Why the Twins Must Find a New Approach with Joe Ryan

[Cody Christie]

Image courtesy of Jerome Miron-IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

Joe Ryan has become one of the Minnesota Twins' most important starting pitchers, but his latest season followed a troubling pattern. He dominated early, earned another All Star selection, and then struggled to stay healthy and effective down the stretch.

The Twins face an important decision this offseason as Ryan enters the final year of team control in 2027. Trading him could make sense if Minnesota falls out of contention, but keeping him would give the club an established starter capable of anchoring its rotation.

Regardless of that decision, the Twins need a better plan for getting Ryan through an entire season. His late season struggles have become too consistent to ignore, and simply hoping for a different outcome in 2027 is not a strategy.

Ryan's 2026 Season Was a Tale of Two Halves

Ryan looked like a frontline starter during the first half of 2026. He posted a 2.85 ERA, earned his second career All Star selection, and gave Minnesota a reliable presence near the top of its rotation.

Everything changed after the break. In his first post All Star start against Cleveland, Ryan surrendered a career high six home runs. He then allowed four earned runs in each of his next two outings before landing on the injured list with a left glute strain. Ryan returned in September, but he struggled to regain his previous form. Across seven second half starts, he recorded a 6.82 ERA in 34⅓ innings, allowing 26 earned runs.

His overall numbers were respectable, with a 3.79 ERA, 159 strikeouts, and a 1.16 WHIP across 144⅔ innings. Still, the dramatic split between his first and second halves left the Twins with plenty of questions heading into the offseason.

A Recurring Problem for Ryan

Ryan's struggles are not limited to 2026. Since becoming a regular major league starter, he has repeatedly been less effective after the All Star break. 

In 2022, Ryan's ERA increased from 2.99 in the first half to 4.14 afterward. The following season, it climbed from 3.70 to 6.09. In 2024, he posted a 3.53 first half ERA before recording a 3.98 ERA in four second half starts, with a shoulder strain ultimately ending his season early. The pattern continued in 2025, when Ryan went from a 2.72 first half ERA to a 4.67 mark after the break. Then came the dramatic decline in 2026.

Injuries have played a role, including groin, shoulder, and glute problems. However, health has not been the only concern. Ryan has also endured stretches when opposing hitters have consistently punished his mistakes. Whether the problem stems from fatigue, mechanical adjustments, or opponents becoming more familiar with his approach, Minnesota needs to investigate the underlying causes. Five seasons of similar results suggest the organization should do more than wait for things to improve.

How the Twins Can Manage Ryan Differently

Minnesota should begin the 2027 season with an individualized plan for monitoring Ryan's workload, mechanics, and recovery. That means establishing his normal velocity and delivery patterns during spring training, then tracking changes throughout the year. If his command, fastball velocity, or mechanics begin to deteriorate, the coaching and medical staffs should investigate before allowing the problem to carry into multiple starts.

The Twins should also be more willing to provide extra rest during the summer. If their rotation depth allows it, they could use a six man rotation for stretches around the All Star break rather than expecting Ryan to maintain the same schedule throughout the season. A planned additional day of rest could be more useful than waiting until an injury forces him onto the injured list.

Just as importantly, Minnesota should establish clear guidelines for responding to physical warning signs. If Ryan reports discomfort or the staff detects a meaningful change in his delivery, the team should consider skipping a start instead of automatically sending him back out after five days. The goal would not be to impose an arbitrary innings limit, but to prevent manageable problems from becoming month long absences.

The Twins should also avoid overworking Ryan simply because he is one of their best starters. A deeper rotation would allow them to distribute innings more evenly, keeping Ryan fresher for the final two months. That approach requires the organization to prioritize September effectiveness over maximizing every regular season start.

Ryan's contract situation adds another layer to the discussion. MLB Trade Rumors projects his final arbitration salary at $9.6 million, and his remaining team control could make him attractive to other clubs. If Minnesota is not positioned to contend, the front office will have to weigh his trade value against the benefits of retaining an established starter.

The Breaking Point in 2027

Ryan remains capable of being a major asset for Minnesota. His first half in 2026 demonstrated that, but the repeated second half decline has become a legitimate concern.

