Former Yankees’ Signee Axford Traded For Exactly One Dollar

Let's get philosophical for a moment, shall we? How much do you think you're worth?

If you're John Axford, the Toronto Blue Jays may have low-balled your value a bit.

That's because Axford, who was pitching in the minor leagues for the Blue Jays, was traded over the weekend to the Milwaukee Brewers for one dollar. Yes, you read that right. One hundred pennies, ten dimes, four quarters, or one thin sheet of paper. No matter how you look at it, that's all it was. John Axford to the Brewers; one dollar to the Blue Jays.

The career of John Axford has ridden a bit of a rocky road, but this pit-stop may take the cake.

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Axford began his career with multiple ties to the state of New York. A native of Ontario in Canada, Axford pitched a year for Canisius College, which caught the eye of the New York Yankees. He signed a minor league contract with the team in August of 2006, and was with the organization through the end of 2007.

After working jobs as a bartender and a cell phone salesman, Axford signed with the Milwaukee Brewers, and began his ascent up their minor league ranks, cracking the big league roster in 2009. He became the Brewers closer on a full-time basis in 2011, leading the league in saves with 46, and finishing as a Top-10 finalist for the National League Cy Young Award. He was less successful in 2012, and that's when his career began to slide.

Since 2013, he has pitched for the St. Louis Cardinals, Cleveland Indians, Pittsburgh Pirates, Colorado Rockies, Oakland Athletics, Toronto Blue Jays, Los Angeles Dodgers and, most recently, the Blue Jays again. He did not pitch professionally during the COVID-shortened 2020 season, and had begun a career working as a television analyst for the Blue Jays. After pitching nationally for Canada in 2021, the Blue Jays must've seen something they liked, and offered Axford a minor-league contract. He pitched to an ERA under one run in his minor league appearances with Toronto, which led to the trade to the Brewers.

His career palindrome has led him back to Milwaukee, and though he was forced to leave Monday night's game with an apparent injury, the journey itself is still something to behold.