He’s not naming names, but Twins GM Terry Ryan is promising to pursue a “pretty darn good” starting pitcher in the offseason.

Will Danny Valencia ever play for the Twins again? Since being sent back to AAA Rochester in early May, Valencia is hitting .237 with 4 homers and 22 RBI. General manager Terry Ryan says, "If we felt comfortable bringing him back, we would ... but he's not ready."

Terry Ryan was raking leaves last week when Twins President Dave St. Peter called to talk about returning to the GM role. As the Star Tribune's LaVelle E. Neall III explains in this profile, Ryan had to run the idea by his wife first.

The MLB Winter Meetings concluded Thursday, meaning the Twins now have to dig through the free-agent scraps in order to upgrade the team. The digging job belongs to GM Terry Ryan, and it will be interesting to see what he does.

The Minnesota Twins have severed ties with general manager Bill Smith, with Terry Ryan stepping in as interim general manager, effective immediately. The Twins cited "philosophical differences" as the reason for the move. Ryan says he's more than happy to "try to get the job done."

Twins' GM Terry Ryan put the team's 6-18 start in perspective by saying, "Right now, things are not going very well." After watching the Twins get no-hit by Jered Weaver, Ryan says, "Now we're in Seattle, and we have to turn the page and forget what happened."