Joe Ryan’s name has been floating in trade talks for over a year now. But with the 2026 MLB trade deadline just over a month away, those rumors are starting to feel less like chatter and more like an inevitability.
The Minnesota Twins sit at 38-43, third in the AL Central. They’re only two games out of a Wild Card spot, so nobody in the front office is waving a white flag yet. But the team has a history of selling when the math doesn’t add up, and right now the math is complicated.
The Athletic recently ranked the top players most likely to be dealt before the deadline. Ryan landed at No. 3 overall, and he’s the highest-ranked guy with a “green light” on probability. That matters.
Here’s what they said about him: “The non-Skubal pitching prize of the deadline, Ryan added a new knuckle curve to his mix this year and looks to be in the midst of a career year. That pitch is the best breaking ball he’s ever thrown, and putting that into an arsenal with a deceptive fastball and decent splitter means he’s cooking with gas.”
They acknowledged the obvious concern too. Ryan gives up fly balls, and the second half of the season coincides with hotter weather and a livelier ball. But they also noted he’s had success while letting homers fly before, and this new curve might help him dodge those issues.
The Twins won’t move him until they know whether they’re buyers or sellers. So don’t expect anything before the last week of July. That’s when the division picture clears up and teams start making real calls.
Ryan isn’t the only name on Minnesota’s board. Byron Buxton sits at No. 2 on that same list, but his no-trade clause and unwillingness to leave make a deal highly unlikely. Royce Lewis has also entered the rumor mill recently. The Twins, just like last season, are a team to keep an eye on as the calendar flips toward late July.
Stay tuned.
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