Giants Acquire Catcher Pierzynski

Catcher A.J. Pierzynski was traded Friday by the Minnesota Twins to the San Francisco Giants for right-handed pitcher Joe Nathan and two minor league pitchers, right-hander Boof Bonser and left-hander Francisco Liriano. The Twins will give up either a player to be named or cash to complete the deal.

Pierzynski, 26, batted .312 with 35 doubles, 11 homers and 74 runs batted in in 137 games last season.

An All-Star in 2002, Pierzynski will earn a significant raise through salary arbitration from the $365,000 he made in 2003.

Nathan, 26, was 12-4 with a 2.96 earned-run average in 78 appearances last season. He led all National League relievers in victories.

“It’s one of those things that was eventually going to happen,” Pierzynski said, reached on a golf course in Hawaii. “I was one of the first guys people had talked about. And they’ve got the guy coming behind me.”

Joe Mauer, the top pick in the 2001 amateur draft, is close to taking over as Minnesota’s catcher. He was the Twins’ minor league player of the year, batting .335 with Class-A Fort Myers and .341 for double-A New Britain.

*

The Boston Red Sox re-signed right-hander Mike Timlin, their most reliable reliever last season. He was 6-4 with two saves and a 3.55 ERA and led the staff with 72 appearances. In the playoffs, he retired the first 23 batters he faced and did not yield a run in 9 2/3 innings.

“There were times when he seemed to pick the bullpen up by its bootstraps by himself,” General Manager Theo Epstein said after giving Timlin a deal that guarantees him $2.75 million. “When things looked bleak, that’s when he was the most positive. He willed the bullpen to success at times.”

Timlin, 37, gets $2.5 million next season, and the club has a $2.75-million option with a $250,000 buyout. If he pitches in 50 or more games next season and is not on the disabled list at the end of the season, the 2005 salary becomes guaranteed.

*

Hideki Matsui didn’t make the Topps All-Rookie team, either.

The Japanese outfielder, who starred for the New York Yankees, was beaten out by Tampa Bay’s Rocco Baldelli, Cleveland’s Jody Gerut and Milwaukee’s Scott Podsednik in voting announced Friday.

Earlier this week, Matsui was beaten by Kansas City shortstop Angel Berroa in voting for American League rookie of the year. Yankee owner George Steinbrenner criticized two voters who left Matsui off their ballots -- the two voters said they didn’t think veterans of the Japanese major leagues should be eligible.

Florida’s Dontrelle Willis, the NL rookie of the year, was selected as the top left-handed pitcher, and Arizona’s Brandon Webb was the top right-hander.

The infielders are Mark Teixeira of Texas at first, Bo Hart of St. Louis at second, Ty Wigginton of the New York Mets at third and Berroa at shortstop. The catcher was Miguel Olivo of the Chicago White Sox.

Balloting was done by major league managers in September. Managers could vote for players on their own teams.