Made in the trade: Deals sparked HOF cases

Chances are, you don’t remember Larry Andersen, a right-hander who pitched for six teams from 1975-94. But Andersen was part of one of the most lopsided trades in Major League history, a deal that landed the Astros a potential Hall of Fame first baseman.

Jeff Bagwell could be inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame next July. But had it not been for Houston’s move to acquire him from the Red Sox in 1990, Bagwell’s career may have been spent hitting moonshots over the Green Monster, not into the far reaches of the Astrodome or Minute Maid Park.

• Predicting Cooperstown’s Class of 2017

Here’s a look at some notable trades involving players on the 2017 Hall of Fame ballot, beginning with the Bagwell-for-Andersen swap and going in chronological order.

Aug. 30, 1990: Red Sox trade Bagwell to Astros for Andersen

Andersen was 37 years old when Houston sent him to Boston in exchange for Bagwell, a 22-year-old prospect stuck behind first baseman Mo Vaughn and third baseman Wade Boggs on the Red Sox’s organizational depth chart.

Andersen appeared in 15 games for Boston over the final month of the 1990 season before becoming a free agent and signing with the Padres.

Bagwell, meanwhile, was the 1991 National League Rookie of the Year, the 1994 NL Most Valuable Player and a four-time All-Star. He slashed .297/.408/.540 with 449 home runs over 15 seasons for the Astros, averaging a 6.0 rWAR per 162 games in his career.

March 30, 1992: White Sox trade Sammy Sosa and Ken Patterson to Cubs for George Bell

Sosa and Bell were born in the same city — San Pedro de Macoris in the Dominican Republic — nine years apart. And they were playing Major League Baseball in the same city when they were traded for each other in March 1992.

Sosa went from a wiry and speedy outfielder to a bona fide slugger after joining the Cubs. He hit 33 homers in 1993, was an All-Star for the first time in ’95, and in ’98 hit 66 home runs, second to Mark McGwire’s 70.

In all, Sosa hit 545 home runs with a .284/.358/.569 slash line in 13 seasons with the Cubs.

Bell played two seasons for the White Sox, hitting .240/.274/.396. He was released and then retired after the 1993 season.

This was actually the second time Sosa was traded, with the Rangers first dealing him to the South Side in 1989 in a trade package that sent Harold Baines to Texas.

June 24, 1993: Padres trade Gary Sheffield and Rich Rodriguez to the Marlins for Trevor Hoffman, Andres Berumen and Jose Martinez

In a trade that worked out well for both sides, two players on the Hall of Fame ballot — Sheffield and Hoffman — were …

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