NASHVILLE, Tenn. -- If the Twins wind up signing a sought-after reliever on the free-agent market, they could make a stunning bit of history.
Twins general manager Terry Ryan has never signed a reliever from outside the organization to a multiyear contract. Ryan replaced Andy MacPhail in the GM's chair in September 1994 and has held it for all but four seasons (2008-11) since.
Bill Smith, who replaced Ryan during that four-year sabbatical, also avoided multiyear contracts for relievers while bidding against the field.
"The trade is the Terry Way -- usually," said one agent representing a free-agent reliever.