One of the biggest fears for Minnesota Twins fans this offseason is the potential of All-Star pitcher Joe Ryan getting traded. Ryan, one of the cornerstones of this franchise, has been a fan favorite these last five seasons.
Unfortunately, the career Twin has been constantly thrown around within the rumor mill this offseason, which has left fans very worried. If Ryan leaves, then we may see a ripple effect of other top Twins wanting out of Minnesota.
However, baseball insider Ken Rosenthal is starting to fan the flames of Ryan getting traded to one specific team. The Boston Red Sox, a high-spending franchise, is in the hunt for another starting pitcher this winter, but it's starting to look like it won't be Ryan to fill that void.
"First off, we're not even that Joe Ryan is going to be traded," Rosenthal said in an interview with Boston Sports Gordo.
Joe Ryan's trade rumors to Red Sox this offseason is starting to dwindle as Twins may ask for too many prospects
The reason? Well, the Red Sox traded away a boatload of top prospects last year to acquire Garrett Crochet. While that deal worked out for Boston, they may be more inclined to sign a free agent this time around, rather than trade for another All-Star. Losing another chunk of top prospects will be difficult for the front office to bear again, considering Kyle Teel and Chase Meidroth (each part of the Crochet trade) have already seen playing time at the MLB level.
Rosenthal suggested that the Red Sox may prefer to pursue Astros left-hander Framber Valdez. He is a free agent, so the club wouldn't need to continue checking in on Ryan.
Does this completely take Joe Ryan off the trading table? Absolutely not, but potentially removing one high-spending team makes Ryan's odds much greater of remaining in Minnesota. The Twins need him, but another team may come knocking on the door prepared to hand Minnesota a ton of top prospects. It just doesn't look it will be the Red Sox. For now.