There is also the looming cloud of a potential MLB lockout that could impact the season’s start. If negotiations carry on into the spring, the start of the season could be pushed back. For Ryan, that might be helpful because it could limit his early season innings and put him in a better position to finish the season on a high note. 

The Twins cannot prevent every injury or guarantee consistent results. They can establish a more deliberate workload plan, monitor changes in his delivery, and react earlier when signs of trouble emerge.

With his final season of team control approaching, Ryan's future in Minnesota remains uncertain. Whatever the organization decides, it should not allow another season to follow the same familiar script. A healthier, more effective Ryan down the stretch could make a significant difference in the Twins' 2027 season.

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What else could the Twins do with Ryan to impact his second-half performance? Leave a comment and start the discussion.

 

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[rdehring]

Hopefully, this won't be a concern for the Twins in '27 as he will be pitching for some other team.  My only concern is that the Twins get a good return when he is traded. 

[Linus]

First of all, I would be shocked if the Twins are not taking the measures suggested in the article already with all their pitchers. Sometimes guys just aren’t durable. 
Regarding next season, if you are “really trying to win” then you would keep Ryan at least until the trade deadline. To be clear, I would have traded him a year and a half ago but this is where we are. 

[mluebker]

“We know he can do it, we just don’t know why he can’t do it consistently,” mixed with frequent injuries seems to be a recurring theme with the Twins. Makes me wonder whether their approach to conditioning is what it ought to be.

[Coach]

Ryan needs to listen to Bert;

A good read: https://www.fortmyersbeachtalk.com/sports/local-sports-recreation/2026/03/hall-of-famer-blyleven-still-teaching-at-twins-camp/

Blyleven's conditioning program was built entirely on lower-body endurance, flexibility, and high-volume running rather than heavy weightlifting. His long-distance running in helping his endurance and longevity.

“I think no matter what sport you play, your legs are your strength,” he said. “I always considered my arm nothing more than a whip. If my legs got out too far, the whip couldn’t catch up. It’s a balance over the pitching rubber to allow that arm to whip through.”

Blyleven said he only did some light lifting during his career. “I did a lot of yoga, a lot of the stretching and all that stuff,” Blyleven said.
 

[Jack Pine]

a good job for our new pitching coach.

[sweetmusicviola16]

40 minutes ago, Coach said:

Ryan needs to listen to Bert;

A good read: https://www.fortmyersbeachtalk.com/sports/local-sports-recreation/2026/03/hall-of-famer-blyleven-still-teaching-at-twins-camp/

Blyleven's conditioning program was built entirely on lower-body endurance, flexibility, and high-volume running rather than heavy weightlifting. His long-distance running in helping his endurance and longevity.

“I think no matter what sport you play, your legs are your strength,” he said. “I always considered my arm nothing more than a whip. If my legs got out too far, the whip couldn’t catch up. It’s a balance over the pitching rubber to allow that arm to whip through.”

Blyleven said he only did some light lifting during his career. “I did a lot of yoga, a lot of the stretching and all that stuff,” Blyleven said.
 

Nolan Ryan and Tom Seaver are two classic examples as well of lower body conditioning. Build up those legs, Joe's are toothpicks in comparison to the greats.

[David Maro]

These problems are all across baseball because pitchers aren't pitching. They have no foundation because they are throwing not pitching. It's all about velocity and spinning the ball. Watching pitchers fall off the mound losing their balance including Ryan is all the PC should need to see. Pitching needs to get back to control and location and landing in a fielding position to protect themselves from injury. 

[Stew]

A few comments. Does he do much off season conditioning. They could put him in touch with a person trainer. Just an idea. You always hear of guy that come back after the off season an there really improved.. I do think we will keep him. Unless we do a total rebuild. Because, he and Lopez were a very good duo in the playoffs not too many years back. If we lose him we have to be sure about lopez. And thought we were sure about his return last year. Ryan has mostly been there. Mostly healthy. I would be pretty excited about these starters . Especially when you add Bradley to the mix.

