You know how the Twins have had that tendency to fire people in the organization only to rehire them in different roles (Bill Smith, Ron Gadrenhire, etc.)? Well, former GM Terry Ryan just completely flipped the script. Despite bringing in totally new front office leaders, they still offered a spot for Terry if he wanted it, but he was like, “Nah, I’m getting a job with the Phillies—at Target Field.”
You think I’m joking? I’m not.
Terry Ryan revealed this today when he spoke to the media for the first time since he was fired as the Twins GM. In case you missed it, the Phillies hired Terry to be a special assignment scout this past Wednesday. It’s not very surprising, seeing as former Twins GM Andy MacPhail, who Ryan closely worked with for some time (read: decades), is now the Phillies team president.
What is sort of odd is that, according to the Pioneer Press, Ryan’s main major-league outpost is still going to be Target Field:
Once the season starts, Ryan expects to have amateur scouting duties in advance of the June draft. He also will travel through the minor leagues seeing the Phillies’ various affiliates, while the bulk of his major league coverage will take place at Target Field.
“I don’t have to move,” he said. “I’ll see a lot of whoever comes through here. Obviously I’ll see the Twins a lot, so that’s a good thing. This is a pretty good fit. I was fortunate a few teams had interest. I ended up in a pretty good spot.”
Well that’s, uh... awkward?
I mean, I guess it makes sense though. Ryan lives in the Twin Cities and even addressed his yard manicuring during the conference call with reporters :
“I got pretty good at raking leaves,” Ryan said in his first public comments since his firing. “That’s a job with no return. You get it done, and the next day you wake up and it looks like you haven’t even touched it.”
If you went back up to check if this post was labeled “Satire, Irreverence, and Other Humor” I don’t blame you. It’s not, though.
Ryan also talked about how he talked with Derek Falvey for a long time, and seems to be a fan of the new guy. I guess the two lovable front office men were able to connect on some level?
“We didn’t talk about my future,” Ryan said. “We talked about a lot of things: the ballpark, weather, community, how it is to raise a family here, personnel, coaching staff, minor leagues, development, you name it. It was a good exchange.”
“I felt very comfortable talking to Derek about those things,” Ryan said. “I know what it’s like when you’re new. There was no harm in me trying to help the cause. I’m going to be a fan of the Minnesota Twins. I hope they do well.”
I guess this all sounds fine to me, but like... am I the only one who thinks this all seems really weird? It’s like still living with you ex.
Well... whatever. Welcome back (?), Terry.