The Terry Ryan Legacy

Twins' fans and the mainstream media were elated in early November when Bill Smith was fired and replaced by Terry Ryan as the Twins' General Manager. Memories of acquiring Johan Santana in Rule 5 draft and the AJ Pierszynki trade to the Giants for Bonser, Liriano and Nathan, had the Twins' faithful hopeful for a great off-season and "righting the ship" in 2012. The 2 latest transactions, re-signing Matt Capps for a year $4.75 Million with a second year option and losing a sandwich draft pick and trading Kevin Slowey to the Colorado Rockies for a player to be named later, started to bring back memories of the David Ortiz and Casey Blake releases and the Rondell White and Tony Batista signings. For the record, I do think that the Kevin Slowey trade could be worse than the David Ortiz release for the Twins. Here I am listing every transaction that Terry Ryan made as a Twins' GM. The worst decisions are in bold and the best in bold and underlined. The list is by season and from Baseball Reference.

1995:

Signed Bernardo Brito as a free agent.
Sold Tim McIntosh to Nippon Ham Fighters (Japan Pacific).
Selected Rich Robertson off waivers from the Pittsburgh Pirates.
Drafted Brian Kowitz from the Atlanta Braves in the 1994 rule 5 draft.
Signed Matt Merullo as a free agent.
Signed Kevin Maas as a free agent.
Signed Riccardo Ingram as a free agent.
Signed Tom Quinlan as a free agent.
Signed Jerald Clark as a free agent.
Signed Vince Horsman as a free agent.
Signed Carl Willis as a free agent.
Signed Greg Harris as a free agent.
Returned Brian Kowitz (earlier draft pick) to the Atlanta Braves.
Released Carl Willis.
Released Kevin Campbell.
Signed Scott Pose as a free agent.
Drafted Mark Redman in the 1st round (13th pick) of the 1995 amateur draft. Player signed July 10, 1995.
Drafted A.J. Hinch in the 3rd round of the 1995 amateur draft, but did not sign the player.
Drafted Doug Mientkiewicz in the 5th round of the 1995 amateur draft. Player signed July 8, 1995.
Drafted Mike Moriarty in the 7th round of the 1995 amateur draft. Player signed June 18, 1995.
Drafted Jeff Harris in the 28th round of the 1995 amateur draft. Player signed June 6, 1995.
Signed Fred Rath as an amateur free agent.
Traded Dave McCarty to the Cincinnati Reds. Received John Courtright.
Signed Scott Stewart as a free agent.
Released Bernardo Brito.
Kevin Maas granted Free Agency.
Traded Rick Aguilera to the Boston Red Sox. Received J.J. Johnson and Frankie Rodriguez.
Released Scott Stewart.
Signed Pat Lennon as a free agent.
Traded Mark Guthrie and Kevin Tapani to the Los Angeles Dodgers. Received Chris Latham, Ron Coomer, Greg Hansell and Jose Parra.
Released Greg Harris.
Released Vince Horsman.



1996:

Released Steve Dunn.
Oscar Munoz selected by the Baltimore Orioles off waivers.
Kimera Bartee drafted by the Baltimore Orioles in the 1995 rule 5 draft.
Signed Erik Bennett as a free agent.
Signed Paul Molitor as a free agent.
Signed Mike Milchin as a free agent.
Signed Greg Myers as a free agent.
Signed Rick Aguilera as a free agent.
Signed Dave Hollins as a free agent.
Signed Mike Misuraca as a free agent.
Signed Tom Quinlan as a free agent.
Signed Peter Moylan as an amateur free agent.
Signed Roberto Kelly as a free agent.
Released Aaron Fultz.
Released Brandon Puffer.
Selected Scott Aldred off waivers from the Detroit Tigers.
Sent Mike Misuraca to the Milwaukee Brewers as part of a conditional deal.
Drafted Travis Lee in the 1st round (2nd pick) of the 1996 amateur draft. Player signed October 15, 1996.
Drafted Jacque Jones in the 2nd round of the 1996 amateur draft. Player signed August 6, 1996.
Drafted Chad Allen in the 4th round of the 1996 amateur draft. Player signed August 7, 1996.
Drafted Mike Ryan in the 5th round of the 1996 amateur draft. Player signed June 7, 1996.
Drafted Chad Moeller in the 7th round of the 1996 amateur draft. Player signed June 8, 1996.
Drafted Mike Lincoln in the 13th round of the 1996 amateur draft. Player signed June 9, 1996.
Drafted Matt Kata in the 20th round of the 1996 amateur draft, but did not sign the player.
Drafted Mike Lamb in the 31st round of the 1996 amateur draft, but did not sign the player.
Drafted Josh Bard in the 35th round of the 1996 amateur draft, but did not sign the player.
Botched the signing of 1st Draft Pick Travis Lee, by not making an offer within the right time limit, rendering him a free agent
Mike Milchin selected by the Baltimore Orioles off waivers.
Traded Pat Mahomes to the Boston Red Sox. Received a player to be named later. The Boston Red Sox sent Brian Looney (December 17, 1996) to the Minnesota Twins to complete the trade.
Traded Dave Hollins to the Seattle Mariners. Received a player to be named later. The Seattle Mariners sent David Ortiz (September 13, 1996) to the Minnesota Twins to complete the trade.



