Top 5 Minnesota Twins Trades that Built Contenders

[Nate Palmer]

There are many ways to build championship teams. One way is through the trade. Here is an attempt to rank the top 5 trades that helped to build contending Minnesota Twins teams throughout their history.In 1960, before the Minnesota Twins were that, the Washington Senators made a trade that sent Roy Sievers to the Chicago White Sox for 1B Don Mincher and C Earl Battey. At the time Sievers was viewed as the type of player that would hopefully push the White Sox over the top for the pennant.

 

Griffith and the Senators really wanted Sammy Esposito with Battey but instead ended up with Mincher. Mincher may not have been a Hall of Famer but swung a quality bat and was good enough to help carry the 1965 Twins through Harmon Killebrew injuries. If it wasn’t for Joe Mauer, Battey would be in the conversation for best backstop in Twins history.

 

Griffith and the Twins pulled off a series of instrumental trades leading up to winning the 1965 American League Pennant. With acquiring Mincher and Battey being one of them. That got me thinking, what trades have led directly to a Twins window of contention? Here are my top 5 trades that directly led to the Twins being playoff contenders over their history.

 

5. Received Shannon Stewart and PTBNL (Dave Gassner) for Bobby Kielty-- July 2003

 

At the close of July 13th games in 2003 the Twins were 44-49, in third place in the AL Central, and 7.5 games back of first place. The Twins decided to swing a trade with the Toronto Blue Jays that brought outfielder Stewart to Minnesota with the hopes that the outgoing Kielty would be able to help the fellow third place Blue Jays.

 

After coming to the Twins, Stewart in part helped propel the Twins to a playoff berth as he in 65 games slashed .322/.384/.470 with an .854 OPS. As was all too common in the current era of Twins baseball the team would lose to the Yankees in the first round.

 

Stewart would stick around Minnesota after signing as a free agent that winter and would go on to play through 2006 in Minnesota. He would hit .287/.347/.405 over those next three seasons and the Twins would be in the playoffs in 2 out of those 3 years.

 

4. Received Cesar Tovar for Gerry Arrigo--December 1964

 

Just prior to one of the best seasons in Twins history, the team sent left-handed pitcher Arrigo to the Cincinnati Reds. In exchange the Twins received 24-year-old Venezualan Cesar Tovar. Tovar didn’t figure in too much in that first season only appearing in 18 games. He would figure to be a fixture of many other good Twins teams through the rest of his tenure in Minnesota.

 

Tovar played primarily as a second baseman but could be found all over the diamond and figured in regularly at the top of the Twins lineup beginning in ‘66 when he played in 134 games. In 1967, Tovar played every position for the Twins (all 9 in one game in fact). From 1965-1972 Tovar slashed .281/.337/.377 and was involved to some level in MVP voting from 1967-1971.

 

He would be involved in the postseason for the Twins in both 1969 and 1970. While his postseason performance in ‘69 wasn’t great, he rebounded the next season collecting 5 hits in three games including a triple, run, and RBI.

 

3. Received Jim Perry for Jack Kralick--May 1963

 

When thinking through these trades, there was a time where it really felt like Perry vs. Mudcat Grant for this list. Ultimately, it was Perry’s longevity that got him on the list over Mudcat. Which is somewhat ironic since Mudcat would follow Perry from to Minnesota from Cleveland in a separate trade.

 

Perry would pitch 10.1 innings for the Indians before the trade in 1963 and would finish out the season with the Twins with 168.1 innings and a 3.74 ERA. While in 1965, Perry would seem to take a backseat to Grant and Jim Kaat he would actually wind up with the highest bWAR of the trio at 2.6 WAR over 167.2 innings.

 

Perry would go on to play for the Twins through the 1972 season appearing in two All-Star games, starting games in the 1969 and 1970 playoffs, and winning the Cy-Young in 1970.

 

2. Kevin Tapani, Rick Aguilera, Tim Drummond, David West, and PTBNL (Jack Savage) for Frank Viola--December 1987

 

In this trade the Twins got a bit of a haul of players as they traded away one legend of Twins World Series history in Viola to the New York Mets. In return they received two players who went on to have similar status as the team won the championship again in 1991 in Tapani and Aguilera.

 

From 1989 to mid-1995 Tapani was with the Twins. He currently stands with the 8th best WAR (19.1) in team history. The Yooper (via Des Moines, IA) went on to start two games in the ‘91 World Series. One of which being his 8.0 inning two run start in the second game of the series. A game in which he gave way to none other than Aguilera.

 

Minus a brief stint in 1995 with the Boston Red Sox, Aguilera was with the Twins for 1989-1999. He ranks 12th all-time in WAR for the Twins (15.5) and is second in saves (254) just behind Joe Nathan’s 260. Aguilera appeared in 4 games during the 1991 World Series. Including a 2.0 inning outing to get the win in Game 6.

