D-backs acquire infielder Aaron Hill from the Blue Jays
On August 23, 2011, Toronto traded Aaron Hill and John McDonald to the Arizona Diamondbacks in exchange for second baseman Kelly Johnson…
This trade seemed even at the time but ended up working out in the D-backs favor. After the trade deadline in 2011, Hill played 33 games for Arizona. In that time he hit 12 doubles, 2 HRs, 16 RBIs, and recorded an OPS of .878. In 4 full seasons with the D-backs (2012-2015), Hill hit 109 doubles, 53 HRs, 225 RBIs, and owned a .435 slugging percentage. Hill was a solid everyday second baseman in Phenoix. Acquiring Hill worked out but acquiring McDonald, not so much. In two seasons with the D-backs, McDonald only played 89 games. 70 of those 89 games came in 2012 where he recorded a weak OBP of .295. After the 2012 season, McDonald was traded to the Pittsburgh Pirates…
Kelly Johnson did not become a fan favorite in Toronto. In 33 games after the trade in 2011, Johnson got off to a good start with his new team as he slashed .270/.364/.417 for a .781 OPS. In his one and only full season in a Blue Jays uniform, however, he struggled. In 142 games in 2012, Johnson batted .225 and finished the season with an OPS of .678. After the 2012 season, the Blue Jays did not resign him and Johnson signed a one-year deal with the Rays…
The Big Unit returns to Arizona
In January 2007, the Yankees traded Johnson back to the Diamondbacks, almost two years to the day that Arizona had traded him to New York, for a package of Luis Vizcaíno, Alberto González, Steven Jackson, and Ross Ohlendorf…
The legend himself was back! In Johnson's second stint with Arizona (2007-2008), he went 15-13 with a 3.89 ERA and a 1.21 WHIP. In his first stint with the Diamondbacks (1999-2004), Johnson went 103-49 with a 2.65 ERA. He also averaged 11.9 strikeouts per 9 innings. His best season in Phoenix came in 2002; he went 24-5 with a 2.32 ERA and he averaged 11.6 strikeouts per 9 innings. In his illustrious career, Johnson pitched for 5 different teams, won 5 Cy Young awards, one Triple Crown, one WS MVP, 4 ERA titles, and was voted to the all-star game 10 times. His name now resides in the Hall of Fame….
The Yankees return for the big unit was numerous in players, but small in production. Luis Vizcanio had the most success but only pitched one season in NY. In that season, he went 8-2 with a 4.30 ERA in 75.1 relief innings. Alberto Gonzalez only played 40 games with the Yankees; His OPS was .325. Steven Jackson did not pitch a single inning in the pinstripes and Ross Ohlendorf owned a 6.07 ERA in 46 innings pitched with the Yankees. Getting Johnson back was a celebration in itself, but the Diamondbacks straight up robbed New York blindly here…
The Diamondbacks land a franchise hero
Talk about a robbery. In 1999, the Tigers traded Luis Gonzalez to the Diamondbacks for Karim García…
It is likely that Luis will always be a fan favorite. Gonzo, as Arizona fans knew him, arguably led this team to their first and currently only world series title. In 1194 games with the D-backs, Gonzo hit 310 doubles, 224 HRs, 774 RBIs, and slashed .298/.391/.529 for an OPS of .919. His best season came in 2001; the year the Diamondbacks won it all. In that season, Gonzalez hit 36 doubles, 57 HRs, 142 RBIs, and slashed .325/.429/.688 for an OPS of 1.117. An unbelievable regular season. He capped off an unbelievable regular season with a game-winning RBI single in game 7 of the World Series versus the Yankees...
Karim Garica must have felt like a failure. In his one and only full season in Detroit, Garica played 96 games, hit 10 doubles, 14 HRs, 32 RBIs, and recorded an OPS of .729. That would end up being his best offensive season in the bigs…