Joe Ryan Has Put The Twins in a Tough Spot

Trading Joe Ryan was certainly on the table last offseason after the trade deadline sell-off. The team chose to stay the course and aim for contention in 2026. It's worked; Ryan has been an anchor for the Twins so far as they’ve hung around in the wild card picture. But when the organization doubled down on setting their sights on the postseason, the annual questions about Ryan’s ability to help in the second half became impossible to ignore. The Twins have been put in a difficult spot.

Ryan’s season took a complete 180 in his last three starts, allowing 16 earned runs in 15 ⅓ innings before heading to the injured list with a glute strain. This ostensibly minor injury could explain Ryan’s downturn, but the context of his historical struggles in the second half of the season is concerning. As the team continues to hang around in the playoff picture, they’re now without their ace, and even if his IL stay is short-lived, it’s fair to wonder what version of Ryan shows up whenever he is activated.

The Twins had enough concerns in the rotation without Ryan’s notorious second-half splits showing up again. The team’s acquisition of Dean Kremer as rotation depth is now a necessity. Even with the innings Kremer will add to the rotation, it’s difficult to imagine the team making the postseason without Ryan returning to form.

Ryan’s sample size of struggling in the second half has grown to such a point that it’s as much a part of his story as the back-to-back All-Star appearances. The team was fortunate to be in a reasonable spot to buy at the deadline, as Ryan allowing six homers to Cleveland on July 20th would have raised some eyebrows from potentially acquiring teams. That may be irrelevant now, but if Ryan either spends an extended amount of time on the IL or returns as a shell of his first-half self again, skepticism will only grow stronger.

The Twins may very well have Ryan penciled into their 2027 plans, and there is a strong argument that they should. If that’s the case, they may need to give special consideration to making sure they have the starting pitching depth and talent to make it through the second half. Injuries in the pitching staff can happen anytime, but Ryan’s drop-offs late in the season are becoming something worth planning for.

Even if he's in their plans, the Twins may be open to listening on calls regarding Ryan in the offseason in case another team wants to blow them away. It seems far less likely for that to happen than it has in past years. As the second-half struggles rear their ugly head again, teams are certain to question whether Ryan can be counted on during the most important stretch of the season. The Twins had previously asked for two top-100 prospects in return for Ryan, with some teams reportedly ready to meet that demand. It’s worth questioning whether the Twins would get anything close to that return at this point.

The Twins are in a bad spot now as a contending team in need of their ace. They also likely don’t have nearly as much flexibility this offseason if they are open to trading him. Joe Ryan has been a massive addition to the rotation the last several years, but his pattern of second-half struggles threatens to put a real damper on the tail end of his Twins career.

How should they move forward? What would you advise? Let us know in the comments.