I think that it is interesting to speculate how Terry Ryan might approach free agency this season, while the Twins are just a step away from competing, since it has been a while. Looking back in Terry Ryan's 17 seasons as a General Manager for the Twins, Ryan did have a window when his team was competing, after his first seven seasons where they were finishing in either of the bottom 2 positions, in preparation for Contraction.
The Twins were competitive between 2001 and 2006 with Terry Ryan at the helm. Terry Ryan's history with free agent signings then, might be a guide to what he will do this off-season for the Twins. Here is a complete list of Ryan's free agent signings and waiver claims from the end of the 2001 season to the end of the 2006 season (when he retired.) :
David Lamb, Kurt Abbott, Brian Meadows, Michael Jackson, Alex Prieto, David Lee, Scott Randall, Warren Morris, Saul Rivera, Mike Trombley, Garrett Jones, Jose Rodriguez, David Manning, Mike Duvall, Ben Ford, David Lamb, Carlos Pulido, Everett Stull, Chris Gomez, Jose Cabrera, Shane Andrews, Mike Fetters, Kenny Rogers, James Baldwin, Ryan McGuire, Seth Greisinger,Matt Guerrier, Chris Heitz, Greg Halman, Augie Ojeda, Peter Munro, Henry Blanco, Kevin Tolar, Aaron Fultz , Juan Diaz, Rick Helling , Brian Simmons,Jose Offerman, Andrew Lorraine, Sean Douglass, Terry Mulholland, Todd Dunwoody, Gary Glover, Corky Miller, Jason Tyner,Gil Velazquez, Juan Castro, Mike Redmond, Bud Smith, Glenn Williams, Trey Hodges, Luis Jimenez, Pat Strange, Brent Abernathy,Andy Fox, Eric Munson, C.J. Nitkowski,Jimmy Anderson, Jason Pridie, Tony Batista, Jason Hart, Andres Torres,Shawn Wooten, Rondell White, Ryan Glynn, Peter Munro, Tim Raines , Ruben Sierra, Dennys Reyes, Steve Lomasney, Donaldo Mendez, Erubiel Durazo, Quinton McCracken.
Hate to describe Ryan's free agent signing approach, when his team is competing, so I'd rather use a picture instead of words:
Of course, this approach will help the 2016 Twins' teams as much as it helped those previous teams, so he might have learned a lesson. Still, it will be interesting to see whether Terry Ryan's Dumpster Diving is ingrained into his DNA or was just circumstantial...
The Twins were competitive between 2001 and 2006 with Terry Ryan at the helm. Terry Ryan's history with free agent signings then, might be a guide to what he will do this off-season for the Twins. Here is a complete list of Ryan's free agent signings and waiver claims from the end of the 2001 season to the end of the 2006 season (when he retired.) :
David Lamb, Kurt Abbott, Brian Meadows, Michael Jackson, Alex Prieto, David Lee, Scott Randall, Warren Morris, Saul Rivera, Mike Trombley, Garrett Jones, Jose Rodriguez, David Manning, Mike Duvall, Ben Ford, David Lamb, Carlos Pulido, Everett Stull, Chris Gomez, Jose Cabrera, Shane Andrews, Mike Fetters, Kenny Rogers, James Baldwin, Ryan McGuire, Seth Greisinger,Matt Guerrier, Chris Heitz, Greg Halman, Augie Ojeda, Peter Munro, Henry Blanco, Kevin Tolar, Aaron Fultz , Juan Diaz, Rick Helling , Brian Simmons,Jose Offerman, Andrew Lorraine, Sean Douglass, Terry Mulholland, Todd Dunwoody, Gary Glover, Corky Miller, Jason Tyner,Gil Velazquez, Juan Castro, Mike Redmond, Bud Smith, Glenn Williams, Trey Hodges, Luis Jimenez, Pat Strange, Brent Abernathy,Andy Fox, Eric Munson, C.J. Nitkowski,Jimmy Anderson, Jason Pridie, Tony Batista, Jason Hart, Andres Torres,Shawn Wooten, Rondell White, Ryan Glynn, Peter Munro, Tim Raines , Ruben Sierra, Dennys Reyes, Steve Lomasney, Donaldo Mendez, Erubiel Durazo, Quinton McCracken.
Hate to describe Ryan's free agent signing approach, when his team is competing, so I'd rather use a picture instead of words:
Of course, this approach will help the 2016 Twins' teams as much as it helped those previous teams, so he might have learned a lesson. Still, it will be interesting to see whether Terry Ryan's Dumpster Diving is ingrained into his DNA or was just circumstantial...
