Terry Ryan leaves voicemail for Derek Falvey regarding Jose Berrios

[EDITOR’S NOTE: A front office source gave us a transcription of a voicemail left by former Twins general manager Terry Ryan for current Twins CBO Derek Falvey on Thursday night following the Twins shutout victory over Colorado. We print it here in its entirety.]

“Was that the tone? I don’t know if that was the tone. I thought I heard a beep. I guess it was a beep, but I just don’t know.

“Hi Derek, it’s Terry Ryan. I hope things are going well, given the circumstances. I wanted to touch base with you after tonight’s events, because I know how difficult the situation that you and Thad are in is. That youngster Berrios is giving you a lot of headaches with his inability to get groundball outs. I’ve been there.

“Back in the 2000s, we had two starting pitchers who would strike a lot of guys out, Johan Santana and Francisco Liriano. It was heartbreaking. Every time a batter would swing and miss, we all winced. Strikeouts cost money. Strikeouts aren’t in the budget. Every strikeout makes arbitration worse. You may as well ask the Red Sox what players they won’t trade for Berrios.

“I know it’s not all bad over there. You’ve got a great thing going in Kyle Gibson, who is going to be affordable until he’s 38. I’m thrilled that we didn’t leave the cupboard bare for you two.

“That may seem like cold comfort, as you’re going to start getting media attention if the young man still refuses to pitch to contact. It’s a regrettable part of the job, but that’s why it’s a job. My advice is to just be patient, let the games play out, and who knows? Sometimes they have trouble locating pitches. Sometimes they try to pitch through pain. Sometimes the medical staff swoops in and misdiagnoses the heck out of something. A lot of variables are in play.

“Was that the beep? I thought I heard another beep. Anywho. Have a good one.”