Thanks to Asod for this guest submission!
Of all the names bandied about in the Mets’ GM search, there is one that stands out to me.
Terry Ryan, former GM of the Minnesota Twins from 1994 through 2007, is the man I would urge the Wilpons to hire if possible. There have been reports that Ryan isn’t interested in the Mets’ job, but stranger things have happened.
When he took the GM job with the Twins, the team’s finances were in ruin. They played in the dingy Metrodome in front of no fans, just a few years after winning a second World Series title in five seasons.
Ryan’s expertise was in scouting and developing players, starting his career with the Mets in 1980. He scouted with the Mets from 1980 and 1986, and while I don’t have the specific players he scouted which became eventual draft picks, we’d all have to agree the Mets’ minor-league system was a virtual hotbed of talent during those years. The reason Frank Cashen was such a great GM early in his tenure was he put a focus on scouting and development, since the product on the field was lower than lousy when he took off. By hiring guys like Ryan, the Mets built a great minor-league system, only to be slowly destroyed by Cashen and his successors when the team began to have success.
I don’t think the same thing would befall Ryan, as he has seen an organization can succeed with a small major-league payroll. Instead, the Twins put most if not all of their focus on player development. And under Ryan, the Twins drafted and developed players such as Torii Hunter, Joe Mauer, Justin Morneau, Michael Cuddyer, Jason Kubel, A.J. Pierzynski, Matt Garza, Scott Baker and Denard Span, just to name a few off the top of my head.
With a low budget at the major-league level, developing players was a must. But the Twins under Ryan weren’t just successful at scouting and drafting their own players. They had a constant eye on other organizations’ talent, and Ryan made some shrewd moves during his 13-year tenure.
Due to financial constraints, the Twins often had to move players before they made too much money, constantly replenishing the farm system with trades. Here are just a few of the brilliant trades Ryan brokered:
* August 29, 1996: Traded a fading Dave Hollins to the Seattle Mariners for a player to be named later. On September 31, the Mariners sent David Ortiz to the Twins to complete the trade. One of Ryan’s big blunders was waiving Ortiz, but Big Papi wasn’t very consistent during his tenure there and when he got to Boston, he discovered a magical formula (let’s just leave it at that).
* August 20, 1997: Traded Roberto Kelly to the Seattle Mariners for players to be named later. On October 9, the Mariners sent the Twins future all-star Joe Mays and a minor leaguer to complete the deal.
* February 16, 1998: Traded second baseman Chuck Knoblauch to the New York Yankees in exchange for outfielder Brian Buchanan, shortstop Cristian Guzman, pitcher Eric Milton, pitcher Danny Mota, and cash. Guzman and Milton would become regulars, while Buchanan was later moved for a significant piece in Jason Bartlett.
* December 13, 1999: Under the Rule 5 Draft, the Twins sent minor leaguer Jared Camp and cash to the Florida Marlins in exchange for future Cy Young Award winner Johan Santana.
* July 30, 2001: Traded outfielder Matt Lawton to the New York Mets for pitcher Rick Reed.
* July 12, 2002: Traded Buchanan to the San Diego Padres for shortstop Jason Bartlett.
* July 16, 2003: Traded Bobby Kielty to the Toronto Blue Jays for Shannon Stewart. This move helped the Twins reach the playoffs that season, as Stewart had a stellar second-half as the Twins overtook the Kansas City Royals for the division crown.
* November 14, 2003: Traded Pierzynski and cash to the San Francisco Giants. Received pitchers Joe Nathan, Francisco Liriano, and Boof Bonser. This is the gem of all gems right here. Pierzynski was a year away from free agency, and Ryan got an incredible return. Ryan saw something in Nathan that made him believe he’d be a dominant closer, and until an elbow injury this year, Nathan has been one of the top five stoppers in the game. Liriano was a somewhat wild Single-A lefty who has emerged into a No. 1 starter for the Twins. Even Bonser was a serviceable major-league starter until his career was derailed by injuries.
* December 3, 2003: Traded pitcher Eric Milton to the Philadelphia Phillies for pitcher Carlos Silva, infielder Nick Punto, and a player to be named later (Bobby Korecky). Milton was another player who was making too much money and approaching free agency. Ryan acquired a middle of the rotation starter in Silva and a useful utility infielder (who has started off and on) in Punto.
