Thursday marks 10 years since the Philadelphia Phillies made a seemingly innocent August waiver trade that would have a drastic impact on their franchise’s history. On August 30, 2008, Pat Gillick traded for veteran power bat Matt Stairs from the Toronto Blue Jays. All the Phillies gave up for Stairs was minor league pitcher Fabio Castro.
Stairs wasn’t an especially noteworthy addition, but the 40-year-old veteran would come up big when he was needed most. He played in 16 regular season games with the Phillies in 2008, batting .294 with two home runs and five runs batted in.