Remember the Trade deadline, Twins fans? What a rough day! As the offseason is about to begin, things probably won’t get any easier in the near future for Twins fans.

That said, it would be absolutely irresponsible for the Twins front office not to see what they can get in trade return for All Star Joe Ryan. 

You know Ryan’s resume. He’s been a solid starting pitcher for the Twins since leaving Tokyo after the Olympics where he learned he had been traded to the Twins from Tampa. He was an All Star in 2025, and very deservedly. He arguably earned it in 2024 as well. He came to the organization as basically a one-pitch pitcher. He worked with the pitching staff and in the offseasons to develop a fantastic slider. He has good control of multiple pitches while missing bats consistently with each of his pitches. Having those other plus-plus pitches makes his fastball even better. 

Joe Ryan will turn 30 years old early next June. He has two years remaining before becoming a free agent. MLB Trade Rumors projected Ryan to make $5.8 million in 2026 and if things go well again, he could make $10-12 million in 2027 before becoming a free agent. So, by rough estimate, a team could count on having an All-Star caliber pitcher for two years and somewhere around $15-18 million. In addition, they can decide at that point if they want to offer him the Qualifying Offer and get draft picks or sign him to a long-term deal. 

With the moves made at the 2025 deadline, and the idea that the Twins payroll may continue to go down, and we have no idea (Again) what the TV deal might look like in 2026. So, while the Twins could keep him, pay him $15-18 million over the next two years, make a Qualifying Offer, and get a draft pick. In theory, they could also sign him long-term. Does anyone reading this think that is going to happen anytime soon? But because of all that, the Twins need to get a monster haul for Ryan and not trade him just to trade him. 

Starting Pitching Market
On Friday, MLB Trade Rumors posted a preview of the top free agent starting pitchers available this offseason. 

Tier 1 includes: Dylan Cease (30) coming off of a tough season. Tatsuya Imai (28) coming over from Japan. Lefty Ranger Suarez (32) has been really solid in Philadelphia for half of a decade. And then there is Framber Valdez (30) who easily would have been tops on this list if not for what he did to his catcher late in the season. Tier 2 includes the likes of Shane Bieber, Merrill Kelly, Zac Gallen, Michael King and Brandon Woodruff. Each of them has questions, coming off of injury or performance lower than their standard. It is fair to say that Joe Ryan, if he was a free agent, would be in the first tier. 

There are also rumblings that the Tigers could make Tarik Skubal available for trade this offseason. He is likely to enter the offseason with back-to-back Cy Young Awards. Skubal has just one more season of team control.

Which Teams Need Pitching
Every team, right? But there are probably more high-spending teams that need pitching this offseason. And, since it’s the offseason, even more teams could make a case to try to acquire Ryan. 

Boston Red Sox: The Red Sox and Twins clearly had conversations about Ryan as the trade deadline approached. Reports indicate the two sides weren’t close, but there wasn’t a ton of last-minute competition. Garrett Crochet and Brayan Bello are at the top of the Red Sox rotation. Lucas Giolito and Dustin May will become free agents. Tanner Houck, Hunter Dobbins, Kutter Crawford, and Patrick Sandoval all ended the season on the 60-Day IL. Payton Tolle (2@) and Connelly Early (23) were called up in mid-to-late September and pitched big innings in October. 

New York Yankees: With Max Fried and Carlos Rodon, the Yankees have two of the top 10-12 starting pitchers in the league. Gerritt Cole and Clarke Schmidt needed Tommy John surgery in 2025 and would seem unlikely to be ready until maybe the second half of the 2026 season. Luis Gil came back from Tommy John surgery late this season and had some ups and downs, but he’s got immense talent. Will Warren stepped up and pitched well at the bottom of the rotation. And Cam Schlitter (24) broke out late in the 2025 season. Do they need more starting pitching? Not as much as most teams, but we also know that 1.) there’s never enough pitching depth and 2.) the Yankees are going to add some pitching. 

New York Mets: Kodai Senga, when healthy, has been very good. In addition, Sean Manaea can be quite good, though he’s inconsistent. David Peterson has really stepped up the last couple of years and become very reliable. Jonah Tong came up and did well late in the season. But there are nothing but question marks beyond that. Frankly, the Mets should go all-in on Skubal, and even if they get him, they could still go after Ryan too. 

San Diego Padres: Cease and King will be free agents. Nestor Cortes and Yu Darvish are shells of what they once were. Randy Vasquez is a huge question mark? The Padres ownership situation may be in a stranger situation than even the Twins. They have a lot of offense talent on big contracts. But they traded approximately half of their top 20 prospects at the deadline this year, leaving it difficult to believe that they would present the Twins with a package necessary to acquire Ryan. 

Arizona Diamondbacks: Gallen and Kelly are free agents. Can Eduardo Rodriguez stay healthy. Can Brandon Pfaadt take a step forward? Presumably Corbin Burnes will miss most of the 2026 season. Arizona quietly spends money. 

Baltimore Orioles: After two or three seasons of competing in the AL East, the O’s dropped to last place in 2025. Do they think they’re close enough with some injury returns to make a move?

San Francisco Giants: Buster Posey is making moves. #OldFriend JP Martinez is the pitching coach, and they have done well with the likes of Brandon Webb, but they have had a lot of injuries. Justin Verlander is a free agent and should probably retire. Robbie Ray? In addition, this would be sort of a coming home for Ryan. 

Chicago Cubs: What will happen with Shota Imanaga? How much of 2026 will Justin Steele miss? Can Matthew Boyd do it again? Can they rely on Jaeson Taillon? How many innings can they get from Cade Horton? 

St. Louis Cardinals: Hey, Ryan would get another season with Sonny Gray. They can use started pitching, and they have some pitching prospects. And Chaim Bloom has taken over the as the Cardinals’ President of Baseball Operations after the 2025 season. Bloom held that role for the Rays when they drafted him in the seventh round of the 2018 draft. 

You could make a case that several other teams might be interested in trading for Ryan during the offseason. The Angels could certainly use Joe Ryan. 

The important thing here is that there should be a ton of legitimate competition from teams trying to acquire Joe Ryan this offseason. Check back later and we’ll take a look at what packages could look like from these teams?