Was it Cliff Lee, Hunter Pence, or Lenny Dykstra? And who can forget Bake McBride?

All four ex-Phillies were involved in key MLB trade deadline deals that played a major role in the team’s remainder of their respective seasons.

In this week’s version of my Behind the Plate column, I will take a look at some of the Phillies’ more notable trade deadline deals, and also some involving the Mets and Yankees. In addition, I’ll also discuss the current state of the above-mentioned teams, and their prospective finish to their seasons.

Also, we’ll hear from some of the area’s local baseball coaches and some readers about memorable trade acquisitions.

Phillies’ Phinest ... Lee usually rates as the franchise’s more prominent deals. He came over from Cleveland in 2009 for a package of minor leaguers. The Phillies needed a top-end-of-the-rotation pitcher and Lee filled the void. He went 7-4 with a 3.39 ERA, and responded in the postseason to help the club get back to the World Series with a 4-0 mark and a 1.56 ERA and two complete games.

By the way, outfielder Ben Francisco came to the Phillies with Lee. Remember him?

Pence came to the Phillies in July 2011 from Houston for a handful of minor leagues. In 54 games with the Phils, Pence had 11 homers with 35 RBIs and hit .324. He looked like an outfield mainstay until the Phillies traded him at the deadline the following year to the Giants, which shocked a number of fans. Catcher Tommy Joseph was considered the top prospect in the deal, but he never panned out.

Pence was eligible for arbitration the following year, and the Phillies looked to save some money. As it turned out, Pence was influential in helping the Giants to two World Series titles.

At the time, trading Juan Samuel for Lenny Dykstra wasn’t a popular move in 1989. Samuel was a fan favorite and destined to be a five-tool player. Relief pitcher Roger McDowell also came south to Philly.

The Phils got the better of this deal with Samuel never reaching his potential with the Mets, and Dykstra playing an integral role toward the 1993 pennant. McDowell also proved to be effective in the bullpen. Samuel was traded to the Dodgers in November for Mike Marshall and Alejandro Pena.

McBride was a rather controversial June 1977 deal in which the Cardinals received pitcher Tommy Underwood and outfielder Rick Bosetti and Dane Iorg. Underwood figured to be a rising star, and the team had high hopes for Bosetti. McBride was a relative unknown, but he responded with a .309 average and nine homers and 87 RBIs. He became a staple for a few years.

Other prominent deals involved Roy Oswalt, who came over in 2010 and went 7-1 with a 1.74 ERA in 13 games; Joe Blanton, who came over from the A’s in 2008, and went 4-0 during the regular season and 2-0 in the playoffs; and Dick Ruthven, who the team re-acquired in June 1978, and he went 13-8 the remainder of the season.

If you thought of any other deals, let me know.

Mets Magic ... We can all recall the Mets June 1977 “Midnight Massacre” that sent Tom Seaver to the Reds, and Dave Kingman to the Padres.

Some of the Mets’ better deals were Keith Hernandez from the Cardinals in 1983; Donn Clendenon from the Expos in 1969; and Zack Wheeler for Carlos Beltran in 2011.

Yankees Yearns ... The Yankees haven’t had many successful deadline maneuvers, but David Cone (1995), David Justice (2000) and Bobby Abreu (2006) all played important roles in getting them to the World Series. Current manager Aaron Boone was acquired from Cincinnati in 2003 and hit the game-winning homer in Game 7 of the ALCS.

Outfielder Xaiver Nady came over from Pittsburgh in 2008 and had 12 homers and 40 RBIs in 59 games. However, he was sent to the White Sox the following year.

Coach Speak ... A number of local head baseball coaches provided their comments on some deadline deals. Here are their thoughts:

• Former Palmerton coach Ted Plessl: “I think Cliff Lee was the biggest, and I also like the Joe Blanton trade.”

• Former Northern Lehigh coach Frank Carazo: “The only one that I remember was when they acquired Elmer Valo, who went to Palmerton. He was a good friend of my father’s.”

• Tom Plessl, Lehigh Valley Carpenter Cup assistant coach: “For me, it was Cliff Lee, Hunter Pence, and Joe Blanton.”

• Lehighton coach J.C. Dietz: “The biggest Phillies trade acquisition was Cliff Lee. He dominated my Yankees. I remember it like yesterday because the Yankees beat the Phillies four games to two to capture the 2009 World Series. It is my favorite Phillies moment. I also remember Matt Stairs hitting bombs.”

• Pleasant Valley coach T.J. Murphy: “I don’t remember a deadline deal off the top of my head, as I am a Mets’ fan. “The Mets got Yoenis Cespedes in a deal for Michael Fulmer, who was a prospect at the time. There may have been more in the trade for the Tigers, but Cespedes put the Mets on his back.”

• Marian head coach Tony Radocha: “I’m a Yankees fan, but a baseball guy. A few of my favorite Yankees’ ones were David Cone in 1995, who propelled them to their first playoff appearance since 1988; Cecil Felder in 1996, as he helped them win their first World series since 1978; David Justice in 2000, and he helped them win their three straight World Series titles; and Bobby Abreu in 2006, who helped solidify their offense and win the division.”

Readers Write ... A few area readers also provided some thoughts.

• Marian softball coach Joe DeAngelo was one of the readers who replied. DeAngelo stated, “The highly anticipated trade of Cole Hamels six days after pitching a no-hitter in his last Phillies start is one deadline trade that I always remember. That brought a return of six players, who had varying degrees of success with the Phils in exchange for Hamels and Jake Diekman.”

• Reader Eric Snyder stated the Gene Garber trade from Kansas City in the mid-70s helped finalize their bullpen for their division trifecta. Snyder also liked the Lee, Oswalt, and Pence deals.

• Fellow reader Mitch Thomas mentioned the Oswalt deal, as well as the club’s trade of Scott Rolen for Placido Polanco.

Forgotten Phillie ... Do you remember reliever Doug Jones? In 1994, Jones was the first Phillies relief pitcher to win an All-Star game in the National League’s 8-7 victory in Pittsburgh. He became the first Phillies pitcher to win the game since Ken Raffensberger in 1944. Jones only spent one season of his 16-year career with the Phillies and had a 2-4 record with a 2.17 ERA and 27 saves in 42 games.

For his career, Jones was 69-79 with a 3.30 ERA and 303 saves in 846 games. He tragically passed away from complications of COVID in 2021 at the age of 64.

Final Thoughts ... The Mets will be restructuring with the Max Scherzer and David Robertson deals. At the time of this writing, Justin Verlander was still a Met, and their brass have to be looking at the albatross of Francisco Lindor’s contract. And where have you gone, Jeff McNeil?

The Phillies lost two of three in Pittsburgh, and they are still in the Wild Card hunt. But this team will need a transfusion in August to make a run, and Trea Turner, Nick Castellanos and Kyle Schwarber need to be the major donors.

The Yankees got Aaron Judge back, but they have DJ LeMahieu, Anthony Rizzo, Giancarlo Stanton, Isaiah Kiner-Falafa, and Anthony Volpe MIA. Like the Phillies, the Yanks need to have some life pumped into them.

Feedback … Your thoughts, comments, and ideas are always welcomed at tnsports@tnonline.com