Fraters Libertas

They’re Not Booing, They’re Boofing

Today the Minnesota Twins began the off season chess game of putting together a competitive roster on a small market budget with the just announced trade of catcher A.J. Pierzynski to the San Francisco Giants.

Pierzynski is an all-star caliber player, both as hitter and defensively. And he’s only 26, just entering the prime of his career, promising to excel in a position that’s a liability for most teams. So in many ways this trade stings.

But with Joe Mauer waiting in the wings to take over at catcher, no matter what the Twins got in return, it’s a defensible trade. Mauer is a former number one overall draft choice, a player who has dominated in the minors and is considered a can’t miss prospect. Plus he’s a St. Paul native and given Minnesotans’ habit of worshiping all things local, this guy has the potential to pack ‘em in at the Dome. And his salary next year will cost the organization only 10% of what Pierzynski would command. Potentially this savings could allow the Twins to resign one of their own free agents, most likely closer Eddie Guardado.

So I extend my thanks to A.J. for a job well done the past few years with the Twins and I wish him the best. But I’ll weep no tears for him, as he now gets to play the next phase of his career in the most beautiful, luxurious baseball environment in the country - PacBell Stadium in San Francisco. I went to a game out there last year and with a cold Anchor Steam in one hand and in the other hand .... another cold Anchor Steam, I watched the sunset over San Francisco Bay and I‘m still raving about it.

Who knows, maybe I’ll be raving about the dawning of the Joe Mauer era inside the Metrodome next year. Or maybe raving about the dawning of another young phenom, whom the Twins got in the Pierzynski deal. According to the Star Tribune:

The Twins are also expected to receive righthander Boof Bonser, a former first-round draft pick.

Hearing PA announcer Bob Casey attempt to pronounce that name might be worth the trade all by itself.

UPDATE: The always prescient John Bonnes at Twins Geek did a cost / benefit analysis about a Pierzynski trade on his site today. Since he wrote the column yesterday, specific knowledge of the details of the Giants trade were not included. But his analysis is spot on anyway.

We'll all have to tune in tomorrow to see if the burgeoning Boof Bonser era meets the high criteria Bonnes set for making a trade worthwhile for the Twins:

I don’t think AJ needs to be concerned that he won’t be wearing a “TC” on his cap next year, because another team will really need to pony up to make a trade look acceptable to the Twins, but the possibility remains that Twins fans might get a glimpse of the future a year early.