ORLANDO – After two days of meeting with agents, General Manager Terry Ryan said it's still too early to tell how much he'll be able to upgrade the Twins' starting rotation through free agency. But he has found one factor isn't helping: the team's lousy record.
"People look at us on paper and say, 'Well, I have a lot of interest in playing for a contender,' " Ryan said Tuesday during a break in baseball's annual general managers meetings here. "Now, do they consider us a contender? I suspect not."
Still, Ryan has hopes of attracting a pitcher or two to beef up the major league's least-effective rotation, and he said he has made that clear to a number of agents. "At this point in the process, not many offers have been exchanged. There's a lot of feeling out right now," he said. "When players get to [free agent] status in their career, they get more interested in playing for a team that has a chance to reach the postseason, and not so much for the dollars."
That would seem to rule out the Twins, who followed up a 63-99 season in 2011 with back-to-back 66-96 records. But Ryan said he doesn't want free agents — or Twins fans — to think the team is simply biding its time while waiting for its farm system to provide the foundation of a winner. His timetable is much more urgent.
"There are a lot of us who do not want to wait until that point. I am looking very seriously at 2014, and getting a lot better," Ryan said. "Nobody wants to hear about '15 or '16. My job is to make us better in 2014."
How much better?
"Just ask Boston. If you don't like that answer, go ask Cleveland. If you don't like that answer, go ask Oakland," he said, rattling off three playoff teams, including the world champions. "I'm not saying it's easy, but they proved it can be done. I've got a lot of work to do."
Pitchers over mentors
Rumors circulated Tuesday that the Twins are also in the market for another catcher now that Joe Mauer has moved to first base, and cbssports.com reported that former Twin A.J. Pierzynski has been approached, most likely about a one-year contract. Ryan wouldn't comment directly on those reports, but said he's not inclined to add a catcher in a "mentor" role to split time with rookie Josmil Pinto.