Gene Michael: Yanks almost traded Mo for Wells in '95

John Harper of The Daily News writes that in 1995, then-GM Gene Michael (who gets a lot of credit for building the Yankee dynasty of the late 90′s), almost traded Rivera (then a minor league starter) for David Wells.  Rivera was not a highly-hyped prospect who was throwing in the low-90′s following elbow surgery.  The Tigers included Rivera on a list of players that they would want in exchange for Wells, but when Michael found out that Rivera began throwing 95-96, he didn’t pull the trigger.

Godzilla’s Revenge hd This very well might have been a franchise-altering move, since Mo was such an essential part of all the Yankee World Series teams from 96-2000, and continues to be a vital member of the Yankee roster today.  Wells, who later signed with the Yanks as a free agent in 1997, was traded for Roger Clemens in 1999, and returned to the Yanks again in 2003 as a free agent. He too was an important component of the championship teams, but did not come at the cost of a future Hall of Fame closer.

It is difficult to imagine what would have happened to the Yankees if Rivera was not in the picture.  The Yankees might have had somebody like Mike Stanton or Jeff  Nelson closing for them, or else they could have retained John Wetteland instead of letting him go after 1996.  Whatever they would have done, they almost certainly would not have been as successful as they were in the late 1990′s without the great Rivera.  Kudos to Stick Michael (who is still a Yankee scout) for sticking to his guns and not dealing the promising power arm for a starter that would later be signed as a free agent.  I am sure Francesa probably would have foamed at the mouth if the Yankees did not acquire a proven starter for a minor leaguer, but as this non-trade shows, Gene Michael knew what he was doing.

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