1981 – Astros trade outfielder Gary Woods to the Cubs for outfielder Jim Tracy. Woods had hit .377 as a September call-up in 1980 but reverted to .209 the next season. Tracy never makes it into a regular season game for Houston but he will one day become the manager of the Los Angeles Dodgers, the Pittsburgh Pirates and the Colorado Rockies.
One day after announcing that manager Bob Lemon will return next season, the Yankees announce that former manager Gene Michael, whom Lemon replaced on September 6th, will return as manager for the 1983 season. They won’t wait that long, as Lemon will give way to Michael after only 14 games, and Michael himself will be gone before the end of the year.
The Giants trade OF Larry Herndon to the Tigers for pitcher Dan Schatzeder and minor leaguer Mike Chris.
The Dodgers trade 1979 Rookie of the Year Rick Sutcliffe, unhappy with his exile to the Dodger bullpen, and infielder Jack Perconte, to the Indians for OF Jorge Orta. Orta will hit just .217 for the Dodgers next season, while Sutcliffe will lead the American League in ERA.
The Pirates trade P Bert Blyleven and C Manny Sanguillen to the Indians for P Bob Owchinko, P Victor Cruz, C Gary Alexander, and minor league P Rafael Vasquez.
Giants manager Dave Bristol is fired.
1980 – The Cubs trade reliever Bruce Sutter, the 1979 National League Cy Young Award winner, to the Cardinals for 3B Ken Reitz, OF-1B Leon Durham, and a player to be named.
The A’s and Reds announce a deal that will send P Vida Blue to Cincinnati for minor league OF Dave Revering and $1.75 million cash. Commissioner Bowie Kuhn will invalidate the deal on January 30th, contending that too much money is involved and there would be a competitive imbalance created. He later sets a limit of $400,000 as the maximum that can be exchanged between teams. The A’s will later acquire Revering in another deal and trade Blue to the Giants for seven players on March 15, 1978.
The Brewers trade pitchers Jim Slaton and Rich Folkers to the Tigers for OF Ben Oglivie.
The Mariners trade outfielder Dave Collins to the Reds for rookie left-hander Shane Rawley. The southpaw will post a 20-31 record during his four seasons in Seattle, and Cincinnati’s new fly chaser will hit .284 in his seven years in the Queen City.
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