1997:

Greg Hansell selected by the Boston Red Sox off waivers.
Signed Juan Rincon as an amateur free agent.
Signed Jon Shave as a free agent.
Released Brian Raabe.
Signed Terry Steinbach as a free agent.
Drafted Travis Baptist from the Toronto Blue Jays in the 1996 rule 5 draft.
Traded Matt Walbeck to the Detroit Tigers. Received Brent Stentz
Signed Bob Tewksbury as a free agent.
Signed Greg Swindell as a free agent.
Signed Eric Anthony as a free agent.
Signed Gregg Olson as a free agent.
Signed Grant Balfour as an amateur free agent.
Signed Kevin Baez as a free agent.
Signed Greg Colbrunn as a free agent.
Released Eric Anthony.
Sent Scott Klingenbeck to the Cincinnati Reds as part of a conditional deal.
Signed Darrin Jackson as a free agent.
Selected Kevin Jarvis off waivers from the Detroit Tigers.
Signed Brad Thomas as a free agent.
Released Gregg Olson.
Signed Luis Rodriguez as an amateur free agent.
Drafted Michael Cuddyer in the 1st round (9th pick) of the 1997 amateur draft. Player signed August 19, 1997.
Drafted Matt LeCroy in the 1st round (50th pick) of the 1997 amateur draft. Player signed August 6, 1997.
Drafted Michael Restovich in the 2nd round of the 1997 amateur draft. Player signed August 15, 1997.
Drafted Kevin Frederick in the 17th round of the 1997 amateur draft, but did not sign the player.
Drafted J.C. Romero in the 21st round of the 1997 amateur draft. Player signed June 8, 1997.
Drafted Nick Punto in the 33rd round of the 1997 amateur draft, but did not sign the player.
Kevin Jarvis selected by the Detroit Tigers off waivers.
Dave Stevens selected by the Chicago Cubs off waivers.
Traded Greg Colbrunn to the Atlanta Braves. Received a player to be named later. The Atlanta Braves sent Mark Lewis (minors) (October 1, 1997) to the Minnesota Twins to complete the trade.
Traded Roberto Kelly to the Seattle Mariners. Received players to be named later. The Seattle Mariners sent Joe Mays (October 9, 1997) and Jeromy Palki (minors) (October 9, 1997) to the Minnesota Twins to complete the trade.
Traded Darrin Jackson to the Milwaukee Brewers. Received a player to be named later. The Milwaukee Brewers sent Mick Fieldbinder (minors) (September 4, 1997) to the Minnesota Twins to complete the trade.
Traded Greg Myers to the Atlanta Braves. Received a player to be named later. The Atlanta Braves sent Steve Hacker (minors) (December 18, 1997) to the Minnesota Twins to complete the trade.


1998:

Signed Jon Shave as a free agent.
Brent Brede selected by the Arizona Diamondbacks as the 25th pick in the 1997 expansion draft.
Damian Miller selected by the Arizona Diamondbacks as the 47th pick in the 1997 expansion draft.
Signed Esteban Beltre as a free agent.
Signed Chris Turner as a free agent.
Signed Paul Molitor as a free agent. 41 years old
Signed Otis Nixon as a free agent.
Traded Rich Becker to the New York Mets. Received Alex Ochoa.
Signed Mike Morgan as a free agent.
Signed Brent Gates as a free agent.
Signed Micheal Nakamura as an amateur free agent.
Signed Ricky Bones as a free agent.
Signed Orlando Merced as a free agent.
Traded Chuck Knoblauch to the New York Yankees. Received Brian Buchanan, Cristian Guzman, Eric Milton, Danny Mota and cash.
Ryan Radmanovich selected by the Seattle Mariners off waivers.
Released Peter Moylan. (Current Altanta Braves Reliever)
Selected Hector Carrasco off waivers from the Arizona Diamondbacks.
Released Chris Turner.
Released Ricky Bones.
Signed Doug Linton as a free agent.
Drafted Saul Rivera in the 9th round of the 1998 amateur draft. Player signed June 11, 1998.
Drafted Mike Gosling in the 14th round of the 1998 amateur draft, but did not sign the player.
Drafted J.J. Putz in the 17th round of the 1998 amateur draft, but did not sign the player.
Drafted Kevin Thompson in the 18th round of the 1998 amateur draft, but did not sign the player.
Drafted Juan Padilla in the 24th round of the 1998 amateur draft. Player signed July 8, 1998.
Drafted Kevin Frederick in the 34th round of the 1998 amateur draft. Player signed June 3, 1998.
Drafted Tommy Watkins in the 38th round of the 1998 amateur draft. Player signed June 7, 1998.
Fred Rath selected by the Colorado Rockies off waivers.
Traded Orlando Merced and Greg Swindell to the Boston Red Sox. Received Joe Thomas (minors), John Barnes and Matt Kinney.

1999:

Traded Mike Morgan to the Chicago Cubs. Received a player to be named later and cash. The Chicago Cubs sent Scott Downs (November 3, 1998) to the Minnesota Twins to complete the trade.
Selected Fred Rath off waivers from the Colorado Rockies
Released Todd Ritchie.
Traded Dan Naulty to the New York Yankees. Received Allen Butler (minors).
Jon Shave selected by the Texas Rangers off waivers.
Traded Alex Ochoa to the Milwaukee Brewers. Received a player to be named later. The Milwaukee Brewers sent Darrell Nicholas (minors) (December 15, 1998) to the Minnesota Twins to complete the trade.
Signed Brent Gates as a free agent.
Signed Melvin Nieves as a free agent.
Signed Eddie Williams as a free agent.
Signed Gary Rath as a free agent.
Pat Meares granted Free Agency - non-tendered
Signed George Williams as a free agent.
Signed Terry Steinbach as a free agent.
Signed Bob Wells as a free agent.
Signed Bobby Kielty as an amateur free agent.
Sold Melvin Nieves to Fukuoka Daiei Hawks (Japan Pacific).
Sold Dan Serafini to the Chicago Cubs.
Signed Gus Gandarillas as a free agent.
Selected Jack Cressend off waivers from the Boston Red Sox.
Signed Midre Cummings as a free agent.
Traded Rick Aguilera and Scott Downs to the Chicago Cubs. Received Kyle Lohse and Jason Ryan.
Frankie Rodriguez selected by the Seattle Mariners off waivers.
Drafted Rob Bowen in the 2nd round of the 1999 amateur draft. Player signed July 10, 1999.
Drafted Justin Morneau in the 3rd round of the 1999 amateur draft. Player signed June 17, 1999.
Drafted Brian Wolfe in the 6th round of the 1999 amateur draft. Player signed June 15, 1999.
Drafted Brian Slocum in the 14th round of the 1999 amateur draft, but did not sign the player.
Drafted Travis Bowyer in the 20th round of the 1999 amateur draft. Player signed June 9, 1999.
Drafted Willie Eyre in the 23rd round of the 1999 amateur draft. Player signed June 11, 1999.
Drafted Terry Tiffee in the 26th round of the 1999 amateur draft. Player signed August 17, 1999.
Drafted Pat Neshek in the 45th round of the 1999 amateur draft, but did not sign the player.
Signed Tony Fiore as a free agent.
Signed Julio DePaula as an amateur free agent.
Traded George Williams to the Houston Astros. Received Josh Dimmick (minors).
Selected Mario Valdez off waivers from the Chicago White Sox.



