The Minnesota Twins entered the season with low expectations and while they’ve been able to stay in a wide-open wild card race, they may be coming closer to trading Joe Ryan.
Ryan has been a popular trade candidate ever since the Twins executed a fire sale at last season’s trade deadline. While Ryan is still in a Twins uniform, that may last much longer as The Athletic’s Ken Rosenthal believes the team could trade him at the deadline if they fall out of contention in the coming weeks.
“I’ll say it right now: If the…Twins fall out of contention…they’re going to trade Ryan and not at a discount,” Rosenthal wrote. “Ryan…is a pitcher who could not only help his team reach the postseason but also start a playoff game. The demand for that kind of performer at the deadline is intense and almost certainly override any concerns about 2027.”
Twins fade from contention could force them to trade Joe Ryan
Ryan is having a career year, posting a 3.07 ERA with 84 strikeouts and 16 walks in 76.1 innings, but the Twins’ performance around him is having it go to waste. That was true in his last start on Saturday when Ryan rebounded from a leadoff homer to Carter Jensen to allow one run over six innings, but got a no decision when Eric Orze blew a lead in the top of the ninth during a 3-2 loss.
The right-hander is also under team control through next season, potentially giving a team two playoff runs with him on staff assuming baseball is played at some point in 2027.
Twins fans would rather keep Ryan. But he may not be enough to help Minnesota turn its season around. Signing Ryan to an extension is also an option, but there has been no steam on that front as ownership continues to keep the pursestrings tight and Ryan could seek a bigger contract elsewhere.
Then there is the current state of the Twins. After Sunday’s 6-5 loss to the Kansas City Royals, the Twins have lost 10 of their past 14 games. Entering Monday, they were seven games back of the Cleveland Guardians for first place in the American League Central and three games back of the final Wild Card spot in the American League.
When a national analyst like Rosenthal is saying “bless their heart” when discussing the Twins’ playoff chances, that’s a bad sign and it could lead Ryan to be the most desirable trade chip on the market.
While a shortened season is the most likely outcome and would come in Ryan’s final year of team control, Rosenthal believes that some team is still going to pay up based on the returns of Brendan Donovan and MacKenzie Gore at last year’s trade deadline.
For example, the St. Louis Cardinals received three prospects including Jurrangelo Cijntje, who was the 15th overall pick in last year’s draft, by dealing Donovan as part of a three-team trade with the Seattle Mariners and Tampa Bay Rays. Meanwhile, the Washington Nationals acquired five prospects including infielder Gavin Fein in a deal that sent Gore to the Texas Rangers.
Another notable trade Rosenthal cited was between the Milwaukee Brewers and New York Mets last winter that sent Freddy Peralta to The Big Apple in exchange for two top 100 prospects in pitcher Brandon Sproat and infielder/outfielder Jett Williams, which could be the baseline to acquire Ryan at the deadline.
“The supply and demand is so competitive; somebody is going to plow through that,” An MLB executive quoted by Rosenthal said. “Someone will say f*** it and pay for ‘27 even though they might lose it.”
There are plenty of benefits to keeping Ryan and the biggest may be the public relations disaster that comes with trading him. This could also apply to other current cornerstones like Ryan Jeffers and maybe be a domino that convinces Byron Buxton to waive his no-trade clause. But with the reality of the situation and the Twins racking up losses, it’s looking likely that he’ll be on the move before the Aug. 3 deadline.
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