Another ridiculous trade

This may go down as the most lop-sided deal in Major League history.

On November 14th, 2003, the Minnesota Twins sent their cancerous catcher, who was coming off a career year, to the San Francisco Giants. In return for A.J. Pierzynski, the Twins received a package that consisted of Boof Bonser, Francisco Liriano, and Joe Nathan. At the time, Joe Nathan was the only one with any Major League experience, and was coming off a season in which he was a much-used reliever, who gained 12 wins in the role. A.J. Pierzynski had just had a year in which he hit .312, with 11 homers and 74 RBIs. Liriano and Bonser were just 20 and 21, respectively, at the time of the deal.

A year later, Pierzynski was cut from the Giants, and Joe Nathan had just completed a season in which he had 44 saves with an ERA of 1.62. Since the trade, the Twins have gotten 160 saves and 47 wins from the 3 players they received. Joe Nathan is arguably the best closer in baseball, Francisco Liriano showed flashes of brilliance in his rookie season, and has the opportunity to solidify tha position this season, and Boof Bonser is a serviceable 5th starter. The Giants got one season from a catcher that his new teammates called a "cancer" by the end of the season.

Imagine the position the Giants could be in today if they had never pulled the triggr on this deal. A rotation of Liriano, Cain, Lincecum, Bonser + whoever (not Zito in all likelyhood with this rotation), with Joe Nathan closing out games. Scary to think about that.

Here's hoping that the Santana trade has a different outcome!