Jack Zduriencik has been on the job in Seattle as their general manager since 2008. In that time, it is hard to pinpoint anything he has done well. Pouring through the multitude of moves to find his all-time worst is a bit of a struggle. However, you would be hard pressed to beat the deal that brought Jesus Montero to the Mariners. Zduriencik sent young hurler Michael Pinedato the Yankees along with Jose Campos in exchange for Montero and Hector Noesi. Imagine Noesi being the star attraction of that trade.

On the one hand, Pineda hasn’t thrown a single pitch for the Yankees. You could hardly call the deal a victory for them either. That being said, you have to wonder if the trade started a series of events that ruined the careers of both of the principle actors in the deal. Pineda came into camp out of shape and eventually had to have surgery to repair his arm. Montero came in and was given regular work in 2012. The results so far have been underwhelming.

In that season, he managed a .260/.298/.386 slash line. For his first full season in the big leagues that wasn’t so bad, but there were mitigating circumstances that made his long-term success doubtful. First, he was a horrible defensive catcher. He caught 487.2 innings in 2012 and had -5 defensive runs saved according to the Fielding Bible. Those that watched were even less impressed. More importantly though, the Mariners drafted catcher Mike Zunino in the first round, and he was on the fast track to the big leagues.

Of course, designated hitter was still open for the time being, but when you lose consistently enough, you don’t have time to be patient. Montero’s .685 OPS in 2012 influenced Zdrudiencik to go out and trade for Kendrys Morales in the offseason. Add to that a horrible 2013 slash line for Montero (.208/264/.327) and his future was definitely in doubt.

You would think that a player like Montero would want to do as much as he possibly could to convince the powers that be that he should be a major player going forward. After all, Morales is a free agent and Raul Ibanez signed with the Angels. Catcher and designated hitter now seem to be somewhat open. Unfortunately, Montero showed up to camp about 30 pounds overweight. He admitted that he returned from Winter Ball and sat around and ate.

We often talk about trades being a win-win for both clubs, but this is one of those instances where both teams could view it as a lose-lose. Imagine a healthy Michael Pineda back in the Mariners rotation along with Felix Hernandez, Hisasi Iwakuma, and Taijuan Walker. Imagine the Yankees still having Montero behind the dish and at DH this past season when things were going so wrong. Who knows, maybe it all would have turned out exactly the same in the end. One thing is for sure, Montero is proof positive that there is no such thing as a can’t miss prospect.