2000:

Signed Jason Maxwell as a free agent.
Signed Robin Jennings as a free agent.
Traded Chris Latham to the Colorado Rockies. Received Scott Randall.
Traded Jared Camp (minors) to the Florida Marlins. Received Johan Santana and cash.
Signed Rick Greene as a free agent.
Signed Todd Rizzo as a free agent.
Signed Marcus Jensen as a free agent.
Signed Bobby Ayala as a free agent.
Signed Butch Huskey as a free agent.
Signed Dustan Mohr as a free agent.
Signed Jay Canizaro as a free agent.
Selected Casey Blake off waivers from the Toronto Blue Jays.
Drafted Adam Johnson in the 1st round (2nd pick) of the 2000 amateur draft. Player signed June 19, 2000.
Drafted Aaron Heilman in the 1st round (31st pick) of the 2000 amateur draft, but did not sign the player.
Drafted J.D. Durbin in the 2nd round of the 2000 amateur draft. Player signed July 18, 2000.
Drafted Jason Miller in the 4th round of the 2000 amateur draft. Player signed July 4, 2000.
Drafted Josh Rabe in the 11th round of the 2000 amateur draft. Player signed June 15, 2000.
Drafted Jason Kubel in the 12th round of the 2000 amateur draft. Player signed June 13, 2000.
Traded Francisco Alvarez (minors) to the Toronto Blue Jays. Received Mike Romano.
Scott Randall selected by the Texas Rangers off waivers.
Released Sean Bergman.
Traded Butch Huskey and Todd Walker to the Colorado Rockies. Received Todd Sears and cash.
Released Robin Jennings.
Traded Mario Valdez to the Oakland Athletics. Received Danny Ardoin.
Traded Midre Cummings to the Boston Red Sox. Received Hector De Los Santos (minors).
Traded Hector Carrasco to the Boston Red Sox. Received Lew Ford.
Signed Jason Simontacchi as a free agent.

2001:

Selected Willie Martinez off waivers from the Cleveland Indians.
Signed Jason Maxwell as a free agent.
Released Jason Ryan.
Drafted Brandon Knight from the New York Yankees in the 2000 rule 5 draft.
Signed Tom Prince as a free agent.
Ron Coomer granted Free Agency. - non-tendered
Released Mike Lincoln.
Released Jeff Harris.
Signed Trent Oeltjen as an amateur free agent.
Signed Mike Oquist as a free agent.
Signed Damon Hollins as a free agent.
Signed Mike Duvall as a free agent.
Returned Brandon Knight (earlier draft pick) to the New York Yankees.
Traded Chad Moeller to the Arizona Diamondbacks. Received Hanley Frias.
Signed Hector Carrasco as a free agent.
Signed Quinton McCracken as a free agent.
Signed Tony Fiore as a free agent.
Drafted Joe Mauer in the 1st round (1st pick) of the 2001 amateur draft. Player signed July 17, 2001.
Drafted Jose Morales in the 3rd round of the 2001 amateur draft. Player signed June 30, 2001.
Drafted Kevin Cameron in the 13th round of the 2001 amateur draft. Player signed June 9, 2001.
Drafted Matt Macri in the 17th round of the 2001 amateur draft, but did not sign the player.
Drafted Nick Blackburn in the 29th round of the 2001 amateur draft. Player signed May 21, 2002.
Traded Hanley Frias to the St. Louis Cardinals. Received Larry Sutton.
Sent Damon Hollins to the Atlanta Braves as part of a conditional deal.
Traded Mark Redman to the Detroit Tigers. Received Todd Jones.
Traded Matt Lawton to the New York Mets. Received Rick Reed.
John Barnes selected by the Colorado Rockies off waivers.
Casey Blake selected by the Baltimore Orioles off waivers.

2002:

Selected Casey Blake off waivers from the Baltimore Orioles.
Signed David Lamb as a free agent.
Saul Rivera selected by the New York Mets off waivers.
Drafted Joe Dillon from the Kansas City Royals in the 2001 minor league draft.
Signed Kurt Abbott as a free agent.
Signed Brian Meadows as a free agent.
Signed Michael Jackson as a free agent.
Signed Alex Prieto as a free agent.
Signed David Lee as a free agent.
Signed Scott Randall as a free agent.
Signed Jose Mijares as an amateur free agent.
Signed Warren Morris as a free agent.
Released Brian Meadows.
Signed Mike Trombley as a free agent.
Signed Frank Mata as an amateur free agent.
Signed Garrett Jones as a free agent.
Released Mike Trombley.
Drafted Denard Span in the 1st round (20th pick) of the 2002 amateur draft. Player signed August 15, 2002.
Drafted Jesse Crain in the 2nd round of the 2002 amateur draft. Player signed July 13, 2002.
Drafted Pat Neshek in the 6th round of the 2002 amateur draft. Player signed June 20, 2002.
Drafted Adam Lind in the 8th round of the 2002 amateur draft, but did not sign the player.
Drafted Kyle Phillips in the 10th round of the 2002 amateur draft. Player signed June 24, 2002.
Drafted Evan Meek in the 11th round of the 2002 amateur draft. Player signed May 27, 2003.
Drafted Jeff Clement in the 12th round of the 2002 amateur draft, but did not sign the player.
Drafted Garrett Mock in the 14th round of the 2002 amateur draft, but did not sign the player.
Traded Warren Morris to the St. Louis Cardinals. Received a player to be named later. The St. Louis Cardinals sent Seth Davidson (minors) (June 20, 2002) to the Minnesota Twins to complete the trade.
Signed Jose Rodriguez as a free agent.
Signed Alex Romero as an amateur free agent.
Signed David Manning as a free agent.
Traded Brian Buchanan to the San Diego Padres. Received Jason Bartlett.
Signed Luke Hughes as an amateur free agent.



