The Best Players To Be Named Later

A common term used during the trade deadline is player to be named later (PTBNL), when two teams decide to announce one or multiple players in the deal later. Players named later are often in the minors, not yet eligible to be traded or unknown to the average fan. Over time, however, some of these players become critical pieces for a franchise. A refresher on some of the most interesting PTBNL trades is in order to get us ready for this year’s trade deadline.

David Ortiz

It is hard to believe there was a time when 1B David Ortiz was not a baseball superstar. Ortiz achieved fame with the Boston Red Sox, but before that, he was released by the Minnesota Twins in 2002. While Twins fans may regret losing Ortiz, his time in the sport goes back a decade to the Seattle Mariners.

Ortiz signed as an amateur free agent in 1992 with Seattle and was later used as a PTBNL in 1996 in exchange for 3B Dave Hollins. Ortiz broke into the majors a year later but never really found success over six seasons. The Mariners got even less out of Hollins, who signed with the Los Angeles Angels in 1997. Despite his struggles in Minnesota, the Twins still got a young player for six seasons in exchange for an aging veteran. Both teams lost out in the end by giving up a generational star too early.

Michael Brantley

OF/DH Michael Brantley has been one of the most consistent hitters in baseball over the past few years. Brantley shined with the Cleveland Indians for 10 years and signed a $32 million contract with the Houston Astros after a strong 2018 season. His journey to becoming a core player for the Indians started when he was sent from the Milwaukee Brewers in 2008 to complete a trade for LHP CC Sabathia.

The Brewers packaged multiple prospects a month before the trade deadline to acquire Cleveland’s ace, and he immediately helped them push into the Wild Card spot with an 11-2 record on the mound. Milwaukee was satisfied with their run to the playoffs, which ended in a 3-1 loss in the NL Division Series to the Philadelphia Phillies. Meanwhile, the three players sent to Cleveland barely made an impact during their tenure. Once the season was over, the two teams agreed on Brantley as the last player in the trade. The other players received little to no attention because Sabathia was the headliner. Sabathia signed with the New York Yankees in 2009, and the trade seemed to have ended right there, but Brantley proved everyone wrong when he became a mainstay in Cleveland’s lineup in 2011. By then, Brantley had spent two years bouncing around the majors and minors, making it easy to forget where he came from. Thirteen years after the trade, the Indians struck gold by adding Brantley to the blockbuster deal three months after it occurred.  

Joseph “Shoeless Joe” Jackson

Yes, this is the same Shoeless Joe Jackson who was banned from baseball after the Chicago White Sox scandal in 1918. It’s hard to believe PTBNL trades occurred over 100 years ago, but the Cleveland team was using it to their advantage even back then. Jackson was a South Carolina native who showed signs of stardom at the plate. The Philadelphia Athletics long-time manager, Connie Mack, signed him to the team in 1908 but was worried about the small-town kid trying to adjust to the big city life as he frequently made trips back to South Carolina due to homesickness.

After playing 10 games over two seasons, Mack completed a trade initiated a week before the Indians to send Jackson with 2B Morrie Rath for OF Bris Lord and $6,000. Have you never heard of either of those guys? You’re in the majority. Rath played six major league seasons across 11 years. Lord spent eight years with Philadelphia and hit over .270 twice. Jackson was the steal of the trade. He was a great ballplayer, but there was doubt in him staying with the game. However, it seems as though he changed his attitude around quickly to become one of the best hitters for the Cleveland Naps and even leading the league in hits two years in a row.   

Jesse Orosco

LHP Jesse Orosco had a bright future in baseball but was traded when he didn’t fit the needs of his first team. Nevertheless, Orosco was a significant contributor for the New York Mets in their championship run in 1986. In addition, he was an All-Star in 1983 and 1984 while also finishing third in the 1983 Cy Young Award race.

Before joining the Mets, Orosco was drafted in the second round of the 1978 Draft by the Twins. Despite being an early pick, the Twins flipped him the following year for LHP Jerry Koosman to immediately impact the starting rotation. The Twins finished fourth in the AL, but the Mets were slowly building a championship roster on the other side. In 1896, Orosco and RHP Roger McDowell each had 20 saves to help the Mets win the second World Series in franchise history.

Trea Turner

Washington Nationals SS Trea Turner is involved in some trade talks this season, so now is an excellent time to see how he got here. Before he became an All-Star shortstop and World Series champion, Turner was drafted by the San Diego Padres as the 13th pick in the 2014 draft. The trade he was involved with is an example of a type of PTBNL trade in which a player is sent later because he is not trade eligible.

Players can’t be traded until one year after they were drafted. The trade in question took place on December 14, 2014, but Turner wasn’t dealt until June 14, 2015, exactly one year and one day after he signed with the Padres. The actual trade might be the most complex in baseball history as it consisted of three teams — the Padres, Nationals, Tampa Bay Rays and a whopping 11 players. It would be a little tedious to go through the whole trade, so let’s focus on Turner. At 22, Turner made his MLB debut in August 2015 and finished second in the Rookie of the Year race the following year. Since then, he has combined his electrifying speed with consistent hitting to become one of the top shortstops in the league. Turner led the NL in hitting in the shortened 2020 season and made his first All-Star appearance this season. The other two teams made out OK as the Padres acquired OF/IF Wil Myers in the process, while OF Steven Souza Jr. was sent to the Rays.

Harry Chiti

Time for a bonus PTBNL! On April 26, 1962, the New York Mets purchased C Harry Chiti from the Indians for a player to be named later. The player sent to the Indians on June 15, 1962, was none other than Harry Chiti. You read that right; Chiti was traded for himself. From the team that brought you Bobby Bonilla Day, the Mets acquired Chiti for 15 games and then sent him right back to the Indians to complete the deal. Before the trade, Chiti hadn’t played a game for Cleveland as he spent the year in the minors. Upon his return, he was sent back down and never played a game in MLB again. Typically, teams trade with each other because they have different needs, but the Mets and Indians appeared to be looking for the same player — the identical player in this case. 

PTBNL adds a unique spin on trades and allows for exciting outcomes to occur. Once the trade deadline has come and gone, keep track of the players named later. One of them could be the next franchise player for their new team.

Cover photo courtesy of Charles Krupa/AP Photo