I brought you Part I of the epic review of Terry Ryan’s trades yesterday. I know you’re just itching to read Part II. This installment covers 1999 through 2002. Here it is without further delay:
5/21/99: Rick Aguilera and Scott Downs to the Cubs for Kyle Lohse and Jason Ryan
This time the 37 year old Aguilera stayed traded. The Cubs got 37 saves out of him before he retired. As mentioned above, Downs went on to have a great career, though not with the Cubs. Loshe was a very important part of the rotation for the 2002-2004 division winning clubs. Ryan had a 5.94 ERA in 66.2 innings.
VERDICT: Decent trade, but the Twins gave up too much.
8/3/99: George Williams to the Astros for Josh Dimmick
Catcher Williams spent a few months at AAA for the Twins before being traded. Catcher Dimmick spent two seasons at A ball before calling it quits.
VERDICT: Nothing lost, nothing gained.
2/4/2002: Chris Latham to the Rockies for Scott Randall
Another inconsequential trade. Latham had a total of 240 MLB plate appearances, and Randall pitched a total of 27.1 innings.
VERDICT: Nothing lost, nothing gained.
12/13/99: Jared Camp to the Marlins for Johan Santana
This one was not inconsequential! When the Marlins picked Santana in the Rule 5 draft, the Twins swung a deal to send them Camp in exchange for the Venezuelan lefty. Between 2004 and 2006, Santana was without question the best pitcher in baseball, leading the AL in WHIP and strikeouts each year, leading in ERA twice, and wins once. He pulled down two Cy Young Awards with the Twins, and he ranks 7th in team history with 93 wins, 4th with a 3.22 ERA, and 4th with 1,381 strikeouts. The only reason anyone has ever heard of Camp is because of this trade. He never made it to the Majors.
VERDICT: Utterly great trade.
6/12/00: Francisco Alvarez to the Blue Jays for Mike Romano
Neither played in the Majors for the Twins. Alvarez never made it with any team. Romano had 5.1 innings with the Jays in 1999.
VERDICT: Nothing lost, nothing gained.
6/15/00: Butch Huskey and Todd Walker to the Rockies for Todd Sears
Walker was a good hitter at 2B, and he continued to put up .300/.350/.400 lines for six more years. Huskey was a big, powerful slugger who never quite managed to fulfill his power potential, even at Coors. Sears didn’t amount to much, but he looked pretty good for about a week in May of 2003 when he had a homer and two RBI off Pedro Martinez and a walk-off homer against he Royals.
Verdict: Bad trade. Not a good return for a veteran second baseman.
7/31/00: Mario Valdez to the A’s for Danny Ardoin
The 25 year old Valdez was hitting .366/.460/.618 through 88 AAA games when he was traded. He never hit that well again, and he only had a few at bats in the Majors. Ardoin’s career highlight came when he caught 80 games for the Rockies in 2005.
VERDICT: Nothing lost, nothing gained.
8/31/00: Midre Cummings to the Red Sox for Hector De Los Santos
Cummings had just 132 more at bats after leaving the wins. DeLos Santos hit .226 at Low A ball and then called it quits.
VERDICT: Nothing lost, nothing gained.
9/9/00: Hector Carrasco to the Red Sox for Lew Ford
Journeyman reliever Carrasco was not gone for long. He re-signed with the Twins for the 2001 season after pitching just 6.2 innings for the Sox. Ford’s career wasn’t very memorable, but his 2004 campaign was good enough to earn him a spot on the One Hit Wonder list that Mays topped.
VERDICT: Good trade.
3/28/01: Chad Moeller to Diamondbacks for Hanley Frias
Moeller played sparingly for the 2001 champion Diamondbacks, and he went on to a lengthy career as a backup catcher, albeit with a .288 career OBP. Frias, an infielder, never played for the Twins.
VERDICT: Not a very good trade.
7/3/2001: Hanley Frias to the Cardinals for Larry Sutton
Ryan dealt Frias just three months after obtaining him. Like Frias, Sutton never played for the Twins. He spent a couple months in the minors before declaring free agency.
VERDICT: Nothing lost, nothing gained.
7/28/01: Mark Redman to the Tigers for Todd Jones
If there’s one thing we have learned about Ryan, it’s that he has a big weakness for “proven” closers. Jones was brought in to shore up the Twins’ pen, which had faltered with LaTroy Hawkins at the back end. He pitched somewhat well for the Twins for two months, then left to Colorado as a free agent. Redman pitched well in 2003 and 2004 for Detroit and Florida. This is a very rare example of Ryan giving up a promising young player to rent an aging veteran.
VERDICT: Not a great trade. Twins gave up a little too much.
7/30/01: Matt Lawton to the Mets for Rick Reed
Lawton was a veteran outfielder with great on-base skills and some power, but he declined after 2001. Reed was almost 37 years old at the time of the trade. Like Carl Pavano nearly a decade later, he helped the Twins down the stretch then returned for two more seasons. His 2002 was very good, his 2003 not so much.
VERDICT: Decent trade.
6/11/02: Warren Morris to the Cardinals for Seth Davidson
Morris finished third in the NL Rookie of the Year voting in 1999, but by 2002, the second baseman declined, and he only got into four games with the Twins. Shortstop Davidson never made it past AA.
VERDICT: Nothing lost, nothing gained.
7/12/02: Brian Buchanan to the Padres for Jason Bartlett
Buchanan, obtained in the Chuck Knoblauch trade, spent parts of three seasons as a benchwarmer for the Twins. Bartlett became the starting shortstop in 2006. He demonstrated very good on-base skills, baserunning speed, and great range at short before being dealt away in one of the most infamous trades in team history.
VERDICT: Very good trade.
11/15/02: Matt Kinney and Javier Valentin to the Brewers for Jerry Oakes and Matt Yeatman
Kinney spent all of 2003 in the Brewer rotation, but he stumbled to a 5.19 ERA. Valentin became a decent backup catcher, his best year coming in 2006 when he had a .883 OPB in 254 PAs. Neither Oakes nor Yeatman ever saw the Majors.
VERDICT: Not a very good return for two young players.