Phillies special assistant to the GM Terry Ryan reportedly retires

Terry Ryan, who worked in the Phillies front office as a special assistant to the general manager, has retired, according to Bob Nightengale of USA Today. Per Nightengale, Ryan informed friends that he planned to retire from the sport at the end of December.

Ryan, 68, joined the Phillies organization in 2016 as a special assignment scout. He served as general manager of the Minnesota Twins from 1994 to 2007 and returned to the job for a second stint from 2011 to 2016. Ryan served as vice president of player personnel for the Twins when Andy MacPhail was the team’s general manager. Ryan eventually succeeded MacPhail as Twins general manager.

When Dave Dombrowski was hired as Phillies president of baseball operations, he discovered that his longtime rival Ryan was in the organization when he saw him on a video conference with Phillies personnel and figured that the organization could benefit with Ryan in an elevated role. Ryan indicated in a December 2020 press conference that his new title came with more responsibility on the major league side.

“[Terry is] a guy who progressed up the ladder to become a general manager from the scouting end of it,” Dombrowski told Todd Zolecki of MLB.com in March 2021. “But anytime you would talk to people about evaluators of talent, Terry Ryan’s one of the most respected guys. So Terry’s involved in all the conversations we have now.”

Nightengale also reported that the Phillies have hired Brad Sloan to serve as a major league scout.

Sloan, 65, has 40 years of scouting experience. He was hired as a special assignment scout by the Red Sox in 2015 when Dombrowski was the team’s president of baseball operations. From 1996 to 2000, Sloan served as the Padres scouting director. He also worked as a major league scout for the Los Angeles Angels (2004-12) and Atlanta Braves (2013-15). Sloan was let go by the Red Sox in 2020.

Phillies News

• Former Phillies hitting coach Joe Dillon is back with the Nationals, per Brittany Ghiroli and Maria Torres of The Athletic . The 46-year-old has served as the team’s minor league hitting coordinator since November. Dillon was hired by the Phillies in 2020 after spending two seasons as the Nationals assistant hitting coach under current Phillies hitting coach Kevin Long. He was let go by the Phillies on the last day of the regular season in Miami.
• The Phillies hired Pat Listach to serve as bench coach for the High-A Jersey Shore BlueClaws, according to Jon Heyman of Audacy Sports. Listach won the 1992 American League Rookie of the Year Award as a member of the Milwaukee Brewers.
• The Phillies also signed shortstop Kevin Vicuna and first baseman Aldrem Corredor to minor league deals. Both players were assigned to Double-A Reading, according to the transactions log. Teams are allowed to sign minor league free agents during the owner-imposed lockout.

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