2003:

Released Casey Blake.
Jack Cressend selected by the Cleveland Indians off waivers.
Released Jose Rodriguez.
Signed Ben Ford as a free agent.
Traded Matt Kinney and Javier Valentin to the Milwaukee Brewers. Received Gerry Oakes (minors) and Matt Yeatman (minors).
Signed Carlos Pulido as a free agent.
David Manning drafted by the Milwaukee Brewers in the 2002 rule 5 draft.
Drafted Jose Morban from the Texas Rangers in the 2002 rule 5 draft.
Released David Ortiz.
Signed Chris Gomez as a free agent.
Signed Jose Rodriguez as a free agent.
Signed Mike Fetters as a free agent.
Signed Kenny Rogers as a free agent.
Released Joe Dillon.
Released Ben Ford.
Kevin Frederick selected by the Toronto Blue Jays off waivers.
Jose Morban selected by the Baltimore Orioles off waivers
Signed Todd Erdos as a free agent.
Released Jose Rodriguez.
Drafted Scott Baker in the 2nd round of the 2003 amateur draft. Player signed June 20, 2003.
Drafted Levale Speigner in the 14th round of the 2003 amateur draft. Player signed June 6, 2003.
Drafted John Gaub in the 25th round of the 2003 amateur draft, but did not sign the player.
Drafted Travis Metcalf in the 38th round of the 2003 amateur draft, but did not sign the player.
Drafted Mike Hollimon in the 49th round of the 2003 amateur draft, but did not sign the player.
Signed James Baldwin as a free agent.
Signed Horacio Estrada as a free agent.
Released Tom Prince.
Traded Bobby Kielty to the Toronto Blue Jays. Received a player to be named later and Shannon Stewart. The Toronto Blue Jays sent Dave Gassner (December 15, 2003) to the Minnesota Twins to complete the trade.
James Baldwin granted Free Agency.
Traded a player to be named later to the New York Yankees. Received Jesse Orosco. The Minnesota Twins sent Juan Padilla (September 2, 2003) to the New York Yankees to complete the trade.
Traded Todd Sears to the San Diego Padres. Received Alex Garcia (minors).



2004:

Selected Sean Douglass off waivers from the Baltimore Orioles.
Released Horacio Estrada.
Signed Seth Greisinger as a free agent.
Traded A.J. Pierzynski and cash to the San Francisco Giants. Received Boof Bonser, Francisco Liriano and Joe Nathan.
Selected Matt Guerrier off waivers from the Pittsburgh Pirates.
Signed Chris Heintz as a free agent.
Signed Greg Halman as an amateur free agent.
Selected Augie Ojeda off waivers from the Chicago Cubs.
Signed Peter Munro as a free agent.
Signed Joe Roa as a free agent.
Traded Eric Milton to the Philadelphia Phillies. Received a player to be named later, Nick Punto and Carlos Silva. The Philadelphia Phillies sent Bobby Korecky (December 17, 2003) to the Minnesota Twins to complete the trade.
Signed Shannon Stewart as a free agent.
Traded Dustan Mohr to the San Francisco Giants. Received a player to be named later. The San Francisco Giants sent J.T. Thomas (minors) (December 17, 2003) to the Minnesota Twins to complete the trade.
Signed Henry Blanco as a free agent.
Augie Ojeda granted Free Agency. - non-tendered
Signed Augie Ojeda as a free agent.
Rick Reed granted Free Agency. non-tendered
Signed Kevin Tolar as a free agent.
Signed Aaron Fultz as a free agent.
Signed Juan Diaz as a free agent.
Signed Rick Helling as a free agent.
Signed Brian Simmons as a free agent.
Signed Jose Offerman as a free agent.
Signed Andrew Lorraine as a free agent.
Sean Douglass selected by the Toronto Blue Jays off waivers.
Released Andrew Lorraine.
Sent Kevin Tolar to the Chicago Cubs as part of a conditional deal.
Free agent signing of Greg Halman voided
Purchased Terry Mulholland from the Seattle Mariners.
Micheal Nakamura selected by the Toronto Blue Jays off waivers.
Signed Joe Beimel as a free agent.
Sold Brad Thomas to the Boston Red Sox.
Sold Todd Erdos to the Milwaukee Brewers.
Signed Todd Dunwoody as a free agent.
Released Peter Munro.
Released Rick Helling.
Signed Gary Glover as a free agent.
Drafted Trevor Plouffe in the 1st round (20th pick) of the 2004 amateur draft. Player signed June 16, 2004.
Drafted Glen Perkins in the 1st round (22nd pick) of the 2004 amateur draft. Player signed June 30, 2004.
Drafted Kyle Waldrop in the 1st round (25th pick) of the 2004 amateur draft. Player signed June 16, 2004.
Drafted Matt Fox in the 1st round (35th pick) of the 2004 amateur draft. Player signed June 21, 2004.
Drafted Anthony Swarzak in the 2nd round of the 2004 amateur draft. Player signed June 21, 2004.
Drafted Matt Tolbert in the 16th round of the 2004 amateur draft. Player signed June 16, 2004.
Drafted Rene Tosoni in the 34th round of the 2004 amateur draft, but did not sign the player.
Released Gary Glover.
Signed Wilson Ramos as an amateur free agent.
Released Brian Simmons.
As part of a 4-team trade, traded Doug Mientkiewicz to the Boston Red Sox. Received Justin Jones (minors) from the Chicago Cubs. In addition, the Boston Red Sox sent Nomar Garciaparra and Matt Murton to the Chicago Cubs; the Montreal Expos sent Orlando Cabrera to the Boston Red Sox; ; and the Chicago Cubs sent Francis Beltran, Alex Gonzalez and Brendan Harris to the Montreal Expos.
Traded B.J. Garbe (minors) to the Seattle Mariners. Received Pat Borders.
Selected Corky Miller off waivers from the Cincinnati Reds.


