Yankees Let One Get Away

NEW YORK, NEW YORK - The New York Yankees traded a young prospect named Mike Lowell to the Florida Marlins on this day in baseball in 1999. They got three minor league pitchers in return; Mark Johnson, Eddie Yarnall and Todd Noel. Lowell became (as of this writing) a 4-time all-star and has two World Series rings, one as Most Valuable Player. Eddie Yarnall appeared in just seven games for the Yankees and was out of baseball by 2001. Mark Johnson was picked up by the Detroit Tigers after never making it out of the Yankees farm system. He appeared in handful of games for the Tigers in 2000, but he too was out of baseball by 2001. Todd Noel never made it to the major leagues and is no where to be found.

With Mike Lowell, and a number of other quality players, the Marlins won their second World Series in 2003 - beating the Yankees. Lowell was traded to the Boston Red Sox after the 2005 season and helped them win the World Series in '07. They made the playoffs in '08 winning the American League Division Series but losing to the Tampa Bay Rays in the AL Championship Series.

If the goal of any move a team makes is to get to the post-season, the Yankees succeeded, more often than Lowell's teams. The Yankees have been to the playoffs nine of the last ten years, appearing in four World Series, winning two of them, but they didn't accomplish any of that with players from the Lowell trade. The odds are Yankee fans probably still regret what was announced February 1, 1999.

Contributing Sources:
Yankees post season
Marlins post season
Red Sox post season