 

Both pitchers were very good for a long time for the Twins. That lumped in with some significant performances on the way to the World Series in 1991 puts them at number two on this list. In all honesty, as I type this maybe they deserved more credit for the number one spot. Speaking of which…

 

1. Joe Nathan, Francisco Liriano, and Boof Bonser for A.J. Pierzynski (November 2003)

 

To make room for some up and coming catcher named Mauer, Pierzynski was moved to the San Francisco Giants in a trade that truly marks a generation of Twins fandom. Nathan came in as a relatively unknown converted pitcher from shortstop and would go on to be a face of the franchise.

 

As stated above, he would eventually surpass Aguilera as the franchise saves leader. He locked down the backend of a bullpen that often seemed to buoy a starting rotation that outside of the top two or three spots felt weak for a contending team. Nathan also ranks 9th all-time in WAR for the club just behind Tapani.

 

Liriano may be one of the biggest stories of “what could have been” but he helped provide some of the most exciting baseball I have seen with my own eyes next to this past season in 2019. While his tenure with the Twins seems marred by injuries and failed expectations, his rookie season in 2006 was one to remember. Paired with Johan Santana, Liriano held a 2.16 ERA, a 208 ERA+, made the All-Star roster, and was third in rookie of the year voting.

 

Boof Bonser may not get any accolades, but he was as good as any third wheel could be. His 2006 season still provided some solid starts as he went 7-6 over 100.1 innings with a 4.22 ERA and a 106 ERA+. This trio did help add to a base of players that provided for some exciting teams in the early 2000s.

 

Now it is your turn. What trades do you think influenced some runs at contention the most in Twins history? Have I romanticized my number one choice a little too much? I would love to hear what you think!

 

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[pierre75275]

Nice article. Pretty sure that Viola trade happened in Aug 1989 tho.

[jimbo92107]

Imagine if they'd kept Pierzynski, moved Mauer to right field, and built a team around that core. Even without Nathan and Liriano, the Twins would have been fun to watch. Mauer's good legs, rocket arm, and no concussions. His bat, healthy, for fifteen years. That's why the Nats moved Bryce Harper to the outfield.  

[etwink]

Good review of big trades!

 

I’d replace the Tovar trade with the Knoblauch trade.  That one certainly helped to crack open the window of contention going into the 2000’s with Guzman & Milton.

 

Viola trade was in July ‘89.  Can’t think of a trade that we made in Dec ‘87.  The Bruno was trade in early ‘88, so maybe that’s what you were thinking about.

 

Completely disagree with the previous comment about Mauer/Pierzynski; there is no way we bring up Mauer to play OF, zero.  Besides AJ was a cancer, as he’d quickly prove in SF.

[nclahammer]

Great list, this would be my #5 though.  The 87' Twins don't win it without The Terminator.  Prior to the start of the 1987 season, Reardon was traded from the Montreal Expos to the Minnesota Twins along with catcher Tom Nieto—for pitchers Neal Heaton, Yorkis Pérez, and Alfredo Cardwood and catcher Jeff Reed.  

[LanceJS]

How about the trade on December 13, 1999 when the Twins traded pitcher Jared Camp to the Marlins for a Rule 5 pitcher named Johan Santana?  That is one I would put in place of Perry for Kralick (although that was a good one)

[Nate Palmer]

 

Nice article. Pretty sure that Viola trade happened in Aug 1989 tho.

 

Viola trade was in July ‘89.  Can’t think of a trade that we made in Dec ‘87.  The Bruno was trade in early ‘88, so maybe that’s what you were thinking about.

 

Got my wires crossed somewhere. It was '89! Thanks for the catch. 

[Nate Palmer]

 

Great list, this would be my #5 though.  The 87' Twins don't win it without The Terminator.  Prior to the start of the 1987 season, Reardon was traded from the Montreal Expos to the Minnesota Twins along with catcher Tom Nieto—for pitchers Neal Heaton, Yorkis Pérez, and Alfredo Cardwood and catcher Jeff Reed.  

Reardon was on the list. Just didn't make the cut ultimately for me, but certainly an important part of that championship team! 

[Nate Palmer]

 

How about the trade on December 13, 1999 when the Twins traded pitcher Jared Camp to the Marlins for a Rule 5 pitcher named Johan Santana?  That is one I would put in place of Perry for Kralick (although that was a good one)

I forgot about the trading involved within the Rule 5 when Johan was selected. In my head was thinking of him as a pure selection which certainly made it one of the top 5 transactions, but not trade. 

 

You may have found the first big omission! And a BIG one at that! 

[Trov]

I would have Stewart trade higher.  If you want to go way down the rabbit hole, the Chuck Knobloch trade led to a huge trade tree that helped a ton.  Sure the first returns were not game changing, but Eric Milton to Philly for Silva and more importantly Nick Punto, who when he was going well the team did amazing.  Then Buch Bucannon to Padres for Bartlett helped for couple years.  So I would put the Knobloch trade up there, not because of the first returns but what it eventually led to.

