10 all-time worst trades in Baltimore Orioles history

Trading away Eddie Murray did not work out well for the Orioles

Eddie Murray needs no introduction. He was the hitter's hitter who assembled the bulk of his Hall of Fame resume with the Orioles from 1977 to 1988. During that time, Murray slashed .295/.372/.500 with 333 home runs in 1,820 games for Baltimore. That is what made it all the more shocking when the Orioles decided to trade him to the Dodgers before the 1989 season for Juan Bell, Ken Howell, and Brian Holton.

There were a couple factors in play with this move. Murray's relationship with the team was at an all-time low after there was some disagreement over whether he was being pushed too hard to return from an injury and Baltimore's owner questioning his play considering how much money he was making. Murray's contract also made it difficult for the team to build their roster the way they wanted. Unfortunately, none of the guys they got in return for him amounted to much and Murray would play in the league until 1997 and add another 171 homers to his tally and slash .275/.341/.440 the rest of his career.

The Orioles trade for Reggie Jackson was a disaster

A lot of younger fans won't remember that Reggie Jackson actually played for the Orioles for the 1976 season, but he absolutely did and he was quite good for them. To acquire his services for that one season, Baltimore had to trade away Don Baylor, Mike Torrez, and Paul Mitchell and that is where the fundamental problem with this deal comes.

Jackson was legitimately good for the Orioles in 1976 as he slashed .277/.351/.502 with 27 home runs in 134 games in Baltimore. The issue was that he was almost always going to be a rental and was a mortal lock to hit free agency and command big-time money. Meanwhile, Baylor would go on to have a very nice 19 year career including winning MVP in 1979 with the Angels. Torrez would remain a rotation staple through the 1983 and remain very solid in the nine seasons he played after leaving Baltimore.

The Orioles traded away Frank Robinson after getting him as a gift

This is a wild one as the Orioles getting Frank Robinson in the first place was an absolute gift when they were able to make a trade with the Reds to acquire him. In his six seasons with the Orioles from 1966 to 1971, Robinson put up video game numbers including a .300/.401/.543 line with 179 home runs. However, Baltimore decided late in his career that Frank was becoming expendable and ultimately decided to trade him along with pitcher Pete Richert to the Dodgers for Doyle Alexander, Sergio Robles, Bob O'Brien, and Royle Stillman.

Robinson was definitely in the twilight of his career, but he remained productive for a couple more seasons after the trade including the 1973 season where he posted an .861 OPS. Unfortunately for the Orioles, none of the guys they got back for the future Hall of Famer did much in Baltimore with only Doyle Alexander seeing much time in the big leagues and even then, the bulk of his success came after he left the organization during the 1976 season.