Worst Trade In Recent Memory: Toronto Blue Jays

One of the worst trades in recent memory was when the Toronto Blue Jays traded Noah Syndergaard and Travis d'Arnaud to the New York Mets in December 2012.

Back in 2012, when the Mets dealt R.A. Dickey to the Blue Jays in a package that returned Travis d'Arnaud and @noahsyndergaard, they made a trade that would help define their next era of baseball ⏮ pic.twitter.com/9i1BDC7H1i
— SNY (@SNYtv) December 15, 2020

Syndergaard was a highly regarded pitching prospect at the time and d'Arnaud was considered one of the best catching prospects in the league.

In exchange for Syndergaard and d'Arnaud, the Blue Jays received veteran pitcher R.A. Dickey, catcher Josh Thole, and minor league catcher Mike Nickeas.

While Dickey was coming off a Cy Young Award-winning season, he was 38 years old and had just one year remaining on his contract.

Following the trade, Syndergaard emerged as one of the best young pitchers in the league, earning an All-Star selection in 2016 and helping lead the Mets to the World Series in 2015.

Eight years ago today, the Mets agree to trade R.A. Dickey, Josh Thole, and Mike Nickeas to the Blue Jays for Noah Syndergaard, Travis d’Arnaud, John Buck, and Wuilmer Becerra. pic.twitter.com/h94bHUFQNQ
— Mike Mayer (@mikemayer22) December 16, 2020

D'Arnaud has since gone on to become a solid catcher, and holds a respectable .253/.313/.428 triple-slash line, with 97 home runs, 356 RBIs, and 306 runs scored across 719 games played.

Although neither Syndergaard nor D'Arnaud play for the Mets still, it's still a massive loss for the Blue Jays looking back, seeing the impact the two players had for the Mets.

#OTD in 2012, the Mets agreed to trade 2012 NL Cy Young Award winner R.A. Dickey to the Blue Jays in a seven-player trade that sent Noah Syndergaard and Travis d'Arnaud to New York.

Three years later, they were crucial members of the 2015 Mets that made it to the World Series. pic.twitter.com/0eXI81dyQA
— Metsmerized Online (@Metsmerized) December 16, 2020

On the other hand, Dickey had a mediocre four seasons with the Blue Jays before leaving in free agency, recording a 4.05 ERA, 1.25 WHIP, and averaging 6.6 K/9 across 130 starts.

In addition, Thole and Nickeas never became significant contributors at the major league level. The trade has been widely regarded as a major mistake by the Blue Jays and one of the worse trades in recent MLB history. Photo Credit: Nick Turchiaro-USA TODAY Sports