On Dec. 17, 2004, the Los Angeles Dodgers backed out of making a blockbuster trade with the New York Yankees and Arizoa Diamondbacks that would have seen Shawn Green, Brad Penny and Randy Johnson switch teams.
The trade was set to send Johnson and Kazuhisa Ishii to the Yankees, Green and Penny to the Diamondbacks, with Jose Vazquez and other prospects going to the Dodgers. The deal was nearly completed until it seemingly fell apart at the 11th hour.
Despite the holdup, Johnson and Green were both eventually traded to the Yankees and Diamondbacks, respectively.
Later in the month, the Yankees acquired the future Hall of Famer from the Diamondbacks for Javier Vazquez, Brad Halsey, Dioner Navarro and cash. New York also followed by signing Johnson to a two-year contract extension.
On Jan. 11, 2005, the Dodgers traded Green to the Diamondbacks in exchange for William Juarez, Danny Muegge, Beltran Perez and Navarro, marking the end of an eight-year tenure for the star outfielder. The deal was also contingent on Arizona and Green agreeing to an extension, which amounted to a three-year, $32 million contract.
With the Dodgers, Green hit .280/.366/.510 with 183 doubles, 12 triples, 162 home runs and 509 RBI over 798 games, but his time in Arizona was short-lived as he was traded to the New York Mets on Aug. 22, 2006.
Of the prospects the Dodgers acquired, Navarro was the only one to receive MLB play time with L.A. He debuted in 2005 with a solid rookie year, but he was traded to the Tampa Bay Devil Rays in June of 2006. Navarro later returned to the Dodgers organization for one more season in 2011.
Juarez never advanced past Triple-A while with the Dodgers and Muegge topped out at Double-A. Perez became a free agent after the 2005 season and went on to sign with the Washington Nationals, where he made his MLB debut the following year.
Although the return ended up being less than ideal in the trade that was ultimately agreed to, the Dodgers made the right decision by backing out of the three-team trade and keeping Penny. The right-hander became an important part of the rotation in 2005 and ended up pitching five seasons for the club.
He threw 678.2 innings with the Dodgers, earning two All-Star selections and finishing third in Cy Young voting during the 2007 season.
Dodgers prospect Jeren Kendall retires
Dodgers prospect Jeren Kendall, who the team selected No. 23 overall in the first round of the 2017 MLB Draft, has decided to retire.
The center fielder out of Vanderbilt University was widely regarded as one of the top overall prospects in the Draft entering his junior season, but his stock fell after he struck out 74 times in 63 games, which had scouts questioning Kendall’s ability to make contact.
Still, the Dodgers took a chance on him due to his elite athleticism and MLB-ready defensive ability hoping they could help the offense come along with swing changes and mechanical tweaks. Kendall had star potential if he became even an average Major League hitter. However, it never quite worked out.
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