The Minnesota Twins Made Their Biggest Mistake On This Day In 2002

There have been a few missteps in the history of the Minnesota Twins, to be sure. Trading Johan Santana for magic beans, getting rid of the Dome Dog when the team moved to Target Field and the entirety of the Pohlad's reign of ownership terror are just a few off the top of my head.

However, the biggest misstep in team history happened on December 16th, 2002. That was the day the Twins decided to unceremoniously part ways with a young designated hitter that had shown promise but had ultimately failed to put the entire package together due to injuries.

After six seasons with the Twins in which he put up a total of 2.6 WAR in nearly 1,700 plate appearances, the slugger went on to star with the Boston Red Sox for 14 seasons while putting up 52.7 Wins Above Replacement.

David Ortiz was signed by the Seattle Mariners as an international free agent in 1992 before being traded to the Twins in exchange for Dave Hollins in 1996. He made his MLB debut in 1997 and played in 86 games the next season.

Despite flashing some power and posting a more-than-respectable 120 OPS+ in 2002, the Twins decided to part ways with Ortiz. After trying (and failing) to find a trade partner, the Twins unceremoniously released Ortiz in December of 2002.

The reasoning was understandable at the time. The Twins had Matt LeCroy and Doug Mientkiewicz on the big league roster and a promising young slugger in the minor leagues named Justin Morneau- the #21 ranked prospect in the game.

There were few takers for Ortiz's services and he was ultimately signed to a minor league deal by the Boston Red Sox and the rest is history. He went on to earn the nickname 'Big Papi' while leading the Red Sox to World Series titles in 2004, 2007 and 2013 before retiring after the 2016 season.

When it was all said and done, Ortiz put up 483 home runs with the Red Sox with a 141 OPS+ in his 14 seasons in Boston and was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 2022.

Matt LeCroy played seven seasons with the Twins and posted a total WAR of 0.4 in 1,459 at-bats. Doug Mientkiewicz had a solid career with the Twins but was traded away during the 2004 season.

Morneau turned out to be the best of the trio of Ortiz replacements. In eleven seasons with the Twins, the Canadian slugger posted 22.9 WAR and won an MVP award in 2006.