MLB world can't believe the Twins rejected this Red Sox trade offer for Joe Ryan

Joe Ryan's name has frequently appeared in trade rumors since last summer's trade deadline. However, Ryan appears likely to remain with Minnesota after the Aug. 3 deadline, as the Twins are just one game back of a postseason spot. If the Twins trade Ryan, who is under team control through next season, it'll likely be in the offseason.

Ryan was one of the survivors of the Twins' 2025 trade deadline fire sale that saw nearly 40% of the club's active roster dealt. The Boston Red Sox had interest in acquiring Ryan, and a recent report from Alex Speier of the Boston Globe revealed that Boston was willing to trade their top two prospects (shortstop Franklin Arias and left-hander Payton Tolle) to Minnesota for Ryan.

Even though Ryan is one of the top starting pitchers in baseball, the MLB world ripped the Twins for turning down the Red Sox's offer for the star right-hander.

Arias, 20, is the No. 7 overall prospect in baseball. The Red Sox recently promoted him to Triple-A after he slashed .318/.407/.587 with 19 home runs and 52 RBI in 75 games at the Double-A level this year.

Meanwhile, Tolle has had an outstanding season with the Red Sox after being recalled in late April. The southpaw has posted a 3.31 ERA with a 1.10 WHIP and 96 strikeouts in 89 2/3 innings across 16 starts in 2026. Last year, he threw 16 1/3 innings across seven MLB appearances and made one postseason outing.

Twins' rejection of Red Sox's Joe Ryan trade offer isn't as bad as it seems

In former Twins president of baseball operations Derek Falvey's defense, Arias and Tolle weren't viewed as highly last summer as they are now.

And Twins fans should be happy Ryan is leading their rotation this year. Sure, he has had a handful of rough starts, but he's overall been outstanding. Ryan earned his second career All-Star Game selection this season, and he has posted a strong 3.38 ERA with a 1.10 WHIP and 131 strikeouts in 114 1/3 innings across 21 starts.

Minnesota would likely be in a better spot long-term if Falvey had agreed to swap Ryan for Arias and Tolle, but it makes sense why the former executive rejected the offer at the time. As great as it would've been for Minnesota to have Arias and Tolle in the organization, the club already has two promising shortstop prospects: Kaelen Culpepper and Marek Houston. And Tolle is still relatively inexperienced, while Ryan already has several successful MLB seasons under his belt.

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