The Minnesota Twins fired general manager Terry Ryan on Monday after skidding to the worst record in the American League. He will be replaced on an interim basis by assistant GM Rob Antony. But for now, here’s what we know: Terry Ryan, who has largely been the enduring face of Twins baseball since first taking the GM gig back in 1994, is out.
Advertisement
Owner and CEO Jim Pohlad made the announcement hours before the Twins opened a series in Detroit.
“The decision to part ways with Terry was hard, painful and not obvious”.
Ryan joined the Twins organization in 1972. He remained with the organization and served as a special advisor after stepping down in 2007. Only the Braves (32-60) have a worse record among all 30 clubs.
After replacing Bill Smith in November, 2011, Ryan was aggressive in his efforts to rebuild the major league team and replenish the farm system, which resulted in fine prospects such as Miguel Sano, Byron Buxton and Max Kepler, all now with the big league team.
That status of the Twins front office was one of our top questions for the second half.
The team seemed to turn a corner last year under new manager Paul Molitor and this year’s spring training season showed promise.
The Twins have a reputation for being a very loyal organization, which is why Bill Smith was elevated from assistant GM to GM when Ryan stepped down, and why Ryan took over as GM when Smith was let go.
Advertisement
“While disappointed we were unable to bring Minnesota a third World Championship, I leave the GM post with vast pride in being part of the Twins organization for the better part of three decades”, Ryan said.
