Editor’s note: Our “25 Smartest Moves of the Past 25 Moves” series might have concluded, but with the lockout still in force, we thought that it would be fun to take a week to shout out five other savvy transactions that just barely missed the cut of the top 25 vote. Enjoy!
After 1997, it had become clear that the Yankees’ acquisition of Kenny Rogers had not worked. They had signed him as a free agent ahead of 1996 after Rogers made his first All-Star team in ‘95.