After nabbing AL Central crowns in 2002, 2003, & 2004, the Minnesota Twins faltered in 2005. They weren’t horrible, but the Chicago White Sox sealed the deal. As a result, some hard decisions were made on fan favorites during the offseason to re-load for another competitive window.
Let go in free agency were…
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SP Joe Mays (’05: 156 IP, 5.65 ERA—would never fully recover form after Tommy John surgery)
C Matt LeCroy (Mauer & Redmond eclipsed him behind the dish; bat not good enough for full DH duties)
2B Luis Rivas (back injuries had limited Little Luis to 59 G in ‘05)
P Terry Mulholland (a dark day for some in these parts)
RF Jacque Jones (still a solid contributor—23 HR—but deemed not worth the free agency raise due him)
Two significant trades were also consecrated…
Prospects Travis Bowyer & Scott Tyler to the Florida Marlins for 2B Luis Castillo (Rivas replacement)
RP J.C. Romero to Anaheim Angels for IF Alexi Casilla (versatile speedster Gardy could dream of in 2-hole)
On the flip side of the coin, the FA acquisitions clearly demonstrated a search for some slug…
DH/RF Ruben Sierra (aging LH vet to fill a hoped-for DH platoon)
DH/LF Rondell White (the other part of the DH platoon; 123 OPS+ in Detroit in ‘05)
3B Tony Batista (popped 32 homers for the Montreal Expos in ‘04; when they folded he played in Japan in ‘05 for some reason until the Twins brought him in with the plan to move Michael Cuddyer to RF)
RP Dennys Reyes (Romero’s replacement out of the ‘pen)
One could, I suppose, make a fairly compelling case that Twins GM Terry Ryan was still shopping in the scratch-and-dent section of the acquisitions market. Only the Luis Castillo trade featured an incoming talent both proven and in-or-close-to his prime. But at least Ryan was filling up his cart. If the 2006 Twins didn’t capture the Central flag, it wouldn’t be for lack of offseason finagling.