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Baltimore Orioles: Ten Trades We Wish Were April Fools’ Jokes

ByNick Stevens|
25 Jun 1998: Steve Finley #12 of the San Diego Padres looks on during an interleague game against the Seattle Mariners at Qualcomm Stadium in San Diego, California. The Padres defeated the Mariners 2-0. Mandatory Credit: Todd Warshaw /Allsport
25 Jun 1998: Steve Finley #12 of the San Diego Padres looks on during an interleague game against the Seattle Mariners at Qualcomm Stadium in San Diego, California. The Padres defeated the Mariners 2-0. Mandatory Credit: Todd Warshaw /Allsport
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Baltimore Orioles
Dennis Martinez pitching for the Montreal Expos during the Major League Baseball National League West game against the San Diego Padres on 25 July 1993 at Jack Murphy Stadium, San Diego, California, United States. The Expos won the game 5 – 4. (Photo by Jed Jacobsohn/Allsport/Getty Images)

Baltimore Orioles trade starting pitcher Dennis Martinez to the Montreal Expos.

A four-time All-Star and the first major league baseball player to be born in Nicaragua, Dennis Martinez pitched for 23 seasons in a big league uniform, spending time with the Baltimore Orioles, Montreal Expos, Cleveland Indians, Atlanta Braves, and Seattle Mariners.

Logging 3,999.2 career innings and 243 major league wins, Martinez posted a 5.7 bWAR season in 1995 with the Indians at the age of 41. However, nearly a decade earlier, Martinez was facing a fork in the road and a possible end to his major league career.

After 11 seasons and 108 wins with the Orioles, Martinez was traded (along with catcher John Stefero)  to the Expos on June 16, 1986, for utility infielder Rene Gonzales. Gonzales went on to play in 267 games across four seasons for the O’s, hitting .221 with a .275 OBP.

Meanwhile, Martinez spent eight seasons in Montreal, was elected to three All-Star games, recorded four seasons of a sub-3.00 ERA, and won an even 100 games. A 9.6 bWAR player for the Baltimore Orioles, Martinez accumulated 30.0 bWAR for the Expos.

The Orioles had been shopping El Presidente for some time and were planning on releasing him before finding a trade partner in Montreal after failing to finish with an ERA under 5.00 for three-straight seasons. It’s a tale as old as baseball it seems, pitcher rejuvenates career after being traded from Baltimore.

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