Minnesota sold everything they could at the 2025 trade deadline except for Byron Buxton who refused to be moved and Joe Ryan. Ryan's got 2 years of team control left and the Twins need to take advantage of his value while they can.
Last season Joe Ryan posted a WAR of 3.2, the same as Carlos Rodon with a higher K rate and a lower walk rate than Rodon. Rodon's WHIP in 2025 was 1.05 and Ryan's was 1.04. Ryan's FIP was also slightly lower than Rodon's. He is a legit front of rotation starter and a great addition to fill in for Carlos Rodon while he recovers from injury behind Max Fried and in front of Cam Schlittler.
By the AS break the Yankees rotation could look like Gerrit Cole, Max Fried, Carlos Rodon, Joe Ryan and Cam Schlittler. Will Warren and Luis Gil could move to the bullpen if they're healthy or be traded.
Boston is the #1 trade suitor for Joe Ryan. According to Jeff Passan, a Joe Ryan trade is the best off-season move for a Red Sox GM that is handcuffed by a restricted payroll. Ryan slots in as the Red Sox #2 starter behind Crochet and finally gives them the 1-2 punch they need to get them past the WC round. Their rumored trade package for Joe Ryan is an overpay to be sure. They would send Jarren Duran, Brayan Bello, Jhostynxon García (The Password), and Kyle Harrison to the Twins for Ryan. This has the added bonus of cutting a combined $14M of payroll that Boston would have to shell out for Duran and Bello next season.
The Yankees can beat this offer decisively and they should pull the trigger. They outbid Boston by sending the following players to Minnesota:
- Austin Wells – Wells is an elite defensive catcher who's good for 20 HRs a year, probably more if he increased his PAs. He's also a black hole at the bottom of the Yankees lineup after posting an OBP of just .275 and a K rate above league average and tied for 4th highest among all full-time catchers. Ben Rice is not an elite defender but he gets the job done and his bat has to be in the Yankees lineup every day. Rice takes over for Wells at catcher.
- Brock Selvidge – The big lefty is the Yankees #10 prospect overall with a 96 mph 4 seamer and a slider rated as a plus pitch. He's projected to be a mid-rotation starter but could also be a weapon in the bullpen.
- Brendan Beck – A righty rated as the Yankees #11 prospect overall that had a standout college career and has risen rapidly through the Yankees system. He projects to be a back of rotation starter.
- Roderick Arias – True switch hitting middle infielder gifted with power from the left side and speed. At 21 he's still a work in progress but he's blocked by Dax Kilby and GLJ in the Yankees system. A rebuilding team like the Twins is a good landing spot for him.
- TJ Rumfield – A depth piece for the Yankees at 1B, he finished the 2024 season with a .294/.370/.454 slash line and 15 home runs in Double and Triple-A. Also blocked by the many internal and external options the Yankees have for 1B.
Except for Arias all players are big league ready and also very cheap. Wells still has a year of pre-arbitration remaining and the whole package represents a good value for a payroll conscious team like the Twins who would see 15% of their total projected payroll sunk into the contracts of Duran and Bello.
7 comments
Austin Wells concerns me. His end of year numbers look fine but the path to them is brutal and makes me hold my breath way too much of the time. I’m not high on Wells long term, TBH.
There’s a reason why his end of year WAR was 0.1
Anyway all of this is to say I would be fine with the Yankees trading Wells for anything with even a little upside.
Shame, because he’d ultimately be yet another failed over hyped Yankees prospect, but at least he has some trade value, presumably.
I don’t think Skenes becomes available until next winter the earliest since that’s when he hits arbitration. Anyway, the package may not be too far off. Idk about Wells. His defense is worth keeping him around. Instead, do Jones or Dominguez as the center piece. I’d try to swap out Ben Hess for Beck and get to see if they throw a reliever into the package. Or maybe Chase Hampton if they’re willing to take a chance on a guy recovering from Tommy John
Ben Rice is not a major league catcher. He doesn’t get the job done. He would be the worst defensive catcher in the league by far. Yankees fans would be screaming for another catcher by early May.
That also wouldn’t be fair to Rice, who has shown he is already a quality major league hitter with the potential to be even elite. But he is not a major league catcher and playing him there would hurt the team a lot more than his bat could help .
We would have to give more than that. Arias looks like a bust (hope not) and the pitchers aren’t our best prospects. Wells doesn’t have much value. Would take something more along the lines of Spencer Jones and Gil and JC Escara. Give us Ryan Jeffers back so we can have that righty platoon with Wells.
Twins aren’t taking wells as the return with a bunch of other minor pieces.
Not sure why you’re making a hole at 1b either, this team already is decent at starting pitching that Ryan isn’t really an upgrade in the postseason. He’s as the same level as 4 other starters they already have.
I don’t understand. Are we trying to acquire Ryan or make the most ridiculous lopsided trade offer we can so Minnesota can laugh in our faces and simply hang onto Ryan until some team actually offers them a serious offer. Who is headlining the yankees trade, Wells? lol. This is the kind of thing that gets a GM fired.
Ryan is good and will make the Yankees a whole lot better, but you have to pay the cost to be the boss.