Chicago Cubs: Revisiting the infamous Josh Donaldson trade

Chicago Cubs: The competitive window

A day before the trade materialized, the Milwaukee Brewers made a splash in acquiring CC Sabathia from the Cleveland Indians for a significant prospect package. Beane, who has always been savvy, saw this deal and wanted to create a similar swap.

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The Cubs were wanting to take advantage of their position at the time, adding an ace-like arm for the final postseason push. In their system sat a minor league catcher who had slashed .346/.470/.605 the year before and a valuable piece.

At times, Donaldson was considered as someone who was a big part of the club’s future. They had drafted him in the first round out of Auburn for that specific reason. It would never come to fruition. As part of the deal, it was Donaldson, along with an outfielder named Matt Murton and a pitcher, Sean Gallagher, heading to Oakland in exchange for starting pitcher Rich Harden and a reliever by the name of Chad Gaudin.

Hendry wanted to take advantage of the competitive window by making a splash. His division rival had bolstered their rotation the day before and, as any GM in that position, did not wish to play catch up. The Cubs, at the time, held a narrow 3.5 game lead in the division, and Hendry did what he could to take advantage of that window. It could be argued it was successful, but the fallout is what fans will always look back on as questionable.

Chicago Cubs: An ‘ace’ in the hole

Following the deal for Harden, it looked like an excellent move. Harden stepped right into his role for the team, delivering a Cy Young level of production. He finished the remainder of the year with a 1.77 ERA, holding opposing hitters to a .157 average.

Harden boosted his strikeout rate to a whopping 31.3 percent while keeping his walk rate relatively unchanged. His FIP and xFIP did jump a bit, as it was considering Harden had come from Oakland, but he held stable in each of those numbers.

In his first start following the trade, Harden threw 5 1/3 shutout innings at home versus the Giants with ten strikeouts. A week later on the road versus the Diamondbacks, Harden threw seven innings of one-run ball with another ten strikeouts. Five days later, back at home versus the Marlins, Harden went five innings, allowing one run with a third straight ten strikeout performance.

Harden went on to have two more starts in the season of allowing one or fewer runs with double-digit strikeouts. He was precisely who the Cubs needed down the stretch. Harden made a postseason start in Game 3 of the NLDS versus the Dodgers on the road, pitching well but ultimately losing as the Cubs saw their World Series hopes dashed.

Chicago Cubs: The other pieces and the fallout

It is easy to see Harden in his form at the time and forget about the rest of the players involved. Gaudin was the other guy who came to Chicago along with Harden, and it is straightforward to understand why nobody wants to talk about him.

Gaudin threw only 27 1/3 innings over the remainder of the 2008 season, finishing with a disgusting 6.26 ERA. It was his only work in Chicago before ultimately landing in San Diego the following year.

Murton had found some success early on in his Cubs career but would fizzle out of the league a couple of years after the trade to Oakland. Gallagher never amounted to much in his career either and was out of the league by 2010.

Donaldson, meanwhile, would go on to become one of the most vaunted hitters in the league, a three-time All-Star with the Athletics, and sign a $100 million this past offseason with the Minnesota Twins. Hindsight is always 20/20, and at the time, it was the right move. Arguing about the fallout is easy, but it will undoubtedly go down as one of the most “what if” trades in Cubs history.