Twins' Ryan admits releasing Ortiz was a mistake

The fortunes of the Minnesota Twins and Boston Red Sox might have drastically been altered had Twins general manager Terry Ryan not given up on David Ortiz in 2002.

Bothered by lingering knee soreness, Ortiz was shopped throughout the season though Ryan was unable to find any takers and eventually released the slugger that December. One month later, former Red Sox general manager Theo Epstein signed Ortiz to a one-year, $1.25-million deal.

Ortiz's career took off after the move to Boston, as he transformed into arguably the greatest designated hitter in franchise history and helped the Red Sox to three World Series titles in 13 seasons, leaving Ryan to ponder what if.

"There's no hiding that one," Ryan told Rhett Bollinger of MLB.com. "You can put that one in there and lock it down. I'm not running from it. I'm proud of what he's done. Obviously, it was a mistake. The guy has been a great representation of the Boston Red Sox and Major League Baseball for a long time. And it's Boston's gain and Minnesota's loss. And I take full responsibility."

Ortiz hit .272/.339/.500 with 20 home runs and 75 RBIs in 125 games during his final year in Minneapolis but was set to earn about $2 million through arbitration. Big money for a budget conscious team that also needed to find at-bats for Matt LeCroy, Doug Mientkiewicz, and Justin Morneau.

"There wasn't any one thing," Ryan said. "If you look at his numbers across the board, they were very respectable. And not that it was totally about money, but we were a little bit strapped. That would be a good excuse, but it wasn't that entirely. It was just a bad error in judgment of a guy's talent. How about a mistake?"

Ortiz, who announced the 2016 season will be his last, has hit 445 home runs in his 1,802 games since joining the Red Sox, including 30 or more in nine different seasons. The Twins have only had six players since 2003 reach the 30-homer plateau.