* December 2, 2005: Traded Travis Bowyer and Scott Tyler to the Florida Marlins for second baseman Luis Castillo. Neither prospect has panned out for the Marlins, and although my distaste for Castillo is well known, he was still a useful player for the next season and a half for the Twins.
As witnessed by the trades above, Ryan is a forward thinker who has a keen eye for young talent. This is exactly the type of guy we need running the Mets. And if Ryan is uninterested, I would be on board with Sandy Alderson, another guy who thrived in a small market by building a talent-rich farm system. Give guys like this the Mets’ finances, and I believe you’ll see some wonderful things. The Mets need someone who is capable of juggling several scenarios at one time, something Omar Minaya wasn’t very good at. Omar would address one area he perceived to be a problem in the offseason, improved that, but seemed to neglect other spots on the team. Minaya also struggled with contingency plans. If a plan falls through, you’ve got to be able to fall back on others to get things done. I truly believe guys like Ryan and Alderson can do this, and I’m anxious to see what happens. Let’s go Mets!
29 comments
rustyjr
10/11/2010-9:46am at 9:46 am (UTC -4)
Only problem is he allegedlly doesn’t want to cone here
njstuckintx
10/11/2010-9:50am at 9:50 am (UTC -4)
He definitely has a track record. The more I hear about him, the more I like this guy. Not sure who I would pick between Alderson or Ryan if I had a proverbial gun to my head, but I don’t think either would be bad choices. Heads, Alderson. Tails, Ryan. Let’s flip that sucker up and get some things finalized!
stickguy
10/11/2010-10:03am at 10:03 am (UTC -4)
either way, better than a floundering Omar with Jeffy trying to do the job instead.
stickguy
10/11/2010-10:03am at 10:03 am (UTC -4)
I still think that either guy, at their age and career place, would really be looking at the S. executive (big picture vision/organizational guy) as opposed to 24/7 GMing duties. So while an eye for talent will ertainly be a plus, their staff will really be the ones beating the bushes and putting together the deals (under, of course, the conceptual framework they are given).
So, from that standpoint, either guy (and likely a few others) seem to be about the same.
What I want is the guy best suited to take control of the entire operation/organization, and put the culture, structure and controls in place to make it a fine tuned machine of baseball dominance. And this likely includes keeping the owners in check. Along with, of course, building a top to bottom Met way of doing things, accountability, and standards.
Based on that criteria, I still like ALderson. Not sure Ryan has the same level of experience, but as always, alls I have to work off of is what the media guys decide to tell us.
njstuckintx
10/11/2010-10:08am at 10:08 am (UTC -4)
Given that we hear stories of many up and coming, highly educated types coming out of other organizations that were groomed for this, maybe that’s what the GM would do. Not so much a Batman/Robin scenario, but 1 GM, who’s going to have 4-5 (ideally) wonderkids working for him (or her). I actually prefer the 1 head/many underlings to a Senior/Junior GM combo.
stickguy
10/11/2010-10:14am at 10:14 am (UTC -4)
might be more semantics there anyway (the difference between the 2 as you define them). But say Alderson comes in, he would probably have multiple guys. Are they in a vertical or horizaontal arrangement? Who knows.
Just get the fresh brains in here and get them to work!
njstuckintx
10/11/2010-10:29am at 10:29 am (UTC -4)
I’ve never been anti-semantic.
It doesn’t get any worse than that (or better, unfortunately).
Mr North Jersey
10/11/2010-10:15am at 10:15 am (UTC -4)
Like some of the other candidates he definitely has a nice resume. It’s a shame cause 3 of the GM’s most coveted don’t seem to want to leave their organization.
Jon Daniels
Gerry Hunsicker
Terry Ryan
njstuckintx
10/11/2010-10:18am at 10:18 am (UTC -4)
Enough Greenbacks would have them in NY, no worries. And honestly, You tend to want to pay for a quality architect when designing something you want to last, once built.
Mr North Jersey
10/11/2010-10:24am at 10:24 am (UTC -4)
I tend to believe that but it seems the above 3 simply like where they are.
oleosmirf
10/11/2010-10:21am at 10:21 am (UTC -4)
i will admit i know pretty much nothing about these two but I want a GM in the Mike Tannenbaum (NY Jets) mold. I want a GM who will focus more on developing from within than free agents signings as we all know only the Yankees can win that way. I want a GM that will trade away veteran players (that might still be very productive) for long term success.
