Believe it or not, and there is ample reason to not, former Colorado Rockies GM Jeff Bridich actually got the better of the Tampa Bay Rays in one of the better trades in franchise history.
On January 28, 2016, the Rox moved outfielder Corey Dickerson and prospect Kevin Padlo to Tampa in return for reliever Jake McGee and a prospect pitcher named German Marquez.
At the time, the focus was on the two major leaguers as McGee had been excellent so far in his career, but Dickerson had been as well, leaving many to wonder why Colorado would swap an everyday player for a set-up man.
McGee was up-and-down in Denver as best exemplified by a fantastic 2017 campaign where he posted an ERA+ of 140 and pitched pivotal innings that helped his team reach the Wild Card game…and then a 2018 where he was awful, posting an ERA+ of 73, holding back a team that might otherwise have won the division, ending up tied with the Dodgers.
Dickerson went on to have two solid though not overwhelming years for Tampa, posting 4.4 Wins Above Replacement in a Rays uniform, before being traded for two players who would never suit up for that team.
Padlo, too, never made it with the Rays and was eventually claimed of waivers by a few different teams before being signed by the Angels as a free agent. So far, he has posted -.09 WAR in his career.
Of course, the best player in this deal turned out to be the righty Venezuelan fireballer; Marquez.
Over the next eight seasons (so far) he climbed the Rockies All-Time pitching leaderboards, pitching 1,016 innings for the club, posting an ERA+ of 111 and amassing 16.1 Wins Above Replacement, placing him fourth in franchise history.
Currently recovering from Tommy John surgery, Marquez sits just two strikeouts behind Jorge de la Rosa for the team’s top spot with 983. Also a potential free agent with a team option remaining on his contract, should he return through whatever means, he has a very high chance that he becomes the first pitcher to ever record a thousand strikeouts for the Rockies.
Ultimately, the Rockies got plus 12.7 Wins over Tampa out of the deal and acquired a top five starter in franchise history who still has a chance to become their undisputed greatest.
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