[MeleMouth]

The Twins' new "approach" with Joe Ryan should be to approach all the other MLB teams to see what they'll trade for Ryan this winter.

[miller761]

Return for Ryan would be minimal during the off season. The Twins should shop and listen to offers but trading him for the sake of getting something for him after last season would not be good. IMO the Twins would be wise to wait till the trading deadline now. Injuries and the standings at that point might generate a return with top prospects. 

[KBJ1]

Logic, I like it! One has to wonder how the old timers threw complete games and 300 innings a year. We are all chasing velocity & spon now. Maybe foundational strength, mechanics and location are a simpler, better plan.

[DannySD]

Make him a reliever for a month around july/august, gotta try something different. As others have said, they're already doing all those proactive things, and they haven't worked. 

[HerbieFan]

This all assumes he's part of the long-term plan.  I think the "new approach" should be to trade him after he has another great first half and makes the all-star team again.

[Hrbowski]

4 hours ago, Coach said:

Ryan needs to listen to Bert;

A good read: https://www.fortmyersbeachtalk.com/sports/local-sports-recreation/2026/03/hall-of-famer-blyleven-still-teaching-at-twins-camp/

Blyleven's conditioning program was built entirely on lower-body endurance, flexibility, and high-volume running rather than heavy weightlifting. His long-distance running in helping his endurance and longevity.

“I think no matter what sport you play, your legs are your strength,” he said. “I always considered my arm nothing more than a whip. If my legs got out too far, the whip couldn’t catch up. It’s a balance over the pitching rubber to allow that arm to whip through.”

Blyleven said he only did some light lifting during his career. “I did a lot of yoga, a lot of the stretching and all that stuff,” Blyleven said.
 

High-volume running destroys the fast twitch muscles in your legs, actually LEADING to long-term breakdown and reducing durability over a season for pitchers. Hopefully Joe Ryan or any other pitchers will not listen to Bert and instead listen to trainers who use modern science to backup their strength and conditioning programs.

[bean5302]

The Twins don't need to change their approach with Joe Ryan. Fans need to change their expectations of Joe Ryan.

ERA vs. xFIP at the All Star Break
2026 = 2.85 vs. 3.43 lucky +0.57 
2025 = 2.72 vs. 3.70 lucky +0.98
2024 = 3.53 vs. 3.48 unlucky -0.05
2023 = 3.70 vs. 3.64 unlucky -0.06

[bean5302]

45 minutes ago, Hrbowski said:

High-volume running destroys the fast twitch muscles in your legs, actually LEADING to long-term breakdown and reducing durability over a season for pitchers. Hopefully Joe Ryan or any other pitchers will not listen to Bert and instead listen to trainers who use modern science to backup their strength and conditioning programs.

What kind of strength do you think pitchers need? The entire idea here is not to boost explosive strength; it's to build endurance to throw 100 reps a game, plus recovery and conditioning during the week for 8-9 months straight.

[Andy MacPhail]

I'm a big fan of managing the pitchers' workload. Overextending them tends to injuries & tired arms. Even when we make it to the postseason our arms are shot. That's because of mismanagement. If Ryan were to sign an extension, he'd be signed already, so, he's in his last season. It's too late to be concerned about his 2nd half because he should be gone by then.

[MeleMouth]

7 hours ago, Coach said:

Ryan needs to listen to Bert;

A good read: https://www.fortmyersbeachtalk.com/sports/local-sports-recreation/2026/03/hall-of-famer-blyleven-still-teaching-at-twins-camp/

Blyleven's conditioning program was built entirely on lower-body endurance, flexibility, and high-volume running rather than heavy weightlifting. His long-distance running in helping his endurance and longevity.

“I think no matter what sport you play, your legs are your strength,” he said. “I always considered my arm nothing more than a whip. If my legs got out too far, the whip couldn’t catch up. It’s a balance over the pitching rubber to allow that arm to whip through.”

Blyleven said he only did some light lifting during his career. “I did a lot of yoga, a lot of the stretching and all that stuff,” Blyleven said.
 

