Revisiting the Yankees and Red Sox Wild West Trade Shootout for Alex Rodriguez

The New York Yankees made one of the great trades of the decade when they acquired Texas Rangers superstar Alex Rodriguez in 2004, a move that eventually brought them their 27th World Series title.

Rodriguez was the subject of trade rumors for almost the entirety of his time in Texas, and the Boston Red Sox went after him as hard as anyone. The Rangers were willing to trade Rodriguez to the Red Sox in exchange for Manny Ramirez, who was coming off of a season in which he hit .325 with 37 home runs, and a young Jon Lester ... but the trade was nixed in the 11th hour.

Rodriguez eventually was traded to the Yankees in exchange for Alfonso Soriano and a player to be named later that eventually ended up being middle infielder Joaquin Arias, who was frequently shuttled between Triple-A and the majors.

While Soriano hit 412 career home runs and went on to a very successful stint in the pros, Rodriguez continued to mash with the Yankees, as he hit 351 home runs during his 12 seasons as the third baseman and DH in New York, ending his career with 696 home runs, fourth on the all-time list.

Rodriguez was not only moments away from not being a Yankee, but he would have gone to their most hated rival in Boston. Luckily, the planets aligned and the Yankees got a deal done. After seven All-Star games, two MVPs, and a World Series, we're sure the Yankees are happy with how this deal ended up.