New York Yankees: Best Offseason Trades of Brian Cashman Era

3. February 6, 1998 — NYY receives Chuck Knoblauch; MIN receives Cristian Guzman, Eric Milton, Brian Buchanan, Danny Mota

In Cashman’s first significant deal at the helm, he helped the Yankees take that next step following a crushing 1997 season in which they failed to repeat as world champs.

Sure, Knoblauch was not his Twins self, stealing 62 bases (’97) and consistently hitting north of .300. But he was everything the Yankees needed at the moment, coming up with timely hits which helped New York execute a three-peat (1998-2000) and win four straight pennants from 1998-2001.

He played a huge part in the historic 114-win campaign in 1998, eventually resulting in a 125-50 mark and the franchise’s 24th championship.

To put the deal into perspective, Cashman acquired Knoblauch for one extremely solid major league player (Guzman) and a bag of baseballs (the others).