Jeff: Ryan Will Be Earning Award this Offseason

As Strib beat writer Lavelle E Neal reports today, Minnesota Twins GM Terry Ryan has won the 2006 MLB Executive of the Year Award. The Twins of course won the Central Division on the last day of the season with a pitching staff decimated by injuries. Terry was indeed deserving for the moves he made last year on the usual shoe-string budget. But Ryan will really be earning that award this offseason if he can keep the "Little Engine That Could" in contention next year in what looks to be baseball's best division. The Twins needs for the offseason are the same as the seemingly are every year: a power bat and starting pitching. However, this offseason it will be tougher than ever to address those needs, especially with young ace Francisco Liriano out until 2008 with Tommy John surgery.

If you haven't heard by now, this year's free agent class is awful, lacking quality and depth in both starting pitching and power hitters- and pretty much everything else. Confounding matters for the Twins is that 1)it seems like EVERYBODY needs starting pitching and power and 2)it seems like every big market team with a big budget has money to spend. Just look at the Cubbies resigning 3rd baseman Aramis Ramirez (he of huge power and no D, as well as little leadership) for about $14.5 million per season, or the Red Sox reportedly paying about $42 million just to talk to Japanese pitcher Daisuke Matsuzaka, who despite never throwing a major league inning, is being dubbed as the offseason's top available pitcher. These are just the first two examples of the massive overspending that will take place in the next month.

Not that billionaire owner Carl Pohlad (who, I will point out again for the umpteenth time is one of the richest men in baseball), would ever allow Terry Ryan to be involved in signing a big-name free agent, but this year it will be a blessing. Ryan will be left to try and fill voids at DH and in the rotation from a less-than-stellar bargain bin, or through trade. Of course the trade market will be especially tough now too, since anybody with a tradeable commodity will be asking more than ever for it because of the dearth of available free agent talent. The Tigers just gave up top pitching prospect Humberto Sanchez and two other young minor league arms to get 39-year-old Gary Sheffield from the Yankees. Sheff, who missed most of last season due to injury, is in the twilight of his career, and yet the Tiggers shelled out $28 million for a 2 year extension. IF he stays healthy, and IF he continues to hit as he has, Sheffield could be the big bat (and finally a patient hitter) that Detwah lacked last year, but they still paid a bundle for him. But in this "win-now-at-all-costs" baseball world, that could end up being one of the better deals we'll see this winter.

Division rival Cleveland, who could have baseball's best hitting lineup outside the Bronx, landed young 2B Josh Barfield from San Diego for some minor league guys, in what can only be described as a "Terry Ryan-esque" move for the Tribe. Barfield's not great at anything, but he's young, dirt cheap for the next 3 years, and is a pretty solid all-around hitter. Like Minnesota, Cleveland will have to get creative to address their needs, but theirs, defense up the middle (which the Barfield acquisition certainly did) and the bullpen, are much easier to get than power and starters.

And the White Sox? GM Kenny Williams is one of baseball's best and most aggressive guys, and being one of the few teams with money, power and starting pitching, he's guaranteed to make splash this offseason.

Is the current Twins team good enough to win next year? I don't think so, and I doubt Ryan does either, so improving them should prove very interesting. The Carlos Silva and Torii Hunter signings were both shrewd, and hopefully Mr Ryan has a few more aces up his sleeve to get another arm and hopefully another bat. I'd love to see the Twins go after Mike Piazza. An extra catcher to spell Mauer who can DH when he's not behind the plate. And yes I realize he's not the hitter he used to be and is below-average at best behind the dish, but he'd still be a better presence in the 4 spot than Rondell White or Jason Kubel.

I'm not sure what the options look like for the rotation, but how much do you like the looks of Santana, Silva, Garza, Boof and Scott Baker? Yeah I don't like it much either. That's why as a Twins fan you should be glad that Ryan's in charge of this, because if anybody can do it with smoke and mirros, Terry's the man.