The Padres were in quite a different position ten years ago. They had a 3.5-game division lead and were decidedly buyers. One area that needed shored up was third base due to Sean Burroughs doing Sean Burroughs things. To address this, San Diego sent minor league pitchers Travis Chick and Justin Germano to Cincinnati for Joe Randa.
The longtime Royals third baseman was amidst his best overall offensive season in his first and only year with the Reds. Randa was slashing .289/ .356/ .491 with 26 doubles and 13 homers in 332 at-bats over 92 games when the trade went down. Chick had a 5.27 ERA in 19 starts at AA Mobile; Germano was doing better, putting up a 3.70 for AAA Portland, also in 19 starts.
Randa's numbers at the plate declined after the trade, but he was still an improvement over Burroughs, who was demoted to Portland to make room for Randa on the roster and lineup. He hit .256/ .303/ .395 in 223 at-bats in 58 games. The Padres played exactly .500 ball after the trade, finishing with an 82-80 record which was good for first in a weak NL West. He hit well in San Diego's Division Series loss to St. Louis, going 4-for-11 with a double and a walk, good for a .364/ .417/ .455 line. After the season Randa signed as a free agent with Pittsburgh, where he ruined Chris Young's no-hitter with a ninth-inning homer.
Germano pitched decently with AAA Louisville after the trade and returned there to begin the next season. The next July he was traded to the Phillies organization for Rheal Cormier, and eventually was reacquired off waivers by the Padres in the spring of 2007; he made 23 starts for the club that season, by far his career high. Chick also stayed at the same level, finishing the season and beginning the next at AA Chattanooga. He was also traded in mid-'06, going to Seattle where he pitched five innings of relief in his only three major league games.