Twins GM Ryan still fielding calls from contenders

While watching his team scuffle from the get-go and plummet 17 games under .500, Minnesota Twins general manager Terry Ryan has steadfastly staved off denial. That suits team owner Jim Pohlad, who watched batting practice Friday at Target Field before the Twins' 11-0 rout of the Cleveland Indians.

With his team well on its way to consecutive losing seasons for the first time since 1999-2000, Pohlad was asked if it's time to rebuild the Twins.

"Well, it's time to build, for sure," he said. "We can't deny it. We've got pretty close to the worst record in baseball; that's not a good position. You can't just sit there and say, 'No, that's wrong.'

"Maybe you could say that last year because there were a lot of weird things happening, but this year, no. We definitely have to build -- build. I don't know if you use the term 'rebuild,' but we clearly have to build."

That will be up to Ryan, who was named interim GM last November when Bill Smith was ousted. With the non-waiver trade deadline coming Tuesday, Ryan has been busy fielding calls from potential buyers. No player or position is off limits, he said, and left-hander Francisco Liriano and center field Denard Span appear to be the players attracting the most interest.

The market has stayed relatively stable, Ryan said, even as players such as Hanley Ramirez, Omar Infante and Ichiro Suzuki have been dealt to contenders.

"Regardless of who gets traded, if people have interest in players, they usually remain interested unless they fill a spot, regardless of what happens," Ryan said. As he spoke, however, the deal that sent Milwaukee Brewers right-hander Zack Greinke to the Los Angeles Angels for three prospects was announced.

"That," Ryan said, "might affect a few people there."

One of them should be the Twins; as starters change hands, Liriano becomes that much more valuable, though Ryan believes the extra wild-card teams added for 2012 postseason play already have made it a seller's market.

"There are so many teams involved with the possibility of the postseason that there's probably quite a bit of competition for players right now," he said.