So, to be clear, you are advocating for Ryan to listen to a voice different from what the Twins are telling him, and that voice is a Twins legend the Twins bring to spring training to talk to the pitchers?

[killercarewoliva]

The Orioles had four starters mid to late '60s and they all won 20 games. wow! that would never work today because somehow pitching is faster but you have to have more time off. well you know that makes sense, doesn't it. Palmer Dobson mcnally and cuellar each one won 20 games. they can't be injured and win 20 games but these days we're doing six-man rotations seems to be coming into play and they're getting paid 10 times as much if not more. how does a guy make $20 million a year and only pitch in 15% of the innings the team plays for season? so we're going to somehow have a new bargaining agreement and there may be someone who's doing that for the team and complaining about his income not being higher. you know that's possible, especially if your name is Bryce Harper but he doesn't pitch. Joe Ryan is an entirely wonderful young man the way I see it as far as I can tell, not knowing him personally but yes I see him as a every 6 days guy from the start of the season to maybe have a better second half but will he be on the mound enough to even win 13 games. okay everybody what am I doing wrong with this message?

[ashbury]

4 hours ago, Hrbowski said:

High-volume running destroys the fast twitch muscles in your legs, actually LEADING to long-term breakdown and reducing durability 

Exactly.  This is what I tell Mrs Ash whenever she asks me why I'm still sitting on the sofa at 4 pm.

[bjorks]

9 hours ago, bean5302 said:

What kind of strength do you think pitchers need? The entire idea here is not to boost explosive strength; it's to build endurance to throw 100 reps a game, plus recovery and conditioning during the week for 8-9 months straight.

The BEST lift ANY athlete (or non) can do for their overall body are dead lifts, plain and simple. Stretch and do dead lifts. 

Fans would rather see the Mis for 4-6 steller seasons than Steve Carleton pitch for 24. 

Greg Maddux in the front half of his career played golf and drank beer in the offseason and has talked about riding his bike around, but admitted he did very little. It wasn't until the later he worked with Keith Kleven. Kleven's focus? Leg strength, flexibility, and core strength. I think it worked out for Maddux. Although Maddux wasn't trying to throw 101 either. 

[Jacksson]

TRADE HIM !!  "New approach" by the Twins is unnecessary.  Next team can deal with Ryan.

[Hrbowski]

9 hours ago, bean5302 said:

What kind of strength do you think pitchers need? The entire idea here is not to boost explosive strength; it's to build endurance to throw 100 reps a game, plus recovery and conditioning during the week for 8-9 months straight.

It's well known among MLB pitchers that jogging/long-distance running actually breaks down endurance. This adds stress to the body which makes the body need to put more effort into recovery. Endurance training should focus on sleep and diet programs, followed by throwing, weight lifting, and plyometrics. If you're a pitcher, all running you do as part of your training should be sprints.

[Bodie]

23 hours ago, Coach said:

Ryan needs to listen to Bert;

A good read: https://www.fortmyersbeachtalk.com/sports/local-sports-recreation/2026/03/hall-of-famer-blyleven-still-teaching-at-twins-camp/

Blyleven's conditioning program was built entirely on lower-body endurance, flexibility, and high-volume running rather than heavy weightlifting. His long-distance running in helping his endurance and longevity.

“I think no matter what sport you play, your legs are your strength,” he said. “I always considered my arm nothing more than a whip. If my legs got out too far, the whip couldn’t catch up. It’s a balance over the pitching rubber to allow that arm to whip through.”

Blyleven said he only did some light lifting during his career. “I did a lot of yoga, a lot of the stretching and all that stuff,” Blyleven said.
 

Add a little Nolan Ryan pickle brine and you just might have something!

