In Red Sox insider Jen McCaffery's mailbag from Friday, The Athletic staff writer wrote that Twins insider Dan Hayes suggested Minnesota would seek two top-50 prospects, "one with a mid-ceiling and one more of a lottery ticket," in a Joe Ryan trade.
McCaffery went on to say that a package of "[shortstop Franklin] Arias or [outfielder Jhostynxon] Garcia, along with [right-handed pitcher Kyson] Witherspoon, could be a good start for a deal with Ryan."
Twins need a lot more than just two prospects if Red Sox want to trade for Joe Ryan
If the Twins deal Ryan for just two prospects, president of baseball operations Derek Falvey would be making a huge mistake. Ace-level pitchers don't grow on trees, and Ryan is among the league's greatest pitchers when he is performing to the best of his abilities. In all honesty, the Twins probably shouldn't trade Ryan at all, as the rotation has regressed significantly when Ryan and Pablo López each suffered serious injuries at different points over the past two seasons.
The only scenario where the Twins should even consider moving Ryan to the Red Sox is if chief baseball officer Craig Breslow is willing to move on from an established major leaguer such as Jarren Duran, Wilyer Abreu or Ceddanne Rafaela, as Red Sox insider Chris Cotillo suggested on the October 6 episode of the Fenway Rundown podcast.
Even if the Twins can get one of those three established MLB players in a Ryan trade, should they do it? Minnesota currently has an abundance of outfielders, with Byron Buxton, Matt Wallner, (maybe) Trevor Larnach, Austin Martin, James Outman and Alan Roden. Not to mention, highly-touted Twins outfield prospects Walker Jenkins and Emmanuel Rodríguez will likely make their MLB debuts next season.
Duran and Abreu are outfielders, which would make it difficult to find playing time for everyone if Minnesota acquired one of the two. Rafaela might be a more enticing option for the Twins, as he can play second base and shortstop in addition to outfield, which could allow Luke Keaschall to play first base, a position he has played in the minor leagues. Regardless, just two prospects will not be enough for Boston to pry Ryan away from Minnesota.