With that in mind, It is essential that the new GM (whoever he is) understand that Beltran needs to be traded, not b/c he cant play anymore or his bad “attitude” but b/c he can get us players in return that will be more important down the road.
kistics
10/11/2010-11:07am at 11:07 am (UTC -4)
Regards to Beltran, I think you need to look at couple things before deciding to shop him or not. What is the team’s plan for 2011? Is it ‘rebuilding’ mode while letting the young guys play? Or is it trying to compete for post season? How is his health? How much of his salary are the Mets willing to pick up?
If it’s the ‘rebuilding’ mode, I agree that he should be traded since he will not bring back a 1st round pick when he signs with elsewhere as a FA. So might as well get someone in return. However, given his health and salary, who is going to trade for him? I don’t see anyone willing to take his salary let alone portion of it. I think the Mets will need to eat most of his salary to make him attractive while getting 1-2 ‘okay’ player(s) back. And NO I do not want Dice-K in return as he will tie up more $$ in 2012.
If the plan is to shoot for post season (or meaningful Sep), I think he needs to stay. Because he can be a decent leader (despite what others are saying). He was one of the reason why Pagan had a very good year. He seems to be a mentor for many of the Latin American players like Pagan and Reyes. Also if healthy, he can be a solid contributor to the team. 2011 is his contract year and he would love to have a great season for his last respectful contract.
I see the Mets keeping him for the next season and see where the season is headed.
njstuckintx
10/11/2010-11:21am at 11:21 am (UTC -4)
I see them keeping him as well, but only because the value that he brings will be more than the combination of prospects and $ the Mets would have to eat would be. If they, as a clearly hypothetical, could get Ellsbury for Beltran while covering less than 10 mill of Beltran’s salary, I think they’d consider it. If they are covering 15+ mil… that’s another story.
kistics
10/11/2010-12:03pm at 12:03 pm (UTC -4)
agreed
metsfan4decades
10/11/2010-11:59am at 11:59 am (UTC -4)
I only know what I’ve read about any of the potential candidates and it hasn’t been extensive, at that.
So thanks for an indepth look at Ryan.
Is this the one who was quoted as saying he didn’t want to come here for this job simply b/c he didn’t want to leave the west coast – not that it had anything to do with the Wilpons? Something about the farthest east he would come was the mid west? If no, then I’m confusing him with someone else who was quoted as saying that….
I’m just waiting with bated breath to see just who does get the job. Whoever it is, I’m hoping it’s someone who comes in commanding respect from the get go – to the point that Jeff will take a step back to the background and let the GM run things as he sees fit.
stickguy
10/11/2010-12:23pm at 12:23 pm (UTC -4)
pat gillick is the semi-retired west coast guy. Terry Ryan is the semi-retired mid-west guy.
ALderson seems to like NY at least.
metsfan4decades
10/11/2010-12:27pm at 12:27 pm (UTC -4)
Ah…thanks for the clarification.
GravediggerHebner
10/11/2010-12:05pm at 12:05 pm (UTC -4)
Excellent post but as others have noted it’s been “widely reported” that Ryan isn’t interested in the job. But if that changes I certainly know a lot about him now.
Unrelated did everyone see “The Simpsons” last night? Excellent baseball episode, sort of a purist vs. saber storyline.
Joe Posnanski goes into great detail so if you haven’t seen it his article will be a spoiler.
http://joeposnanski.si.com/2010/10/11/the-simpsons-baseball-edition/
metsfan4decades
10/11/2010-12:27pm at 12:27 pm (UTC -4)
wow – thanks for the link, Grave. I haven’t seen the episode yet but I couldn’t resist reading about it, spoiler be damned.
I especially loved this:
And it ends with Bart trying to steal home, which leads to two plot breakthroughs: (1) It allows Lisa to finally see the excitement of the game beyond the numbers; (2) He costs his team the championship because, of course, he is out at the plate. That sounds about right.
****************
For me, #1 is exactly what it’s all about. Sabermetrics might go along way towards fielding a good enough team to get to post season and the WS, but in the end – for me – it’s all about the excitement of the game as it’s unfolding. Of course, there is no excitement if you’re a fan of team not winning and if your FO doesn’t pay attention to sabermetrics you might not ever be that winning team….
