15 best trades in St. Louis Cardinals history

There are so many incredible trades in the history of the St. Louis Cardinals.
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#6 - Willie McGee (1981)

Cardinals acquire: OF Willie McGee
Yankees acquire: LHP Bob Sykes

Total surplus fWAR: 22.2

Just missing out on the top five trades in St. Louis Cardinals history is outfielder Willie McGee, who the Cardinals brought from the New York Yankees in 1981, and is still making an impact on the organization 44 years later.

McGee, who was the Yankees' first-round pick in 1977, found himself stuck in New York's farm system but believed he would break through with his bat once he was finally with a new organization. The Yankees swapped McGee for Cardinals' left-hander Bob Sykes, who never played a Major League game for New York, and it would go down as a deal that the mighty Yankees would live to regret.

The switch-hitting outfielder made his MLB debut for the Cardinals in 1982, finishing third in Rookie of the Year voting and helping lead St. Louis to the World Series at just age 23. McGee wasn't the star of that 1982 team, but he came up huge in the playoffs for the Cardinals, posting an .887 OPS in their nine games and slugging three home runs, including two in Game 3 of the World Series against the Brewers on top of two incredible defensive plays in that game as well.

McGee did not win another World Series with St. Louis (unless you count the one they were robbed of in 1985), but he was an incredible player for them throughout the 1980s. McGee slashed .292/.325/.405 during his first full eight seasons with the club, including an incredible MVP winning campaign in 1985 where McGee posted 7.1 fWAR while slashing .353/.384/.503 with 10 home runs, 26 doubles, and 18 triples to go along with 56 stolen bases and a 147 OPS+.

McGee did return to the Cardinals from 1996-1999 after stints with the Athletics, Giants, and Red Sox, but his best years were during the Cardinals' incredible run during the 1980s. In 2013, the Cardinals made McGee a special assistant to John Mozeliak, helping out at both the minor league and Major League levels to instruct players before becoming a full-time member of the Cardinals coaching staff in 2017. Following the 2024 season, McGee moved back into an advisory role with the club.

While McGee is not in Cooperstown, he is a Cardinals Hall of Famer, and he receives some of the loudest ovations and applause of any Cardinals legend when they honor the Red Jacket members. McGee embodies the Cardinal Way in almost everything he does, and the organization is lucky that the Yankees were foolish enough to part ways with him.