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Philadelphia Phillies: 7 best trade deadline deals in franchise history

By Tim Boyle

PHILADELPHIA, PA - APRIL 6: (L-R) Cliff Lee #33, Roy Oswalt #44 and Roy Halladay #34 of the Philadelphia Phillies watch from the dugout during the Phillies game against the New York Mets in the second inning on April 6, 2011 at Citizens Bank Park in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The Phillies won 10-7. (Photo by Miles Kennedy/Philadelphia Phillies/Getty Images)
PHILADELPHIA, PA - APRIL 6: (L-R) Cliff Lee #33, Roy Oswalt #44 and Roy Halladay #34 of the Philadelphia Phillies watch from the dugout during the Phillies game against the New York Mets in the second inning on April 6, 2011 at Citizens Bank Park in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The Phillies won 10-7. (Photo by Miles Kennedy/Philadelphia Phillies/Getty Images) /
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SAN FRANCISCO, CA – CIRCA 1993: Lenny Dykstra #4 of the Philadelphia Phillies looks on from the dugout against the San Francisco Giants during an Major League Baseball game circa 1993 at Candlestick Park in San Francisco, California. Dykstra played for the Phillies from 1989-96. (Photo by Focus on Sport/Getty Images) /

2) Best Phillies trade deadline deal: Lenny Dykstra and Roger McDowell from the Mets

Our only pre-2008 trade on this list, the 1989 trade between the Phillies and New York Mets which sent a pair of good players to the City of Brotherly Love deserves plenty of praise. Not only did it add talent to the Phillies roster, it can be called one of the most painful trades in Mets history.

This trade sent Lenny Dykstra, Roger McDowell, and even Tom Edens from New York to Philadelphia for Juan Samuel. Samuel was so bad for the Mets that he ended up traded in a lesser deal the following offseason.

In a lot of ways, this trade signaled a change in the National League East. The glory days of the Mets were now over with. The Phillies were preparing to be competitive and eventually make it to the 1993 World Series with Dykstra as one of the driving forces. He was one of the best and most beloved Phillies of that era with the 1993 campaign culminating with a runner-up MVP finish.

McDowell was really good for them, too. He was gone by the middle of 1991. The trade is just as great for the Phillies if all it included was Dykstra for Samuel. We literally have one less Phillies World Series trip if the deal never took place.

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