Minneapolis ? Though A.J. Pierzynski was sad to say so long to Minnesota, he saw it coming.

The tightly budgeted Twins traded their All-Star catcher to the San Francisco Giants for right-handed reliever Joe Nathan and two minor leaguers Friday.

San Francisco will send right-hander Boof Bonser and left-hander Francisco Liriano to Minnesota. The Twins will give up either a player to be named or cash to complete the deal between division champions.

“It’s one of those things that was eventually going to happen,” said Pierzynski, 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 waiting to take over as Minnesota’s catcher.

“The door is pretty wide open right now,” Mauer said from his offseason home in Florida. “It’s pretty exciting for me. … I’ve got a shot to be on the club next year.”

The Twins’ minor league player of the year, Mauer hit .335 with Class A Fort Myers and .341 for Double-A New Britain.