2005:

Aaron Fultz selected by the Philadelphia Phillies off waivers.
Released Seth Greisinger.
Signed Jason Tyner as a free agent.
Signed Gil Velazquez as a free agent.
Signed Juan Castro as a free agent.
Signed Mike Redmond as a free agent.
Signed Brad Radke as a free agent.
Drafted Ryan Rowland-Smith from the Seattle Mariners in the 2004 rule 5 draft.
Drafted Armando Gabino from the Cleveland Indians in the 2004 minor league draft.
Signed Bud Smith as a free agent.
Signed Glenn Williams as a free agent.
Signed Terry Mulholland as a free agent.
Signed Trey Hodges as a free agent.
Signed Pat Strange as a free agent.
Signed Brent Abernathy as a free agent.
Signed Andy Fox as a free agent.
Signed Eric Munson as a free agent.
Released Adam Johnson.
Signed C.J. Nitkowski as a free agent.
Signed Armando Rios as a free agent.
Returned Ryan Rowland-Smith (earlier draft pick) to the Seattle Mariners.
Released Andy Fox.
Released Eric Munson.
Released C.J. Nitkowski.
Michael Restovich selected by the Tampa Bay Devil Rays off waivers.
Signed Jimmy Anderson as a free agent.
Released Trey Hodges.
Released Brian Wolfe.
Drafted Matt Garza in the 1st round (25th pick) of the 2005 amateur draft. Player signed June 13, 2005.
Drafted Kevin Slowey in the 2nd round of the 2005 amateur draft. Player signed June 13, 2005.
Drafted Brian Duensing in the 3rd round of the 2005 amateur draft. Player signed June 26, 2005.
Drafted Steven Tolleson in the 5th round of the 2005 amateur draft. Player signed July 3, 2005.
Drafted Alex Burnett in the 12th round of the 2005 amateur draft. Player signed June 15, 2005.
Drafted Yonder Alonso in the 16th round of the 2005 amateur draft, but did not sign the player.
Drafted Rene Tosoni in the 36th round of the 2005 amateur draft. Player signed May 25, 2006.
Released Jimmy Anderson.
Released Evan Meek.
Received Bret Boone from the Seattle Mariners as part of a conditional deal.
Released Bret Boone.
Signed Brian Buchanan as a free agent.


2006:

Signed Jason Tyner as a free agent.
Terry Mulholland granted Free Agency.
Jacque Jones granted Free Agency. - non tendered
Signed Mike Smith as a free agent.
Signed Glenn Williams as a free agent.
Traded Scott Tyler (minors) and Travis Bowyer to the Florida Marlins. Received Luis Castillo.
Drafted Jason Pridie from the Tampa Bay Devil Rays in the 2005 rule 5 draft.
Traded J.C. Romero to the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim. Received Alexi Casilla.
Signed Jason Hart as a free agent.
Signed Tony Batista as a free agent.
Signed Andres Torres as a free agent.
Grant Balfour granted Free Agency. - non tendered
Signed Shawn Wooten as a free agent.
Signed Matt Ford as a free agent.
Signed Rondell White as a free agent.
Signed Darrell May as a free agent.
Signed Ryan Glynn as a free agent.
Signed Peter Munro as a free agent.
Signed Tim Raines as a free agent.
Signed Ruben Sierra as a free agent.
Signed Dennys Reyes as a free agent.
Signed Steve Lomasney as a free agent.
Released Ryan Glynn.
Released Tim Raines.
Released Darrell May.
Rob Bowen selected by the Detroit Tigers off waivers.
Returned Jason Pridie (earlier draft pick) to the Tampa Bay Devil Rays.
Released Kyle Phillips.
Sent Jason Hart to the Texas Rangers as part of a conditional deal.
Drafted Chris Parmelee in the 1st round (20th pick) of the 2006 amateur draft. Player signed June 22, 2006.
Drafted Joe Benson in the 2nd round of the 2006 amateur draft. Player signed June 10, 2006.
Drafted Brian Dinkelman in the 8th round of the 2006 amateur draft. Player signed June 8, 2006.
Drafted Jeff Manship in the 14th round of the 2006 amateur draft. Player signed August 8, 2006.
Drafted Andrew Oliver in the 17th round of the 2006 amateur draft, but did not sign the player.
Drafted Danny Valencia in the 19th round of the 2006 amateur draft. Player signed July 9, 2006.
Drafted J.D. Martinez in the 36th round of the 2006 amateur draft, but did not sign the player.
Drafted Anthony Slama in the 39th round of the 2006 amateur draft. Player signed June 4, 2007.
Released Tony Batista.
Traded Juan Castro to the Cincinnati Reds. Received Brandon Roberts (minors).
Signed Rob Delaney as an amateur free agent.
Purchased Donaldo Mendez from Newark (Atlantic).
Released Ruben Sierra.
Signed Erubiel Durazo as a free agent.
Signed Quinton McCracken as a free agent.
Traded Kyle Lohse to the Cincinnati Reds. Received Zach Ward (minors).
Released Steve Lomasney.
Released Erubiel Durazo.
Traded a player to be named later to the Chicago Cubs. Received Phil Nevin and cash. The Minnesota Twins sent Adam Harben (minors) (September 5, 2006) to the Chicago Cubs to complete the trade.