 

I personally would not put the A.J. trade too high.  Yes, it was huge win compared to what Giants got, but that was Giants fault for not thinking about personalities of players being important.  Yes, Nathan is career leader in saves, an overrated stat, but how many times did he falter in the playoffs?  Did it help yes, but would not have it be my number 1.

 

This exercise has made me think of some terrible trades in team history, mainly coming from Smith as GM.  Sure there were others, but he had so many bad ones it is a wonder how he managed to stay GM so long.  However, he did sign Sano, Polonco, Kepler all in same year, so he had done something right. 

[VATwinsFan]

Jim Merritt for Leo Cardenas in 1968 was a significant move as was Versalles/Grant for Perranoski/Miller/Roseboro in 1967.  Both of those trades set up the 69 and 70 division winners.

[John Bonnes]

Knoblauch?

[Linus]

Most of the trades listed and the alternate suggestions were made by Terry Ryan. Pretty impressive list

[Dantes929]

We don't win the 87 World Series without trading for Blyleven in 86.    I think you got the top two right.    Edge to the AJ trade because Mauer was going to replace him with Mauer no matter what.   

[Nate Palmer]

 

Knoblauch?

I came at this initially thinking that this trade didn't have enough impact on winning teams with Milton only seeing the one playoff run. Although that run did take them into a ALCS. That combined with the longevity of Guzman maybe required it getting a bit more attention than I gave it. 

[Nine of twelve]

 

Imagine if they'd kept Pierzynski, moved Mauer to right field, and built a team around that core. Even without Nathan and Liriano, the Twins would have been fun to watch. Mauer's good legs, rocket arm, and no concussions. His bat, healthy, for fifteen years. That's why the Nats moved Bryce Harper to the outfield.  

If Mauer would have been moved early in his career I think third base is where he would have wound up. He had the hands of an infielder and had less than ideal speed for an outfielder. The thing is that at that time the Twins were well-situated at third. And when Mauer was finally moved it was to first base mainly because that's where the team had a hole that needed to be plugged.

[Nine of twelve]

 

How about the trade on December 13, 1999 when the Twins traded pitcher Jared Camp to the Marlins for a Rule 5 pitcher named Johan Santana?  That is one I would put in place of Perry for Kralick (although that was a good one)

Good one, but it was not quite a true trade. The Twins had the first pick of the Rule 5 draft and would have taken Santana straight up but there was a pre-arranged deal with the Marlins that allowed this trade to be made with a bit of additional cash coming to the Twins.

[Kevin Urdahl]

Twins don't win the 87 World Series, or even make it into the playoffs, without trading for Reardon. Gotta be in the top 3.

[singlesoverwalks]

Dan Gladden. He might not be a Sabermetric favorite, but when they made that trade it gave them a feeling of legitimacy.

[Dantes929]

 

Twins don't win the 87 World Series, or even make it into the playoffs, without trading for Reardon. Gotta be in the top 3.

That was such a flawed pitching staff.  Only two pitchers with an ERA under 4.   Reardon   with an ERA of 4.48 a record of 8-8 31 saves and 10 blown saves and WAS crucial as you say.    Thing is just basic competency was crucial on that staff so really, they don't make the playoffs without any one of  Viola, Blyleven Reardon, Berenguer and even Les Straker .   This was a team that was outscored during the regular season and statistically should have been 79-83.   Two of those 5 critical pitchers were picked up because they were released by other teams.    They were 56-25 at home and 29-52 on the road.   I hate to say it but the most important trade in the history of the franchise as far as World Series go was the Met for the Dome though 91 was a really good team with a decent chance anyway.

[Peco34]

Gladden trade in March '87...not sure 87 happens without him. Not sure who plays left field..young Mark Davidson? Would have loved having Mickey Hatcher on the team though...87 had lots of quirky trades..Niekro, Carlton, Baylor...amazing..

[Darius]

Jared Camp for Johan Santana in ‘99.

 

It was a Rule 5 deal, but still a trade. Arguably #1, considering Nathan was merely a closer (great, but no multiple Cy Young winner), Liriano blew out his arm after two months, and Bonser was nothing special.

 

I can’t imagine the Twins were anywhere near as successful in the 00s without arguably the best pitcher in team history.

 

Edit: Hat tip to Lance. Should’ve read all the comments more thoroughly.

[jimbo92107]

 

If Mauer would have been moved early in his career I think third base is where he would have wound up. He had the hands of an infielder and had less than ideal speed for an outfielder. The thing is that at that time the Twins were well-situated at third. And when Mauer was finally moved it was to first base mainly because that's where the team had a hole that needed to be plugged.

Yeah, but by the time Mauer was moved to first base, most of his foot speed was gone, and his recovery from concussion was iffy, and never really complete. I just hope Mauer doesn't suffer later in life from those concussions. 

 

Speaking of Mauer's arm, does anybody remember if Mauer ever uncorked a truly wild and goofy throw? All I remember is an arm-cannon that shot straight and true. Maybe not quite the mph of Sano, but straight as an arrow and right on target.