On Monday, the Minnesota Twins organization relieved GM Terry Ryan of his duties. Assistant GM Rob Antony will serve as an interim effective immediately. This is the end of Ryan’s second spell directing baseball operations for the team.
Minnesota Twins Fire GM Terry Ryan
Twins Owner and CEO Jim Pohlad stated, “Terry has been a gifted leader of the baseball department for over eighteen seasons. It is impossible to overstate his contributions to our game, our team, and the Upper Midwest baseball community. The decision to part ways with Terry was difficult, painful, and not obvious.”
Minnesota Twins announce GM Terry Ryan has been relieved of his duties. Assistant GM Rob Antony as Interim GM. pic.twitter.com/LF2iYotKZ9
— Minnesota Twins (@Twins) July 18, 2016
Many expected a change to come, but frankly this was not great timing. Considering it is two weeks before the trade deadline, the team needed to focus on strengthening the roster rather than a management change. A new regime was likely to form in the front office at the end of the season anyway, but Ryan wanted to ride this storm out.
The Twins are obviously frustrated. A 33-58 record places them twenty-one games back in the AL Central. A roster with little talent, struggling to win, needed the GM to move on and allow them to create a change in culture.
Changing Times
Prior to this decision, Terry Ryan had been been affiliated with the organization for the better part of forty years. Ryan pitched in their farm system along with serving as a scouting director, vice president, and player personal director over a span of twenty years, before being promoted to General Manager in 1994. After twelve seasons, he stepped down from the position and became a senior adviser. The Twins brought Ryan back into the GM role in November 2011.
Widely respected across the baseball world, Terry Ryan has done it his way for a long time. The only thing that failed him is the fact that the industry is now quickly moving forward. Ryan helped lead the team into complete over-achievement last season, but simply could neither improve upon that nor back it up. The trades and signings the front office made during the off-season did not move the needle in the right direction.
Ryan cannot be blamed for development. However, as the leader of baseball operations, Ryan is held responsible. The Twins have consistently struggled in recent years to raise the level of talent. Pieces have been put in the wrong places and their upside is diminishing.
With the Terry Ryan era ending, the Twins are facing their fourth finish at the bottom of the AL Central in the last six seasons. Unfortunately, this is now a mess for someone else to clean up. Do the Twins go outside of the club to get someone who provides, a spark or stick with tradition in their leadership decisions? Hopefully, Minnesota answers that question fairly quickly in order to move towards improvement before their window closes.
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