Minnesota Twins right-handed starting pitcher Joe Ryan is scheduled to make a rehab start with Triple-A St. Paul in Omaha on Tuesday night, according to AaronGleeman.com's Aaron Gleeman. Ryan, who represented the Twins in this year's All-Star Game, has been on the injured list since Aug. 7 with a left glute strain.
Joe Ryan (glute) is scheduled to make a rehab start Tuesday with Triple-A St. Paul.
— Aaron Gleeman (@AaronGleeman) August 31, 2026
Derek Shelton said the plan is for Ryan to throw three innings and/or around 45-50 pitches.
It'll be Ryan's first game action in four weeks.
If all goes well for Ryan on Tuesday, there's a strong chance he will return to the rotation early next week. With just 24 games remaining on the Twins' regular-season schedule, Minnesota should want Ryan back as soon as possible.
Unfortunately, Ryan's positive injury update might have come too late. While the Twins are still in the postseason race, their odds of making the playoffs are low. With a 66-72 record, the Twins are 3 1/2 games back of the Cleveland Guardians for the final Wild Card spot and have a 7.2% chance to make the playoffs, according to FanGraphs. The Baltimore Orioles, Texas Rangers and Toronto Blue Jays are all closer to the Guardians than the Twins are in the Wild Card standings.
That doesn't mean Twins fans should completely lose hope. Minnesota has a relatively easy schedule for the rest of the regular season, with only 9 of the remaining 24 games against teams with winning records. However, fans should keep their expectations in check. We all thought the Athletics series late last month would be an easy win, but the Twins lost two of three.
By calling up Walker Jenkins last Friday, Minnesota's front office appears hopeful the team can still reach the postseason. If the Twins get the best version of Ryan when he returns to the rotation, the club will have a much better shot at snagging the final Wild Card spot.
Twins need best version of Joe Ryan when he returns from IL
Ryan clearly wasn't himself after the All-Star break. The ace carried a 2.85 ERA into the break. After the Midsummer Classic, Ryan posted an abysmal 9.39 ERA in 15 1/3 innings across three starts before being placed on the IL.
While Ryan's glute likely played a big part in his post-break struggles, the right-hander also tends to struggle in the second half. Ryan, 30, has a career 3.17 ERA over 516 2/3 innings in the first half. After the All-Star Break, Ryan has a career 5.00 ERA over 250 1/3 innings.
Hopefully, the rest over the past four weeks or so will allow Ryan to return to form upon returning from the IL.
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