I think you are just wrong here. I think most teams have given up impact guys in trades.
You are right that most prospects do not work out. That is why people usually trade for multiple.
But there are a lot of prospects that do turn out. Not all of them are studs.
I think the industry has gotten better and it's not very likely that you get a hall of famer in a trade. But really good players get moved all of the time. See most of the Rays trades.
Maybe the Braves are special to only have traded away one or two particularly relevant players in 30 years but IÂ’d guess that there are more teams in that boat than youÂ’d think.
The Tex trade was from surplus and to have a few contribute to a contender for a little bit of time smarted for some but its impact is overstated. The ss was probably the only regrettable piece dealt and the Braves didnÂ’t really suffer from it too much.[/QUOTE]
Braves have traded
Adam Wrainwright-45.9 career WAR
Elvis Andrus-32.9 career WAR
Charlie Morton-14.4 career WAR......granted most of this was after Pittsburgh
I do think the Braves are better than most.
Red Sox have traded Brady Anderson, Curt Schilling, Anthony Rizzo and Jeff Bagwell as prospects. That's just one team.
In the prospect game you will always be right when you say the prospect will suck. Almost all of them do. But there are really good players that are dealt as prospects and every team has had that happen.
The other variable is cost. Some teams need guys to be productive on team control b/c they have cheap ownership. Other teams can afford to eat mistakes and/or buy experience. But you can't dismiss it.
Guys traded as prospects:
Trea Turner
Trevor Bauer....for a time
Carlos Carrasco
Hanly Ramriez
David Lee
Kenny Lofton
So you are right on the point that it's not a guy every year, but impact talent does move as prospects.