The Twins were gearing up to face the Boston Red Sox in their first Grapefruit League game on Saturday afternoon when, around 10 minutes before the scheduled first pitch, the team shared news that scheduled starter Joe Ryan had been scratched. Soon after, we learned the reason: lower back tightness on the right side.

No further information was available as of game time, but Twins Daily’s John Bonnes is live on the scene in Fort Myers and will update this article (or a new one) with additional details and quotes from team officials, so be sure to check back in a bit. 

During the minutes in between the announcement of Ryan being scratched and the revelation of the cause, a wide range of possibilities passed through the minds of bamboozled Twins fans – still reeling from the bombshell of Pablo López going down the 2026 season due to elbow surgery. A trade? Another injury?

Turns out it’s the latter, although initial indications don’t necessarily point to anything overly serious. The fact it’s not an arm issue is, on its own, fairly relieving. That’s not to say one can safely dismiss or downplay any back-related discomfort, but naturally, the Twins are going to be taking every precaution at this early stage of spring training.

Ryan has generally proven extremely durable for the Twins, rarely missing a start or facing any limitation outside of a teres major strain in 2024 that cost him most of the second half. Last year, he set a career high with 171 innings pitched over 31 outings (30 starts). With López going down, the Twins are counting on him to be the steady, dependable workhorse atop their rotation.

This isn’t a great first step, and the timing is almost surreal coming just days after López suffered a season-ending injury in his first live BP. The Twins came into this spring with that duo as the foundation of their faint contention hopes. But at this point there’s no reason to panic, and I’d suggest mentally separating this situation from any lingering López-related despair, even if it feels tempting to lump it all together. With that said, Ryan’s planned participation for Team USA in the World Baseball Classic would certainly seem to be in doubt. 

We’ll have more info for you as it becomes available. For now, feel free to sound off with your reactions to the early-spring health woes for the top of the Twins rotation.