4 trades from the 1990s the Seattle Mariners no doubt wish they could do over

When baseball fans think back on the 1990s Seattle Mariners, more often than not it's memories of the rise of Ken Griffey Jr., an improbable postseason run in 1995, or the unforgettable '97 club, spearheaded by a powerhouse of generational talents in The Kid, The Big Unit, Edgar and A-Rod.

But as Mariners fans themselves know, that decade was hardly all sunshine and rainbows — and we're not talking about the looming possibility of the team leaving Seattle that hung over everything for years. The front office did some good things, sure, but they also missed on some major trades, especially early in the 90s. And that's what brings us here today.

More than a quarter-century later, these look worse than ever, and ones that then-GM Woody Woodward, now in his 80s, would surely like a mulligan on.

Seattle trades a future Cy Young finalist in Mike Hampton - 1993

At the time, Mike Hampton was a 20-year-old former third-round pick and Mike Felder was a throw-in outfielder in a deal that netted Eric Anthony, who was coming off a pair of solid, but hardly awe-inspiring campaigns with the Houston Astros.

Anthony played just one season in Seattle and left much to be desired. Worth -0.8 bWAR and the not-so-proud owner of a .237/.297/.412 slash line that was good for an 80 OPS+, the 26-year-old departed for Cincinnati the following offseason via free agency. The story with Felder was much the same; his next year in the league was his last and that closed the book on his 10-year MLB career.

For Hampton, though, there was much yet to come.

Over the next six years in Houston, the left-hander blossomed into a solidly above-average starting pitcher, peaking in 1999, finishing as the runner-up to the Arizona Diamondbacks' Randy Johnson in National League Cy Young voting. Even prior to that, though, Hampton was a dependable member of the Astros' rotation.

After spending the shortened '94 season as a reliever, he made the switch to full-time starter and immediately made his presence felt. He set a new career-high in innings pitched and finished the year with a 115 ERA+, meaning he was 15 percent better than league average in that regard. It seemed he built on each preceding season year after year, winning 10 games in 1995, then 15 in 1996; eclipsing 200 innings for the first time in 1997, then doing so again in both '98 and '99.

That 1999 season, though, was special, and it came at a time when the Mariners themselves badly needed starting pitching depth, making the trade of six years earlier even more painful to bear.

Hampton racked up the hardware that year, earning his first All-Star selection and bringing home a Silver Slugger Award for the first time, even finishing 21st in NL MVP balloting. He led the National League with 22 wins and trailed only Boston Red Sox ace Pedro Martinez (23) in that category.

Houston traded the left-hander, along with outfielder Derek Bell, to the New York Mets that winter, one year before he was slated to hit free agency. Hampton played a key role in the Mets clinching the pennant, earning NLCS MVP honors for his efforts against the Cardinals, and after losing to the Yankees in the Fall Classic, for two short days, he became the highest-paid player in baseball history, signing an eight-year, $121 million contract with the Colorado Rockies.

Then, a guy named Alex Rodriguez came along, signed a 10-year, $252 million deal with the Texas Rangers, and relegated Hampton to the trash bin of baseball lore.