Trader Terry, Part 1
In his nine seasons as the General Manager of the Minnesota Twins, Terry Ryan has earned a reputation for making shrewd trades on a limited budget. In fact, Ryan was named the 2002 Sporting News Executive of the Year for his hard word in assembling the first American League Central Division champions from Minnesota. His imprint is noticeable as several of the core players of the current team were acquired through trades such as Johan Santana, Kyle Lohse, and Cristian Guzman. During the first half of his time as GM, Ryan made several trades that were perceived as salary dumps. However, the Twins position has changed during Ryan’s tenure to one of a struggling team with limited finances to a team a few pieces away from being complete. Has Ryan successfully transitioned along with the team? Was Ryan even that great in the first place? What I aim to do is analyze the trades which Ryan has made, and attempt to determine whether or not his reputation as an astute judge of baseball ability is well-earned. Thus, this will be divided into sections to illustrate when Ryan was making salary dumps and when he was trying to bolster an already solid team.
There have been many times that Terry Ryan has made a trade simply to fill out a minor league roster. At the time the trade was made, there was probably very little chance that it would ultimately affect the Twins. Thus, these trades can be viewed as just merely rearranging the organization’s minor pieces (like backup double-A catcher). When reviewing these trades, one must note that just about every one of them was made after the 1999 season. This seems pertinent because the 2000 Twins, despite taking their lumps, were the first season in which many of the core players from the present team became regulars. It seems that even during their struggles, Terry Ryan may have seen a future in these players that he had not seen in his struggling teams from the mid-1990s.
June 8, 1995 – Minnesota trades David McCarty to Cincinnati for John Courtright
McCarty, the supposed future of first base in Minnesota after Kent Hrbek, was traded after accumulating just three homeruns in over a full season’s worth of games. Since he left the team, McCarty has been the prototypical journeyman and appeared in games for six teams (despite never appearing with the Reds). His best year was in 2000 as a member of the Kansas City Royals, but he has been worth just 3.9 Wins Above a Replacement Player (WARP) in the eight and a half seasons since leaving the team. By contributing about .5 wins a season, McCarty is the definition of replacement level (which is terrible for being the 3rd overall pick in a draft). Courtright never appeared in the majors.
August 26, 1996 – Minnesota trades Pat Mahomes to Boston for Brian Looney
Much like McCarty, Mahomes was a prospect that fizzled upon reaching the Twins. After several mediocre seasons, Pat Mahomes was traded after compiling a 7.20 ERA in 1996 with the Twins. Since that time, he has bounced around much like McCarty and had one above average year – 1999 with the New York Mets. I must confess, I always had a soft spot for Mahomes and thought he was the answer at closer after the Rick Aguilera trade (more on that later), but his production left a great deal to be desired. Beginning in 1999, Mahomes has been slightly above replacement level, but bouncing around the league as the twelfth-man and several eleven-man pitching staffs. Looney never appeared in the majors.
August 30, 1997 – Minnesota trades Darrin Jackson to Milwaukee for Mick Fieldbinder
Unlike Mahomes and McCarty, Jackson had already become a journeyman by the time he joined the Twins in the middle of 1997. After just 49 games, Terry Ryan traded Jackson to the Brewers. In the two years and one month of the rest of Jackson’s career, he posted 2.1 WARP. However, after his retirement Jackson has consistently been below replacement level as a color man on WGN. Fieldbinder never appeared in the majors.
August 3, 1999 – Minnesota trades George Williams to Houston for Josh Dimmick
Williams returned to the major leagues after this trade, but as a member of the San Diego Padres and for just eleven games in 2000. In his brief stint as a Padre, he contributed 0 WARP. Dimmick never appeared in the majors.
December 7, 1999 – Minnesota trades Chris Latham to Colorado for Scott Randall
After posting a .152 batting average in 138 at bats as a Twin, Latham was traded away. With Toronto briefly in 2001, Latham compiled 1.1 WARP and he returned to the majors briefly with the Yankees this season. Scott Randall never appeared in the majors.
July 31, 2000 – Minnesota trades Mario Valdez to Oakland for Danny Ardoin
Valdez was 0.4 WARP in his brief time backing up Jason Giambi in Oakland in 2000 and 2001. Ardoin, on the other hand, was worth just 0.1 WARP as the Twins banishment of A.J. Pierzynski to the minors for his immaturity concluded.
July 3, 2001 – Minnesota trades Hanley Frias to St. Louis for Larry Sutton
In their careers, Frias has combined to be 1.0 WARP while Sutton has been 1.2 WARP. Sutton’s seven game stint with Oakland in 2002 was the only time either of these players has been in the big leagues since the trade.
June 11, 2002 – Minnesota trades Warren Morris to St. Louis for Seth Davidson
Morris was an adequate second baseman in 1999-2000, but completely redundant on a Twins team with Luis Rivas, Denny Hocking and Jay Canizaro all higher on the organizational pecking order. This season he has resurfaced on the Detroit Tigers (a team that actually performed worse than replacement players) and compiled a 689 OPS and 8.4 runs more than a replacement 2nd baseman. Davidson had an OPS of 675 in the Midwest League with Quad City last season.