The Braves Need Pitching. Joe Ryan Is the Answer. Here’s the Offer That Gets Him.

The Atlanta Braves have a rotation held together by duct tape and hope. Injuries have piled up. Max Fried can’t catch a break. Spencer Strider is done for the year. And yet, somehow, this team is still very much in the mix for a deep October run.

That means the front office has a decision to make. They can sit tight, pray for health, and see what happens. Or they can go get Minnesota Twins right-hander Joe Ryan and give themselves a legitimate No. 2 starter behind Fried.

The choice should be obvious.

What makes Ryan worth the chase

Ryan is having the best season of his career. Through 15 starts, he’s 4-3 with a 3.17 ERA and a WHIP under 1.00. That’s not just solid. That’s borderline elite. According to ESPN’s Kiley McDaniel and Jeff Passan, only four pitchers in baseball have a better strikeout-to-walk ratio this year: Jacob Misiorowski, Paul Skenes, Jacob deGrom and Cristopher Sanchez. That’s it. That’s the whole list.

“Calling him a front-line starter is not just Minnesota Nice,” McDaniel and Passan wrote. “It’s a reality, and contenders — even ones with good rotations — will be lining up the moment the Twins declare Ryan available.”

Ryan’s arsenal is a nightmare for hitters. He throws a four-seamer, two-seamer, splitter, slider, sweeper and curveball. That’s six pitches that all move differently. He hides the ball well with a lower arm slot and gets extension that makes his fastball play faster than the radar gun says. Early in his career, people called it “invisiball.” Same concept as what makes Bryan Woo or Spencer Strider so tough to hit.

He throws strikes. He misses bats. He eats innings. For a Braves team that has basically no idea who will be healthy come September, that’s exactly what they need.

What a trade package might look like

The Braves can’t afford to gut their farm system. Ronald Acuña Jr. is still out. The lineup needs help too. So the trade offer has to be aggressive but not reckless.

Start with JR Ritchie. He’s a 21-year-old right-hander with a fastball that touches 97 mph and a slider that gets swings and misses. He had a rough outing against the Giants recently, but his stuff is legit. MLB.com notes he throws both a four-seamer and a two-seamer, mixes in a cutter, and has a changeup that plays well off his arm speed. He’s got starter upside, and he’d be the centerpiece.

The Twins aren’t going to move Ryan for just one prospect though. They’ll want a second arm with long-term potential. Luke Sinnard fits that. He’s 6-foot-8, throws from a high three-quarters slot that makes it tough for hitters to pick up the ball, and his stuff is trending up across the board. His slider generated close to a 35 percent miss rate last year. He’s coming off Tommy John surgery in 2023, but the raw talent is there. MLB.com pegs him as a potential 2027 arrival.

If Minnesota demands a position player, the Braves could dangle Luis Guanipa. He’s a 20-year-old outfielder ranked No. 19 in Atlanta’s system. He’s raw, but he’s athletic and projects as a plus defender with developing power.

The Twins will have options. The Braves just need to decide how badly they want to win this year. Because Ryan is available. And the phone is ringing.