Chicago Cubs: Revisiting the infamous Josh Donaldson trade

Hindsight is always 20/20. In the case of Jim Hendry and the Chicago Cubs in the summer of 2008, that phrase rings truest in all forms, especially looking into the future of what was to come.

If you talk to Chicago Cubs fans about Jim Hendry, most will shudder at the mere mention of his name. There was much turmoil under Hendry when he was the General Manager on the north side and many questionable decisions under his guise.

One such deal was that involving a young Class-A catcher named Josh Donaldson. The 2008 Cubs were a monster team. They finished the regular season 97-65, winning the National League Central by 7 1/2 games. Unfortunately, they were no match for the Los Angeles Dodgers in the Division Series as they were swept right out of their shoes.

Trades in baseball will always carry an aura of negativity for one side. That is how trades work. Rarely is there a deal where, at least at the time of the trade, both sides are one hundred percent happy. In the case of Billy Beane and the Oakland Athletics, it was such the case for them. Boy, were they in for a treat.

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.