Biggest stars who reunited on new teams
This offseason has already featured two famous person reunions — Justin Verlander is reuniting along with his longtime Tigers teammate Max Scherzer on the Mets, and Trea Turner is reuniting along with his fellow former Nationals famous person Bryce Harper on the Phillies.
What different star teammates all through MLB historical past have break up up solely to return again collectively on a special staff later of their careers?
Here are baseball’s greatest units of teammates that reunited in new uniforms.
Bryce Harper and Trea Turner, Nationals to Phillies (2023)
Harper and Turner had been teammates in Washington from 2015, when Turner made his MLB debut, by means of 2018, after which Harper left for Philadelphia as a free agent on a historic 13-year, $330 million deal.
They had been a terrific tandem for the Nationals, with Harper profitable the NL MVP Award in Turner’s first 12 months within the large leagues, Turner main the league in steals in Harper’s last season in D.C., and the 2 of them main Washington to back-to-back postseason appearances in 2016 and ’17.
Now it is Turner’s flip to hitch the Phillies on a $300 million megadeal. The 29-year-old shortstop reportedly has agreed to an 11-year free-agent deal after 1 1/2 glorious seasons with the Dodgers, who received Turner from the Nats in a 2021 Trade Deadline blockbuster.
Max Scherzer and Justin Verlander, Tigers to Mets (2023)
As rotation-mates in Detroit, Scherzer and Verlander every received a Cy Young Award (Verlander in 2011, Scherzer in ’13), they usually led the Tigers to a World Series appearances in 2012. A decade later, they’re going to be again in the identical rotation.
Both pitchers made stops in between Detroit and New York. Scherzer left first after the 2014 season, signing with the Nationals in 2015 and profitable two extra Cy Young Awards and a World Series championship earlier than he was traded to the Dodgers in 2021 and signed with the Mets in ’22. Verlander was traded to the Astros in 2017 and pitched in Houston by means of ’22, profitable two Cy Young Awards himself, and two World Series titles.
After placing a bow on his Astros tenure with the second of these Cy Young Awards and World Series wins in 2022, the 39-year-old Verlander will be part of the 38-year-old Scherzer atop the Mets’ rotation after reportedly agreeing to a two-year, $86 million free-agent deal.
Freddie Freeman and Craig Kimbrel, Braves to Dodgers (2022)
Freeman and Kimbrel each debuted for the Braves in 2010 and have become stars in Atlanta. Kimbrel was the 2011 NL Rookie of the Year and led the league in saves 4 straight occasions because the Braves’ nearer from 2011-14, together with a Major League-best 50 saves in 2013, earlier than he was traded to the Padres. Freeman stayed in Atlanta for 12 seasons and was a five-time All-Star, the 2020 NL MVP and a World Series champion in 2021 earlier than signing with the Dodgers as a free agent.
Only a couple of weeks after Freeman arrived in L.A., Kimbrel — who had pitched for the Padres, Red Sox, Cubs and White Sox within the years since he left Atlanta — joined his previous Braves teammate on the West Coast when the White Sox traded him to the Dodgers.
In their debut season for the Dodgers, Freeman batted .325 and led the Majors with 199 hits, and Kimbrel picked up 22 saves as Los Angeles received 111 video games and the NL West title.
J.D. Martinez, David Price and Rick Porcello, Tigers to Red Sox (2018)
Three key gamers from the 2014 Tigers had been much more essential for the Red Sox in 2018 as they helped carry Boston a World Series title that 12 months.
Porcello, who was drafted by Detroit within the first spherical in 2007 and debuted in ’09 with a third-place Rookie of the Year end, was joined by Price within the Tigers rotation on the 2014 Trade Deadline, when Detroit swung a cope with the Rays for the 2012 Cy Young Award winner. Meanwhile, within the lineup, Martinez was simply breaking out, as he batted .315 with 23 residence runs that season. The trio led the Tigers to the playoffs.
After that run, although, the Tigers traded Porcello to the Red Sox, and halfway by means of the 2015 season, they traded Price to the Blue Jays. Martinez left Detroit two years later, when he was traded to the D-backs in 2017.
But they had been all reunited on the 2018 Red Sox. Price joined Porcello in 2016 (with Porcello profitable the Cy Young Award that 12 months), and Martinez adopted in ’18 after his quick stint in Arizona. With the three collectively in Boston, the Red Sox received the World Series that season. Porcello received 17 video games, Martinez led the Majors with 130 RBIs, and Price received the clinching Game 5 of the World Series in opposition to the Dodgers.
Jon Lester and John Lackey, Red Sox to Cubs (2016)
When Boston jumped from worst to first in 2013, profitable 97 video games and the World Series, the membership’s high two beginning pitchers had been Lester and Lackey. The two veterans received a mixed 25 video games with a 3.64 ERA in additional than 400 innings, and the Sox received seven of their 9 postseason begins (2.08 ERA).
