Completed trade between the Toronto Blue Jays and New York Mets still one of the team's worst decisions
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Michael Rainone
Dec 21, 2025 (9:29 PM)
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Photo credit: MLB
Almost 30 years ago today, the Toronto Blue Jaysmade one of their worst trades in franchise history, sending John Olerud to the New York Mets in exchange for pitcher Robert Person.
Gord Ash was the GM of the Blue Jays at the time, but the current manager Cito Gaston influenced his decisions majorly and his decisions haunted the Blue Jays for years.
A recall to the past, one of the worst trades in Blue Jays history.
Tom Dakers of BlueBird Banter wound the clocks back 29 years ago, where today marked the trade between Olerud and Person.
Olerud was a young up and comer, and Person an unproven pitcher in the minors, the trade was out of Gaston's dislike for Olerud and he had Ash under his thumb when it came to big decisions.
"The intelligent thing for a team that should have been rebuilding would have been to keep the younger two and see if they could trade the older player. But Cito understandably loved Carter. Joe helped him win two World Series rings, so he pushed to trade Olerud to make room for Carter to play every day. Cito was never a fan of John. A strong GM might have stood up to his manager and said, 'No, Carter's time is over. We need to rebuild around the younger guys.'
Person played for the Blue Jays for two years and wasn't very good at all, an 8-13 record, 6.18 ERA, and allowed 29 home runs. Olerud on the other hand had one hell of a career following his time with the Blue Jays.
Person played for the Blue Jays for two years and wasn't very good at all, an 8-13 record, 6.18 ERA, and allowed 29 home runs. Olerud on the other hand had one hell of a career following his time with the Blue Jays.
"Olerud? He would play three seasons with the Mets, hitting .315/.425/.501 with 63 homers. After that, he played five years for the Mariners, hitting .285/.388/.439 with 72 homers. As Matt noted, John played better after leaving Toronto. "-Dakers
Carter only played a couple seasons after the trade, and wasn't very effective, nor was he expected to be given his age. The Blue Jays would have done much better with Olerud, but it'll remain a mystery what he could have done for the city of his Toronto due to lack of experience from Ash.
| POLL | ||
DECEMBRE 21|326 ANSWERS Completed trade between the Toronto Blue Jays and New York Mets still one of the team's worst decisions Was the John Olerud, Robert Person trade the worst one in Toronto Blue Jays franchise history? | ||
| Yes | 256 | 78.5 % |
| No | 70 | 21.5 % |
| List of polls | ||
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