[terrydactyls]

16 hours ago, killercarewoliva said:

The Orioles had four starters mid to late '60s and they all won 20 games. wow! that would never work today because somehow pitching is faster but you have to have more time off. well you know that makes sense, doesn't it. Palmer Dobson mcnally and cuellar each one won 20 games. they can't be injured and win 20 games but these days we're doing six-man rotations seems to be coming into play and they're getting paid 10 times as much if not more. how does a guy make $20 million a year and only pitch in 15% of the innings the team plays for season? so we're going to somehow have a new bargaining agreement and there may be someone who's doing that for the team and complaining about his income not being higher. you know that's possible, especially if your name is Bryce Harper but he doesn't pitch. Joe Ryan is an entirely wonderful young man the way I see it as far as I can tell, not knowing him personally but yes I see him as a every 6 days guy from the start of the season to maybe have a better second half but will he be on the mound enough to even win 13 games. okay everybody what am I doing wrong with this message?

I would start with bad grammar, spelling, and improper use of punctuation.

[bean5302]

10 hours ago, bjorks said:

The BEST lift ANY athlete (or non) can do for their overall body are dead lifts, plain and simple. Stretch and do dead lifts. 

Fans would rather see the Mis for 4-6 steller seasons than Steve Carleton pitch for 24. 

Greg Maddux in the front half of his career played golf and drank beer in the offseason and has talked about riding his bike around, but admitted he did very little. It wasn't until the later he worked with Keith Kleven. Kleven's focus? Leg strength, flexibility, and core strength. I think it worked out for Maddux. Although Maddux wasn't trying to throw 101 either. 

 

9 hours ago, Hrbowski said:

It's well known among MLB pitchers that jogging/long-distance running actually breaks down endurance. This adds stress to the body which makes the body need to put more effort into recovery. Endurance training should focus on sleep and diet programs, followed by throwing, weight lifting, and plyometrics. If you're a pitcher, all running you do as part of your training should be sprints.

The scope of what you two are talking about is so unbelievably narrow. Every player is different, has a different level of conditioning, a different level of strength and different needs. Core strength. Leg strength. Stamina. Endurance.

Presenting yourselves as training experts and insiders while advocating for one size fits all strategies and making sweeping claims about fitness summed up in 2 sentences isn't credible with me.

[killercarewoliva]

1 hour ago, terrydactyls said:

I would start with bad grammar, spelling, and improper use of punctuation.

maybe I'm just stupid but I'm not following what your issue is here. Google at least on my phone will not start a sentence with a capital letter. it will put periods in the middle of sentences or question marks where they don't belong where a? does belong. it doesn't put one. it's enormously irritating so if I'm writing something more professional I have to review everything. but this is not that so I don't proofread it. I simply just let it go like right now. I was just trying to make a comparison between then and now and how four guys can throw enough pictures to win 20 games. and if I recall correctly there were no injuries and you don't have time for injuries to win 20 games. so maybe it's better just to stay on the topic at hand rather than being so critical of somebody's pronunciation spelling. I'm one of the best spellers I know. few people can spell as well as I do large words give them to me. I spell them correctly most of the time.. I'm known to have fairly high intellect. not the best but better than most but here on doing this. I don't care about any of that

[bjorks]

2 hours ago, bean5302 said:

 

The scope of what you two are talking about is so unbelievably narrow. Every player is different, has a different level of conditioning, a different level of strength and different needs. Core strength. Leg strength. Stamina. Endurance.

Presenting yourselves as training experts and insiders while advocating for one size fits all strategies and making sweeping claims about fitness summed up in 2 sentences isn't credible with me.

I don't know much, but I've coached D1 and D2 for almost 25 years and our base is always deadlift and flexibility. Everyone is different sure, but the core fundamentals are essentially the same. The stronger your core and legs are, the more "power" you have. The more flexibility you have, the more "leverage" and "whip" you can create. Anyone who says differently is flat out wrong with the exception of maybe less than 3% of elite level athletes. 

 

[bjorks]

13 hours ago, Hrbowski said:

It's well known among MLB pitchers that jogging/long-distance running actually breaks down endurance. This adds stress to the body which makes the body need to put more effort into recovery. Endurance training should focus on sleep and diet programs, followed by throwing, weight lifting, and plyometrics. If you're a pitcher, all running you do as part of your training should be sprints.

Not wrong, not right either. This is a very old school method. Sleep, diet, etc. are all good, but when not built around optimizing performance in relationship to your body (something like glycogen levels) can do little to nothing (or even damage) peak conditioning and recovery.