2007:

Signed Carmen Cali as a free agent.
Drafted Brian Buscher from the San Francisco Giants in the 2006 rule 5 draft.
Kevin Cameron drafted by the San Diego Padres in the 2006 rule 5 draft.
Drafted Alejandro Machado from the Washington Nationals in the 2006 rule 5 draft.
Levale Speigner drafted by the Washington Nationals in the 2006 rule 5 draft.
Willie Eyre granted Free Agency. -non-tendered
Luis Rodriguez granted Free Agency. -non-tendered
Signed Mike Venafro as a free agent.
Signed Jeff Cirillo as a free agent.
Signed Luis Rodriguez as a free agent.
Signed Ken Harvey as a free agent.
Signed Brad Voyles as a free agent.
Signed Randy Choate as a free agent.
Signed Sidney Ponson as a free agent.
Signed Matt LeCroy as a free agent.
Alex Romero selected by the Arizona Diamondbacks off waivers.
Signed Ramon Ortiz as a free agent.
Signed Luis Ugueto as a free agent.
Signed Brian Bass as a free agent.
Signed Liam Hendriks as an amateur free agent.
Released Randy Choate.
J.D. Durbin selected by the Arizona Diamondbacks off waivers.
Sold Mike Venafro to the Toronto Blue Jays.
Released Sidney Ponson.
Drafted Ben Revere in the 1st round (28th pick) of the 2007 amateur draft. Player signed June 11, 2007.
Signed Mark Hamburger as an amateur free agent.
The Washington Nationals returned Levale Speigner (earlier draft pick).
Traded Levale Speigner to the Washington Nationals. Received Darnell McDonald.
Traded Luis Castillo to the New York Mets. Received Dustin Martin (minors) and Drew Butera.
Jeff Cirillo selected by the Arizona Diamondbacks off waivers.
Signed Jerome Williams as a free agent.
Traded Ramon Ortiz to the Colorado Rockies. Received Matt Macri.
Selected Chris Basak off waivers from the New York Yankees.


2012:

Signed Brian Dinkelman as a free agent.
Signed Jared Burton as a free agent.
Signed Jamey Carroll as a free agent.
Signed Samuel Deduno as a free agent.
Signed Wilkin Ramirez as a free agent.
Signed Matt Carson as a free agent.
Signed Jason Bulger as a free agent.
Signed Phil Dumatrait as a free agent.
Signed Luis Perdomo as a free agent.
Signed Daryl Thompson as a free agent.
Signed Ryan Doumit as a free agent.
Selected Pedro Florimon off waivers from the Baltimore Orioles.
Signed Matt Capps as a free agent.
Traded Kevin Slowey to the Colorado Rockies for a player to be named later.


So overall, a lot of moves, some good, more bad and ever more inconsequential. Terry Ryan is not the magic wand a lot of people believe and, at this point, probably not the correct person to lead the Twins' organization. What do you think?

Who is the newest Twins' player Pedro Florimon Jr?

On the first day of the Winter Meetings the Twins announced that the claimed Pedro Florimon Jr. from Baltimore Orioles, filling up the 39th spot in their 40-man roster. This means that they can select one player in the MLB portion of the Rule 5 draft and might need to trade or waive players currently on the 40-men roster to sign free agents or accommodate players incoming via trades. This move should not come as a surprise, since I indicated that the Twins were likely to look for an infielder or a pitcher with the rule 5 draft. Acquiring an infielder today, almost makes it a lock that will be after a pitcher this Thursday.



Pedro Florimon Jr, was born in the Dominican on December 10, 1986 (will turn 25 this week) and has been signed as an amateur free agent at 17 years old by the Orioles. He played for 2 seasons in the Dominican Summer League, before making the jump into the US minors in 2006 with the Bluefield Orioles (A, Appalachian League.) Since 2009 he has been playing at the Eastern League Bowie Baysox (AA, with a couple of trips in the SALLY and Carolina Leagues) so the Twins had plenty of opportunity to see him play against the New Britain Rock Cats. His 6-year career minor league line is .247/.322/.354 with 27 HR, 240 RBI, 292R, 89 SB in 2428 plate appearances. Last season in AA, he hit .267/.344/.396 with 8 HR and 15 SB. Defensively, he has exceptional range and instincts, but he (more than occasionally) botches easy plays. In 602 games at SS, he has 174 errors but also turned 363 double plays. He has a strong arm and has some occasional gap power with the bat.

All in all, he is very similar to a younger Alexi Casilla and would need some work with his concentration on the field. I think that the Twins signed him as organizational depth at this point, since there are no pure short stops in the higher levels of the organization. If he improves his error rate, he could possibly win a bench position with the Twins.

Potential Rule 5 Draft Targets for the Twins

The Rule 5 Draft occurs at the final day of the Winter Meetings, Thursday. Previously, I listed the Twins' liabilities in the draft (The link contains a detailed explanation of the rules for both the major and minor league parts of the Rule 5 Draft as well.) Here I am attempting to present potential players who might interest the Twins in the major league portion of the Draft. I feel that the Twins (who are picking second; and last time they picked second they selected Johan Santana - via a switch with the Marlins) will look at either a middle infielder with sure hands or a pitcher. Here is a list of potential targets with the two most likely highlighted:

Position Players

Ryan Flaherty (Cubs) IF/OF



2008 Cubs suplemental pick SS Vanderbilt 6'5" 220 lbs, bats left, throws right, 25 years old. 175 games at 2B (.984 FP), 111 games at SS (.940 FP), 102 games at 3B (.904 FP), 4 games at 1B and 41 games at OF (1.000 FP). Sure handed especially at second base, some pop with the bat, limited range. His potential ceiling is Dan Uggla, but profiles nicely as a utility bench player with occasional starts at second base. Career minor league line .278/.346/.462, never played lower than low A, last season split between AA Tennessee and AAA Iowa: .280/.347/.478, 19 HR, 88 RBI, 74 R at 530 PA.

