Eduardo Tait and Mick Abel, Brought to You By A.J. Pierzynski

[Greggory Masterson]

Image courtesy of © Brace Hemmelgarn-Imagn Images

We love trade trees, don’t we folks? You—yes, you, the reader—already know that the Twins traded closer Jhoan Durán to the Phillies for 18-year-old catcher Eduardo Tait and Triple-A starting pitching prospect Mick Abel. All over this site, there are breakdowns of the trade. But let’s talk about how we got here instead.

As you read in the title, A.J. Pierzynski is directly responsible for the Twins acquiring Tait and Abel. Well, maybe not directly. He didn’t call Derek Falvey and instruct the team to make the trade. But Durán’s (and, in effect, Tait and Abel's) presence in the organization can be traced back to Pierzynski.

Let’s start at the beginning. Pierzynski was drafted in 1994 by the Minnesota Twins. He played sparingly in the big leagues from 1998 to 2000, but he was Minnesota’s starting catcher between 2001 and 2003, earning an All-Star nod in 2002 and connecting for one of the biggest Twins home runs since 1991.

But, as Twins fans know, there was another catcher in the system: Joseph Patrick Mauer. Before the 2004 season, to clear room for the top prospect in baseball, Pierzynski was traded to San Francisco for three pitchers: Joe Nathan, Francisco Liriano, and Boof Bonser.

Let’s start doing some counting, and compare Baseball Reference wins above replacement (bWAR). Pierzynski played one season in a Giants uniform, accruing 0.3 bWAR, before being non-tendered over the offseason. Reports are that he wore out his welcome a bit in the Bay, but he nonetheless went on to play an additional 11 years, winning a World Series in Chicago the following year and a Silver Slugger in 2012.

On the Twins' side, however, things got fun.

Bonser was a replacement-level backend starter and long reliever for the Twins for three years, accruing -0.2 bWAR between 2006 and 2008, picking up a playoff start along the way. In 2009, he was traded for a minor leaguer named Chris Province, who never made the majors.

Bonser isn’t the name people talk about with this trade, though. Nathan emerged as Minnesota’s closer and held that spot (other than during time lost to injury) from 2004 to 2011. He’s widely regarded to be the best closer in team history, and he’s arguably the second-best closer of his era, behind Mariano Rivera. He racked up 260 saves in his Twins career with an ERA of 2.16, earning four All-Star nods in six years from 2004 to 2009. He was worth 18.4 bWAR.

Finally, Liriano had one of the more memorable Twins careers in recent memory. During his 2006 rookie season, he threw 121 innings, striking out 144, to the tune of a 2.16 ERA. He may have been the best pitcher on a team that included Johan Santana, who was about to win his second Cy Young Award in three years (should have been a three-peat, you’ll pay for this Bartolo Colón). Liriano blew out his elbow in August of that year and was never the same, but during his eight-year Twins career, he was worth 9.3 bWAR.

Adding those three pitchers up, the Twins netted 27.5 bWAR from the products of the Pierzynski trade, compared to the 0.3 bWAR the Giants got out of it.

But the story doesn’t stop there.

At the 2012 Trade Deadline, Liriano was traded to the White Sox for pitcher Pedro Hernández and infielder Eduardo Escobar. Hernández had a rough go of it, only throwing 56 2/3 innings for the Twins in 2013 before being released over the offseason. He netted -0.7 bWAR.

Escobar, however, spent parts of seven seasons in a Twins uniform, initially as a utility infielder (and occasional left fielder) before settling in as an everyday player from 2014 to 2018, mostly at shortstop and third base. The fan favorite accumulated 5.6 bWAR in a Twins uniform before his trade at the 2018 deadline to Arizona, where he became their everyday third baseman.

The Liriano trade brought the Twins an additional 4.9 bWAR between Escobar and Hernández, but Escobar’s trade added another couple of branches.

In return for Escobar, the Twins received Gabriel Maciel, Ernie De La Trinidad, and Jhoan Durán. Maciel and De La Trinidad have washed out of affiliated ball, but, well, you already know this. Durán emerged as the best Twins closer since Nathan. Pairing a fastball that could hit 105 miles per hour, a splitter that touched 100, and a filthy curveball, Durán became many Twins fans' favorite player.

Durán closed for the Twins from 2022 to 2025, saving 74 games with a 2.47 ERA. He was worth 7.3 bWAR for Minnesota, and he was in the midst of what may be his best season as a big-leaguer when he was traded on Wednesday.

So, between Nathan, Liriano, Durán, Escobar, Bonser, and Hernández, the Pierzynski trade accrued a total of 39.7 bWAR, which dwarfs the Giants' 0.3 from the deal.

And now, Tait and Abel are the next two branches of this trade tree. Abel might start creating value for Minnesota as early as this season, and Tait has a chance to add some serious value if he pans out as a prospect.

If you’re a sicko, this is fun. It’s far more fun than the shellacking that the Twins have taken in the Delmon Young Trade Tree, at least.

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[USAFChief]

Fun read. Thanks 

[AceWrigley]

The Delmon Young Trade Tree . . . soon to be available at your local store.

[In My La Z boy]

That was fun! I also am a sicko 👍

 

[thelanges5]

Tait looks like a big dude who dings dongs. I wanted to be blown away and wasn’t. This trade does provide value. That’s Falvey’s MO. That’s what he talks about. 

[Brandon]

Trade trees are fun.  Even the ugly ones.  If Tait pans out and plays 10 years and gets traded this tree could go on for many years tormenting Giants fans along the way with what could have been,

 

[h2oface]

Each trade is its own trade. Fun to link them, but they each stand on their own. 
 

Quick note on pronunciation: Eduardo Tait = “tie-eet", not “tayt" as many Twins folks are saying. 

[Major League Ready]

6 hours ago, h2oface said:

Each trade is its own trade. Fun to link them, but they each stand on their own. 
 

Quick note on pronunciation: Eduardo Tait = “tie-eet", not “tayt" as many Twins folks are saying. 

Not really.  One can't happen without the other.  This illustration of how trading away a good player can impact the future is good to know as we absorb what happened in the last few days.  

[bunsen82]

This is a heck of a tree.  That has the possibility of continuing.  You have 2 high ceiling players.  That have the potential to add a lot of value to the tree.  

[Nshore]

 

Eventually everything can be traced back to Shorty Pleis.