The focus for the Baltimore Orioles at the Winter Meetings needs to be on adding a starting pitcher. While they certainly won’t object to another top-of-the-rotation arm to join Trevor Rogers and Kyle Bradish, they simply need someone capable of taking the mound when his turn in the rotation comes up.
What works in the Orioles’ favor is that they have the money to sign any of the top arms on the free-agent market, and they also have the prospect capital to trade for any cost-controlled starting pitcher they desire. While that flexibility will come in handy for Baltimore next in Orlando, one team could be throwing a wrench in their plans.
Given that the Minnesota Twins shopped Joe Ryan at the MLB trade deadline, almost sending him to the Boston Red Sox, there was an expectation that Ryan would be made available this offseason. That may not be the case if ESPN’s Buster Olney is to be believed.
Joe Ryan would look great in a Baltimore Orioles uniform, but there is one problem
Executives from other teams have told Olney that the Twins don’t appear to be “pushing” Ryan in trade discussions, and the speculation is that they may prefer to hold onto the All-Star starting pitcher. Ryan still has two years of control, so, aside from the fact that they ignited a rebuild at the deadline last season, they may keep him for a little bit longer.
Unlike the Detroit Tigers with Tarik Skubal, the Twins aren’t in a position where they risk losing Ryan for nothing next offseason.
The rule of the offseason is never to take anything at face value, and when in doubt, think about who benefits from the news being out there. In this case, it would be the Twins, considering their reluctance may lead to interested teams getting desperate with their offer. Or, it could be a rival of a team interested in Ryan, hoping that they overpay in a potential trade.
Of course, even if the Twins don’t want to trade Ryan, their stance could change quickly next week at the Winter Meetings. Something for the Orioles to keep an eye on, but again, they have several options in front of them and just need to come away with one of them. There’s no justification for them not to.