Others (alphabetically) :

Nick Noonan (Giants) 2B/SS
Gustavo Nunez (Tigers) SS
Tony Delmonico (Dodgers) IF/C
Reynaldo Rodriguez (Red Sox) 1B/OF - if the Twins think out of the box and try to fill their OF need via the Rule 5 Draft.


Pitchers

Tyler Cloyd (Phillies) RHP

2008 Phillies 18th round pick. PHR. 6'3" 190 lbs. Out of Bellevue, NE. Attended University of Nebraska, Omaha (suspended for academic reasons after his sophome season.) 24 years old. Mainly a starter, career MiLB performance: 3.63 ERA, 1.243 WHIP, 7.4 K/9, 3.84 K/BB. Last season in AA Reading 2.78 ERA, 1.088 WHIP, 8.4 K/9 and 6.60 K/BB in 17 starts. Very much a Twins' type of pitcher. Low 90s FB, impeccable control, paints the corners and uses his off-speed stuff often. Also gets a lot of ground balls. Projects either as a mid rotation starter or as a set up guy.

Others (alphabetically) :

Cesar Cabral (Boston) LHP
Dayan Diaz (Astros) RHP
John Ely (Dodgers) RHP
Paolo Espino (Cleveland) RHP
Charlie Haeger (Red Sox) RHP
Ethan Martin (Dodgers) RHP
Diego Moreno (Pirates) RHP
Brad Meyers (Nationals) RHP
Erasmo Ramirez (Mariners) RHP
B.J. Rosenberg (Philies) RHP
Ryan Searle (Cubs) RHP
Cole St. Clair (Dodgers) LHP
Mickey Storey (Astros) RHP
Phillip Valiquette (Mariners) LHP
Pat Venditte (Yankees) Switch Pitching (he will certainly draw fans just to watch)

If you want to follow the Winter Meetings and specific the Twins activity, here are a few places that will worth your time:

• Each night, Seth Stohs and Fanatic Jack have a winter meetings podcast discussing happenings at the meetings with their guests. These podcasts are for an hour starting at 10 PM EDT/9 PM CDT and started last night


• The folks over at Knuckleballs have a nightly Twins' fans chat between 8-10PM EDT/7-9PM CDT every night of the meetings


• Last but not least, ESPN 1500 Twin Cities is live streaming their broadcasts, so if something happens you will here it there

Transactions involving former Twins - November edition

I was asked to do this by @CapitalBabs of Knuckleballs fame, since I have been tweeted them as the came, so here it is. I will make a monthly list of all transactions involving former major and minor league Twins' players. I normally will not talk about coaching and front office positions, but I think that Chili Davis is a remarkable one, so it is included here. Every month, I will be adding the new transactions and will clean the slate once the 2012 season starts in April. If you want to follow those as they come, feel free to follow me on twitter (@thrylos98) or look at the left hand side box with my tweets.

Here are the November transactions involving Twins' players (caveat, might be incomplete because some of those are announced a tad late) :

Arizona Diamondbacks:

C Henry Blanco (major league; free agent, November 2011)

Atlanta Braves:

LHP Dusty Hughes (minor league; free agent, November 2011)

Los Angeles Dodgers:

IF Adam Kennedy (major league; free agent, November 2011)

Oakland Athletics:

-Coach Chili Davis (named MLB hitting coach, November 2011)-
OF Jason Pridie (minor league; free agent, November 2011)

Seattle Mariners:

RHP Matt Fox (minor league; free agent, November 2011)
SS Luis Rodriguez (minor league; free agent, November 2011)


Texas Rangers:

RHP Joe Nathan (major league; free agent, November 2011)

Twins' Winter Meetings Primer

Happy new month! Every year as December rolls in, for about a week, baseball executives, free agents, player agents, a bunch of vendors of baseball equipment and goodies, people who are looking for a job in a baseball organization, and a whole lot of of folks with press passes begin their flight to a particular warm place, like migratory birds, to discuss particular business matters, sign free agents, trade players and conduct the major league and minor league parts of the Rule 5 draft. In addition to "baseball business", these annual meetings include a huge expo of baseball vendors and a very large job fair (officially called: "The Baseball Trade Show" & the "Professional Baseball Employment Opportunities Job Fair", thus the plural in the "Winter Meetings,) but I will not focus on these two at this point. This year's meeting place is the Hilton Anatole Hotel in Dallas, TX, between December 5th and 8th. A few important dates before and during these meetings:

• Today, December 1st is the last day to place a player on waivers before the Rule 5 Draft


• December 5th, the first day of the meetings, is the last day to outright a player (who went through the aforementioned waivers) before the Rule 5 draft (thus making him subject to the draft)


• December 7th is the last day for free agents who were offered arbitration to accept (in the Twins' case this is Cuddyer and Kubel)


• December 8th, the last day of the meetings, is when the Rule 5 draft takes place. I presented the rules of both major and minor league phases of the draft here and looked at the Twins' liabilities.


• December 12th, midnight, is the last day to tender a contract. This is really important and will have consequences in the Winter Meetings, because this year it comes after the meetings. This is the day where teams can non-tender someone, so this off-season they can shop someone in the meetings without other teams knowing that he will be non-tendered. A player in this situation with the Twins is Jose Mijares.

