Earlier this offseason the Minnesota Twins agreed to new contracts with all of their arbitration eligible players except for one. Joe Ryan, who had been dangled in trade talks last season, was left with a looming hearing.

It seemed shortsighted for the Twins to involve an independent arbitrator and teardown of their top pitcher in order to save some money. Of course, the Pohlads haven’t exactly been synonymous with intelligent business decisions in recent seasons.

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Thankfully cooler heads have prevailed and the Twins settled with Ryan in order to avoid a future hearing.

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Joe Ryan agrees to new contract with Minnesota Twins

It wasn’t long ago that Joe Ryan was airing the Pohlads dirty laundry. Then he flipped the script decided to toe the company line. Pushing him to a further emotional state seemed unwise, and now Jon Heyman (New York Post) is reporting the latest saga has come to an end.

Ryan had filed for a $6.35 million contract in 2026. He made $3 million last season and MLB Trade Rumors projected him for $5.8 million and ultimately he lands in a middle ground. An arbitration hearing would have involved the organization attempting to tear down production from last season.

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The $6.1 million contract comes with a $13 million mutual option for 2027. That’s his final year of arbitration, and therefore certainly not going to be exercised. Ryan will either outproduce that number, or the Twins won’t want to pay him that much. The $100,000 buyout effectively pushes the deal to $6.2 million.

Last season Ryan owned a 3.42 ERA (3.74 FIP) across a career-high 171 innings for the Minnesota Twins. He also had 194 strikeouts and took another step forward as a first-time All-Star. Had he not experienced the typical late-season swoon, Ryan would have also earned Cy Young votes.

This spring Ryan will pitch for Team USA in the World Baseball Classic. He returns as one of the top arms in the MN Twins rotation. If Derek Shelton’s team is going to make noise, it will be because that group puts together strong production.

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