GravediggerHebner
10/11/2010-12:45pm at 12:45 pm (UTC -4)
There were many great moments during the episode IMO but perhaps my favorite was what Moe said about managers:
“The only thing I know about strategy is that whatever the manager does, it’s wrong. Unless it works, in which case he’s a button-pusher.”
Mr North Jersey
10/11/2010-12:55pm at 12:55 pm (UTC -4)
lmao Classic
njstuckintx
10/11/2010-3:43pm at 3:43 pm (UTC -4)
Whomever the GM may be, I hope he reads this from MLBTR.
http://www.mlbtraderumors.com/2010/10/free-agent-market-for-second-basemen.html
After reading that, I hope he decides to spend his money on pitching and fill 2B with in-house options.
kistics
10/11/2010-4:40pm at 4:40 pm (UTC -4)
Will the Mets finally go out and get O-Dog? Oh wait… Omar is gone… hmm..
I was actually looking at potential 2B candidates as well. Sounds like A’s will try to bring back Ellis. Uribe has some power, but OBP is pretty low (didn’t we have enough streaky/low OBP guys?) and I’m not sure how his defense is. O-Dog.. here’s this season’s line…268/.338/.372 and last 3 seasons .284/.353/.411 averaging 30 doubles per season. Having said that is he going to be worth the $$ Mets will have to pay? Especially when you are paying for Castillo’s? I’m not sure…
So could it be that we’ll see Tejada as the every day 2B? I can’t trust his bat. Let’s hope Haven has a stellar winter/spring to make the team like Ike did.
Speaking of 2Bs, look at Castillo’s UZR and Tejada’s UZR. Tejada is like -3.4 compared to +2.8 for Castillo. Hmmm… And for 3B, Wright had the worst UZR out of qualified 3Bs with -10.7 UZR. Very interesting.
njstuckintx
10/11/2010-4:49pm at 4:49 pm (UTC -4)
I will say, O-dog would be an upgrade. I guess my though was what little increase he may provide, I’d rather they dumped that $$$ in the SP and BP.
And yes, I’m hoping for Havens like you.
stickguy
10/11/2010-5:38pm at 5:38 pm (UTC -4)
I am hoping for havens to get here soon too. overall the best looking option.
GravediggerHebner
10/11/2010-4:54pm at 4:54 pm (UTC -4)
For the sake of discussion I’m going to assume that Sandy Alderson gets the GM job. I think of the 3 guys listed as starting 2B options (Ellis, Hudson & Uribe) Uribe strikes me as the least like an Alderson guy given his low OBP. Either Hudson or Ellis have an edge over him but are not great at that skill themselves.
Ellis strikes me as a nice scrappy guy who isn’t David Eckstein and I could live with him on the right deal but given his Type A status and current $6 mil salary I don’t see him coming here.
Given all that I’d say either Alderson signs Hudson or the team does like you suggest and goes in house with 2B for 2011, barring an unforeseen trade.
stickguy
10/11/2010-5:38pm at 5:38 pm (UTC -4)
given those choices, and the mets 2011/2012 contract and roster situation, I think my patented “ST fre-for-all death cage may the best man win” plan is th eway to go.
None of the in house options are perfect, but the external options are also pretty mungy, while also being expensive and/or costing players to get. And very likely you get equivilant production out of the group that will be laying around anyway.
GravediggerHebner
10/11/2010-5:49pm at 5:49 pm (UTC -4)
In the context of the Mets GM search and specifically the concept that “the Wilpons are meddling owners and therefore the next GM must be an experienced, strong personality that will take no guff from them” Howard Megdal makes an excellent point in his most recent SNY.tv post:
Megdal: “Anyhow, Alderson is powerful enough, and has enough friends in baseball, that we’ll know if the Wilpons follow through on their claims to leave baseball decisions to the baseball people. To date, we only have Steve Phillips asserting otherwise, and it is hard to take anything Steve Phillips says seriously.”
The only person who has actually worked for the Wilpons that has ever suggested they are meddlers is Steve Phillips. At best he is in the minority as 1 of many current and former employees. Perhaps I and others have overreacted to the largely theoretical and largely unproven concept of the Wilpons as meddlers.
stickguy
10/11/2010-6:20pm at 6:20 pm (UTC -4)
If I had a dumbass sexual harrasser like Stevie running something I owned, I would meddle in what the hell he was doing too.