Joe Ryan Scratched From First Spring Start with Back Tightness

[Nick Nelson]

Image courtesy of Matt Krohn-Imagn Images

The Twins were gearing up to face the Boston Red Sox in their first Grapefruit League game on Saturday afternoon when, around 10 minutes before the scheduled first pitch, the team shared news that scheduled starter Joe Ryan had been scratched. Soon after, we learned the reason: lower back tightness on the right side.

No further information was available as of game time, but Twins Daily's John Bonnes is live on the scene in Fort Myers and will update this article (or a new one) with additional details and quotes from team officials, so be sure to check back in a bit. 

During the minutes in between the announcement of Ryan being scratched and the revelation of the cause, a wide range of possibilities passed through the minds of bamboozled Twins fans – still reeling from the bombshell of Pablo López going down the 2026 season due to elbow surgery. A trade? Another injury?

Turns out it's the latter, although initial indications don't necessarily point to anything overly serious. The fact it's not an arm issue is, on its own, fairly relieving. That's not to say one can safely dismiss or downplay any back-related discomfort, but naturally, the Twins are going to be taking every precaution at this early stage of spring training.

Ryan has generally proven extremely durable for the Twins, rarely missing a start or facing any limitation outside of a teres major strain in 2024 that cost him most of the second half. Last year, he set a career high with 171 innings pitched over 31 outings (30 starts). With López going down, the Twins are counting on him to be the steady, dependable workhorse atop their rotation.

This isn't a great first step, and the timing is almost surreal coming just days after López suffered a season-ending injury in his first live BP. The Twins came into this spring with that duo as the foundation of their faint contention hopes. But at this point there's no reason to panic, and I'd suggest mentally separating this situation from any lingering López-related despair, even if it feels tempting to lump it all together. With that said, Ryan's planned participation for Team USA in the World Baseball Classic would certainly seem to be in doubt. 

We'll have more info for you as it becomes available. For now, feel free to sound off with your reactions to the early-spring health woes for the top of the Twins rotation.

[UPDATE: The Twins revealed results of an MRI on Sunday morning and it was good news: only inflammation. Ryan's availability for the WBC may still be affected but he still has a good chance to be ready for Opening Day. Whew!]

 

 

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[HerbieFan]

Grumble, grumble...trade him!....grumble, grumble...cheap Pohlads...grumble, grumble...trade everyone....the sky is falling...grumble, grumble.... :)

[LastOnePicked]

Hoping it's minor. Guessing it's not. We'll just have to see.

[Permanent Twins Fan]

What can go wrong does

[mnfireman]

[Patzky]

Ober Sim or Taj.. who's the new staff ace?

[Met Stadium Usher]

Since Ryan is the most important starter right now, perhaps he should skip the World Baseball Classic?

I know it is prestigious and fun, and all that, but a lot of Twins hopes for the year depend on him now. He has already represented the US in international baseball at the Tokyo Olympics, when the team won a silver medal.

[NJM]

i really hope its nothing serious but as twins fans it will probably be an injury that knocks him out 2 months

[thelanges5]

Gleeman:

Joe Ryan is undergoing an MRI exam. Twins will likely provide an update Sunday.

[jkcarew]

Good thing we didn’t trade him…or Lopez.

[saviking]

Lord Almighty! Not again ..

[Blyleven2011]

4 hours ago, Patzky said:

Ober Sim or Taj.. who's the new staff ace?

It' feels like it's over before it even gets started ...

Unbelievable  , the organization only has bad luck  and let's hope Ryan is near ready to start the season in early  April  ...

 

[howeda7]

4 hours ago, Patzky said:

Ober Sim or Taj.. who's the new staff ace?

Should probably trade Ober, Jeffers, Buxton and Lewis... 

[howeda7]

In all seriousness, sign Giolito asap. 

[h2oface]

What? No calls to trade the whole team from all the blowhard expert arm chair GMs? 

[RaoulDuke]

Whelp....

Good year to be a Twins AAA pitcher, there are going to be plenty of opportunities.

[Danchat]

At least it's not his elbow or shoulder...

[Parfigliano]

5 hours ago, Met Stadium Usher said:

Since Ryan is the most important starter right now, perhaps he should skip the World Baseball Classic?

I know it is prestigious and fun, and all that, but a lot of Twins hopes for the year depend on him now. He has already represented the US in international baseball at the Tokyo Olympics, when the team won a silver medal.

I was saying years ago.  You pitch FOR TC not World.  Got hate for it.

[Rhyno006]

Doctor said he's gonna need a backiotomy...

[D.C Twins]

7 hours ago, Met Stadium Usher said:

Since Ryan is the most important starter right now, perhaps he should skip the World Baseball Classic?

I know it is prestigious and fun, and all that, but a lot of Twins hopes for the year depend on him now. He has already represented the US in international baseball at the Tokyo Olympics, when the team won a silver medal.

(Narrator's Voice) There is no hope for the Twins to lose this year 

[D.C Twins]

3 hours ago, h2oface said:

What? No calls to trade the whole team from all the blowhard expert arm chair GMs? 

Naw... Just Lopez, Ryan, Jeffers, and Buxton during the off season with a full, instead of half arsed,  commitment to the inevitable rebuild... 

You know... before we lose the opportunity to get peak value because of .... (checks notes)... oh never mind.... 

[Major League Ready]

11 hours ago, h2oface said:

What? No calls to trade the whole team from all the blowhard expert arm chair GMs? 

I looked up the definition of blowhard to see if it said a person who looks at how successful teams have built winning teams and believe their team should follow a similar strategy.  Instead, I found this definition.
NORTH AMERICAN ENGLISH
informal
derogatory
1.    a person who talks in a loud, opinionated, and pompous way with little effect:

Kind of ironic!  In this particular case, I would define it as someone who wants his team to do pretty much the exact same thing that has led to failure and then criticize those who think that it does not show great wisdom to do the same thing and expect a very different result.  I guess I should add this expectation is expressed in an opinionated, and pompous way to the definition.

[Chembry]

Bobby Nightengale just reported that Ryan is dealing with inflammation.  Should be fine in a few days after some rest.

[stringer bell]

56 minutes ago, Chembry said:

Bobby Nightengale just reported that Ryan is dealing with inflammation.  Should be fine in a few days after some rest.

Here's a link from MLBTradeRumors.com:

https://www.mlbtraderumors.com/2026/02/mri-reveals-lower-back-inflammation-for-joe-ryan.html?utm_source=dlvr.it&utm_medium=bluesky

[USAFChief]

I liked it better when players reported to camp in the best shape of their lives.

[bean5302]

43 minutes ago, USAFChief said:

I liked it better when players reported to camp in the best shape of their lives.

Pablo Lopez did lol

[Linus]

Hopefully his preparation isn’t significantly delayed. 

[Patzky]

3 hours ago, Chembry said:

Bobby Nightengale just reported that Ryan is dealing with inflammation.  Should be fine in a few days after some rest.

Thank you. Twins Daily fans are plenty inflamed too already. .. won't go away in just a few days. 

[Patzky]

1 hour ago, USAFChief said:

I liked it better when players reported to camp in the best shape of their lives.

BSOTL is only retroactive, not predictive 😁

[LeatherAntenna]

7 hours ago, Chembry said:

Bobby Nightengale just reported that Ryan is dealing with inflammation.  Should be fine in a few days after some rest.

Sounds wonderfully simple but you don’t just walk down a street and catch a little inflammation.  Shouldn’t there be more to it? One would think you would find it useful diagnosing the cause.