Here, I will attempt to guess what the Twins will do (i.e. what could happen)instead of what the prime outcome should be ( i.e. what should happen.)
To try to do this, we need to establish a baseline, so, here is a look at the Twins depth chart before the Winter meetings, accounting for all players in the 40 man roster (38 spots occupied currently):

C Mauer/Doumit/(Butera)
1B Morneau/Doumit/Mauer/Hughes (Parmelee)
2B Casilla*/Carroll/Hughes(Nishioka)
3B Valencia/Carroll/Hughes
SS Carroll/Casilla*/ (Nishioka)
LF Revere/Plouffe/Span/(Benson)/(Tosoni)
CF Span/Revere/(Benson)
RF Plouffe/Doumit/Span/Mauer/(Tosoni)/(Arcia)
DH Doumit/Morneau/Plouffe/Hughes/Mauer/(Tosoni)/(Parmelee)

Bench Hughes
Bench ?
Bench ?
Bench ?

SP Baker
SP Liriano*
SP Pavano
SP Slowey*
SP Blackburn/Swarzak/Duensing/(Hendricks)/(Diamond)

CL ?
LHRP Perkins*
LHRP Duensing
LHRP Mijares*/(Maloney)/(Robertson)
RHRP Oliveros/(Vasquez)/(Gray)/(Hoey)/(Waldrop)/(Burnett)/(Guerra)/(Gutierrez)
RHRP (Burnett)/Oliveros/(Vasquez)/(Gray)/(Hoey)/(Waldrop)/(Guerra)/(Gutierrez)
SWING RP Swarzak/Blackburn/Duensing/(Hendricks)/(Diamond)

Baseball fans, unlike other sports' are not really used to seeing or using depth charts much, but I think that the make sense, because the starting lineups are rarely the same in a season. To translate a depth chart into a starting lineup, just read the first name of each position. Straight forward. The players with in parenthesis either have options left or can be waived. The players with an asterisk are arbitration eligible.

So far this off-season (in addition to the front office changes), the Twins signed free agents Jamie Carroll and Ryan Doumit and announced that Trevor Plouffe will be considered and Outfielder for the organization going on; they also signed several relievers in minor league contracts, and a couple of them were added to the 40-man roster. Let's examine what the next steps are for the Twins and what could happen within next week:

• First of all they need to decide whether the 40-man roster is set or not before today's deadline. I do not foresee any changes, but potentially, Jeff Gray, Esmerling Vasquez and Matt Maloney, for example could be waived. I do not expect that to happen


• Second order of business would be to decide whether they will tender contracts to their arbitration-eligible players: Alexi Casilla ($1.25M award estimated), Fransisco Liriano ($5.5M estimated), Jose Mijares ($800K estimated), Glen Perkins ($1.5M estimated) and Kevin Slowey ($3.5M estimated.) It is of note that the Twins either traded or waived the other 4 arbitration-eligible players: Phil Doumatrait (who later re-signed in a minor league contract), Jason Repko, Matt Tolbert and Delmon Young. Glen Perkins is a lock to be offered arbitration. It is very likely that Liriano and Casilla would be offered arbitration and less likely that Slowey and Mijares would be. Expect the Twins to make a decision and listen to offers for any of these 4 players other than Perkins. Depending on whether they get any satisfactory offers, expect some of the 4 to be traded. If not, I fully expect most of them to return, since the salaries of Liriano and Slowey would be below going rate for starting pitching, Casilla would be making just north of a million (or less that half for what they paid Carroll) and he has shown moments of brilliance and Mijares (who is the most likely candidate to be non-tendered) will cost just North of minimum salary


• Then the Twins will visit with agents that represent their 3 free agents (Cuddyer, Kubel and Capps.) These visits might be just typical at this point, because the free agent market, other than late inning relievers, has not been settled without the singings of Pujols, Fielder, Reyes, Rollings, Ortiz. The Twins might make an offer to Capps, but based a. on the contract that Jonathan Broxton received (1 yr, $4M + incentives) to be a set-up man for the Royals (and I suspect that would be the starting point for the discussions from Capps' side) and b. the fact that the Twins' will get a free sandwich draft piok if Capps signs elsewhere, I do not see a lot happening there. There has been a lot of talk about the Twins fighting hard about both Cuddyer and Capps, and to a lesser degree Kubel, by Twins' officials. I think that they have to do this, because it ensures good relationships with the players' agents (i.e. show that they are still in the run, making the probability of another team to sign them faster greater), it makes their free agents more desirable (thus increases the probability that they would not accept arbitration and the Twins will receive a pick or two.) Thus, I do not foresee much on the 3 free agents or others (other than minor signings) before the big free agents sign.


• Trying to at least start or assume discussions about trades for a closer and further middle infield help (pieces that Terry Ryan indicated that they will come outside the organization.) A thing of note: the Twins have only 2 open spots on their 40-man roster (and I think that one of them will get filled in the rule 5 draft, more on that later) and thus the players who can trade are probably on that roster (with prospects added to balance the trade either way.) In addition to the 4 arbitration eligible players discussed earlier, the 2 players out of options, Plouffe and Hughes, and any of the starting pitchers under contract not named Baker (that is Pavano and Blackburn,) as well as Danny Valencia and Denard Span, could be on the block, for the right return. If no starting pitchers are moved (look at the bottleneck above in the depth chart, and they really do not have to be moved) I do not expect the Twins to go after another starting pitcher. There have been several reports linking the Twins with free agent outfielders, but again, unless it is a second-tier FA, I think that Winter Meetings is too early for that to happen, unless someone like Pujols or Fielder establishes the market.


• Last point of order will be the Rule 5 draft. It is very likely that the Twins will select a player. Players under target this year would be either relief pitchers with a decent control who lack a secondary pitch (and hope to gain in ST) or middle infielders with good gloves to fight for a bench spot. I expect at least one pick from these 2 categories in the Rule 5 draft.

So here it is. My crystal ball is turned off, and that is what I expect to happen (or not happen) early next week (and, to re-clarify, not what I want to happen). What do you think?