaving the Royals and again be an All-Star in 2006, while finishing fifth in the MVP race for the Chicago White Sox. Perez never found his way with Kansas City and was waived after the 2002 season. His efforts in Kansas City included a .238/.265/.303 line with four home runs and 49 RBI.
2) 7/30/04 Royals trade 3B Jose Bautista to the New York Mets for 1B Justin Huber
Many thought this was a steal at the time, and it was, however it was not exactly as planned. Bautista played just 13 games in his career for the Royals with one RBI before being traded for Huber. Huber has seven RBI's over the course of three seasons for the Royals, but knowing that Jose Bautista would eventually turn into Jose Bautista, it still stings that the Royals made the trade.
3) 7/31/93 Royals trade P Jon Lieber and P Dan Miceli to the Pittsburgh Pirates for Stan Belinda
Belinda was 3-3 and had a 4.83 ERA with the Royals in 60 appearances out the bullpen, while Lieber would win 131 games with a 4.27 ERA over 14 seasons in the majors.
4) 7/31/07 Royals trade P Octavio Dotel to the Atlanta Braves for P Kyle Davies
I actually liked this trade at the time, but it obviously hasn't worked out. Dotel has had ups and down since leaving the Royals but is currently sporting a 3.68 ERA out of the Blue Jays bullpen in 2011. Meanwhile Davies is 29-44 with Kansas City has has a 5.38 ERA, including 1-9 this season with a 7.32 ERA.
5) 7/31/06 Royals trade P Denny Bautista and P Jeremy Affeldt to Colorado for P Scott Dohmann and 1B Ryan Shealy
Another trade that looked like a win at the time, Dohmann had 7.99 ERA in 21 games with the Royals in 2006 before leaving for Tampa Bay. Shealy would hit 17 home runs and have 77 RBI in 123 games with the Royals before leaving in 2009 for the Rays as well. Affeldt, who was struggling with Kansas City at the time, has matured with the San Francisco Giants where he has a 2.87 ERA in 156.2 innings over the last three seasons.