If the Minnesota Twins are still in postseason contention as we arrive at the days leading up to the Aug. 3 trade deadline, the front office is going to have a difficult time justifying trading right-hander Joe Ryan. Ryan, 30, is under team control through 2027 and just earned the second All-Star nod of his career. He's easily Minnesota's best starting pitcher and maybe even the team's best player.
However, if the Twins fall out of contention before the deadline, the team should probably trade Ryan. The Athletic's Jim Bowden wrote that Ryan is the Atlanta Braves' best trade fit this summer. Bowden added that the Braves would likely need to give up two of JR Ritchie, Cam Caminiti and Didier Fuentes to get a deal done.
Ritchie, a right-handed pitcher, is MLB Pipeline's No. 49 overall prospect, and Caminiti, a left-handed pitcher, is the publication's No. 44 overall prospect. Fuentes, a right-handed pitcher, has been outstanding out of the bullpen for Atlanta this season, posting a 2.60 ERA over 34 2/3 innings with 39 strikeouts and 11 walks. Before joining the Braves' bullpen this season, Fuentes had been a starter in the minors and in limited action with Atlanta in 2025.
On paper, acquiring two of the three aforementioned Braves pitchers in a Ryan trade doesn't seem like a terrible deal. Two top-50 prospects, or one top-50 prospect and a young pitcher who has already had MLB success, appear to be attractive hypothetical offers.
Twins should try to get a better return than Bowden's proposal if they trade Joe Ryan
However, the Twins should attempt to get an even better haul for Ryan if they trade him. Ryan, who has a 3.36 ERA over 104 1/3 innings this season, is a front-line starter. If Minnesota plans to trade Ryan, the organization should try to acquire even higher-rated prospects than the ones in the Braves' organization. Or, the Twins should demand all three pitchers Bowden mentioned as potential trade pieces in a Ryan deal.
You can never have too much pitching, but it'd be nice if the Twins could receive at least one young position player in a deal for Ryan. Young pitchers are getting hurt more than ever these days, so there's a much higher risk in acquiring pitching prospects over position player prospects.
Additionally, the Twins could always trade Ryan in the offseason if they want to cash in on the right-hander's value before he hits free agency. Hopefully, Minnesota doesn't attempt to trade Ryan this summer and is instead looking to add pitching help and make a postseason run.
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