At the following season’s Trade Deadline, with the Sox once more scuffling, Lester was traded to Oakland and Lackey to St. Louis. The following winter, Lester signed with the Cubs. Lackey adopted swimsuit the following offseason, and of their first 12 months again collectively in 2016, each had been key components of a rotation that helped the Cubs snap essentially the most notorious championship drought in sports activities.
Chase Utley and Jimmy Rollins, Phillies to Dodgers (2015)
These two fashioned an outstanding double play combo in Philly all through a lot of the 2000s and effectively into the 2010s. Utley and Rollins each rank within the high 10 in franchise historical past in video games performed, plate appearances, hits, runs, residence runs, RBIs, and walks, amongst different classes. They helped type the core of a staff that received 5 straight division titles from 2007-11, two NL pennants, and the ’08 World Series.
The band broke up when the Phillies traded Rollins to the Dodgers after the 2014 season. But the next August, Utley adopted him to L.A. in a waiver commerce, and each gamers chipped in down the stretch for the NL West champs. Rollins and Utley even received to face off in opposition to their longtime rivals from their Phillies days, the Mets, within the 2015 postseason.
Albert Pujols and David Freese, Cardinals to Angels (2014)
The two stars who led the Cardinals to the 2011 World Series title had been again in the identical lineup in Anaheim three years later.
Pujols, a three-time MVP Award winner and nine-time All-Star in St. Louis, slugged 5 residence runs for the Cardinals on their championship run in ’11, together with three within the World Series. But it was Freese who placed on some of the legendary postseason shows of all time, profitable NLCS and World Series MVP honors. His clutch efficiency in Game 6 of the Fall Classic is likely one of the most iconic video games in playoff historical past.
That offseason, Pujols surprised the baseball world by signing with the Angels as a free agent on a 10-year, $254 million contract. Freese adopted when the Cardinals traded him to the Angels earlier than the 2014 season.
Alex Rodriguez and Mark Teixeira, Rangers to Yankees (2009)
A-Rod was within the third 12 months of a then-record 10-year, $252 million contract with the Rangers when Teixeira made his Major League debut with Texas in 2003. Rodriguez received the primary of three AL MVP Awards that 12 months, and Teixeira completed fifth in Rookie of the Year voting.
The Yankees acquired Rodriguez the next offseason, and he received the opposite two of his MVP Awards over the following 4 years. In 2009, Teixeira signed as a free agent with the Yankees because the headliner of one of many largest offseason splashes ever, and the 2 sluggers helped New York win its twenty seventh World Series title that 12 months. Rodriguez homered six occasions throughout that postseason, together with one within the World Series in opposition to the Phillies. Teixeira additionally went deep within the World Series, one in all two homers he hit that postseason.
Jim Thome and Manny Ramirez, Guardians to Dodgers (2009)
The Guardians grew to become a powerhouse within the Nineteen Nineties, constructing round an enviable assortment of homegrown expertise that included Thome (drafted in 1989) and Ramirez (1991). By ’95, each had been taking part in often in Cleveland, and crushing the ball. Over the following six seasons earlier than Ramirez departed for Boston, the 2 mixed for 420 residence runs and 1,329 RBIs, because the Guardians went to the postseason 5 occasions and the World Series twice.
Ramirez signed with the Red Sox earlier than the 2001 season, and Thome signed with the Phillies earlier than the ’03 marketing campaign. But their paths crossed once more briefly in ’09. Ramirez was in his first full season with the Dodgers following a commerce the earlier summer season, and L.A. acquired Thome from the White Sox on the finish of August. Thome was solely utilized in a pinch-hit function for the Dodgers, whereas Ramirez was an everyday, however a couple of of these at-bats did come within the Dodgers’ postseason run that ended within the NLCS.
Roger Clemens and Andy Pettitte, Yankees to Astros (2004)
Clemens and Pettitte had been teammates on the Yankees from 1999 by means of 2003, profitable two World Series championships in that span. Entering the ‘04 season, the 31-year-old Pettitte signed along with his hometown Astros. Clemens had introduced in ‘03 that he would retire on the finish of the season.
But in January 2004, Clemens got here out of retirement to signal a one-year cope with Houston, reuniting with Pettitte at age 41. Clemens received the National League Cy Young award and the Astros reached the National League Championship Series. Pettitte missed the tip of the season and the postseason after having surgical procedure on his left elbow, however got here again robust in ‘05, when the pair helped Houston attain the World Series.
The two would pitch collectively in Houston once more 2006 earlier than each returning to the Yankees in ‘07, which would prove the final year of Clemens’ profession.
Mark McGwire and Dennis Eckersley, A’s to Cardinals (1997)
McGwire and Eckersley had been two key contributors to Oakland’s three consecutive AL pennant-winning golf equipment from 1988-90, serving to the A’s win the World Series over the Giants in ’89. On high of that, in 1992, Eckersley completed the uncommon feat of profitable each the AL Cy Young and MVP Awards, whereas McGwire was the 1987 AL Rookie of the Year (hitting a then-rookie-record 49 homers) and an eight-time All-Star with the A’s.
