Morosi: Joe Ryan Unlikely to Be Traded for Prospects Ahead of MLB Lockout

A potential trade involving Joe Ryan and the Minnesota Twins may be becoming less likely following a report from MLB Network's Jon Morosi. According to Morosi, teams are hesitant to trade for players with one year of control remaining due to uncertainty about what the 2027 season will look like.

Morosi specifically mentioned Ryan alongside other notable trade candidates, including Logan Gilbert, Steven Kwan, and Sandy Alcántara. However, pending free agents could still be moved in trades for each other as a way for teams to balance the risk involved.

The timing is important, as MLB's next lockout is expected to begin on December 2. That leaves roughly four weeks for teams to get business done before the sport potentially shuts down for an extended period. With that in mind, there is expected to be plenty of activity in the coming weeks, but Ryan may not be among the players changing teams.

The Twins had an interesting reason to consider moving Ryan this offseason. One area where Minnesota has considerable depth is starting pitching, potentially allowing the organization to trade from that group and recoup assets at other positions. The Twins have several internal options who could help fill out the rotation, including Taj Bradley, Dean Kremer, Bailey Ober, Connor Prielipp, Kendry Rojas, Mick Abel, and Zebby Matthews.

According to Morosi's report, the Twins could theoretically still explore a deal involving Ryan if another pending free agent were coming back in return. A potential challenge trade involving someone like Logan Gilbert could fit that description, although a deal of that nature doesn't seem particularly likely.

At this point, it appears increasingly possible that Ryan will remain in Minnesota and serve as the Twins' ace heading into the 2027 season. Considering the uncertainty surrounding the trade market, that might not be such a bad outcome for the Twins.

What do you think? Should the Twins continue exploring a Joe Ryan trade, or would you rather see him stay in Minnesota and lead the rotation in 2027? Leave a comment below!