Today marks the 19-year anniversary of one of the more bizarre trades in major league history. On January 22, 1997, the Padres traded catcher Sean Mulligan to the Cleveland Indians for $75,000 and a treadmill. A used treadmill, at that.
As was related in the post linked above, the Padres' general manager at the time, Kevin Towers, had already met his budget for the 1997 season. The club was so strapped for cash that Towers had to get inventive just to be able to afford new workout equipment. That's right; that's the entire reason the deal was made.