Oakland traded a 41-year-old Eckersley to the Cardinals in 1996, and adopted that by sending McGwire to St. Louis in ’97. Both gamers weren’t solely reunited with one another, but in addition with former supervisor Tony La Russa. Eckersley posted 30 saves to assist St. Louis attain the postseason in ’96, tossing seven scoreless innings and choosing up 4 saves that October. McGwire then received the good residence run race of 1998, hitting 70 homers to outslug Sammy Sosa and set what was then a single-season document.
Darryl Strawberry and Dwight Gooden, Mets to Yankees (1996)
Strawberry and Gooden had been two younger superstars on the coronary heart of the 1986 World Series champion Mets. Strawberry was the 1983 NL Rookie of the Year, and Gooden adopted him by profitable the respect in ’84. The subsequent season, 1985, Gooden received the NL Cy Young Award with one of many best single-season performances ever, going 24-4 with a 1.53 ERA and 268 strikeouts to win MLB’s pitching Triple Crown. Strawberry was named an All-Star for the second time, a part of a run of eight straight All-Star alternatives from 1984-91.
Both gamers struggled with substance abuse throughout their careers, which led Gooden to verify right into a drug rehabilitation facility previous to the 1987 season and Strawberry’s efficiency to say no earlier than he missed the ’95 season totally. But the 2 returned to the sector with the Yankees in 1996 and helped New York begin a dynasty by profitable the primary of 4 World Series between ’96 and 2000. Along the way in which, Gooden threw his first and solely no-hitter on May 14 in opposition to the Mariners at Yankee Stadium.
Andres Galarraga and Larry Walker, Expos to Rockies (1995)
Galarraga had a breakout season with Montreal in 1988, with a league-best 184 hits and 44 doubles to associate with 29 residence runs. Walker debuted in August of the next season, and shortly grew to become a star in his personal proper.
Galarraga finally signed with the growth Rockies as a free agent, profitable the NL batting common title in his first season with Colorado in 1993. Walker signed with Colorado as a free agent in ’95 and the 2, as a part of the “Blake Street Bombers,” helped the Rockies attain the postseason that October. Walker then broke out with a profession season in ’97, batting .366 with a league-leading 49 homers plus 33 steals to win the NL MVP Award.
Rickey Henderson and Dave Stewart, A’s to Blue Jays (1993)
In June 1989, Oakland reacquired Henderson in a commerce with the Yankees, and the transfer paid fast dividends. Rickey did his factor the remainder of that season, with a .425 on-base proportion and 52 steals in 85 video games, becoming a member of a membership that had Stewart within the midst of his third consecutive 20-win season atop the rotation. In the postseason, Henderson took MVP honors within the ALCS in opposition to Toronto, and Stewart did the identical within the World Series in opposition to San Francisco.
After the 1992 season, Stewart signed as a free agent with the Blue Jays, who at that 12 months’s Trade Deadline acquired Henderson from Oakland. Neither participant repeated his Oakland efficiency in Canada, although Stewart did take ALCS MVP honors. The consequence was the identical, although, because the Jays received the World Series
Pete Rose, Joe Morgan and Tony Perez, Reds to Phillies (1983)
Three legends of the Big Red Machine reunited in Philadelphia late of their careers. Rose was the primary to go to the Phillies, as MLB’s all-time hits chief signed with the membership as a free agent earlier than the 1979 season.
Four seasons later, Morgan and Perez each joined him — Morgan was traded from the Giants to the Phillies in December of 1982, and Perez signed with Philadelphia as a free agent a month later. All three gamers, who had led the Reds to their back-to-back World Series championships in 1975 and ’76, had been within the twilight of their careers by the point they reunited on the Phillies. Rose was 42, Perez was 41, and Morgan was 39. But they nonetheless helped lead Philadelphia to the National League pennant of their solely season collectively there.
Catfish Hunter and Reggie Jackson, A’s to Yankees (1977)
The two Hall of Famers had been each franchise icons for the A’s and the Yankees. First got here the A’s. Hunter debuted for the A’s in 1967, and Jackson adopted in 1969, and the duo led Oakland to a World Series three-peat from 1972-74. Jackson was the AL MVP within the second of these championship seasons, and Hunter received the Cy Young Award within the third.
The Yankees landed Hunter in arguably the primary true free-agent blockbuster in December of 1974, after a contract dispute with A’s proprietor Charlie Finley resulted in Hunter being dominated a free agent. The Yankees made Hunter the highest-paid pitcher in historical past, and two offseasons later, they made one other enormous splash by signing Hunter’s longtime teammate Jackson. Jackson grew to become Mr. October in New York and led the Yankees to back-to-back World Series titles in 1977 and ’78.
