Contract: $6.2M in 2026, $13M mutual option for 2027 (arbitration-eligible if and when the mutual option is declined)
Ends Season With: Seattle Mariners
We’ve already discussed in the Byron Buxton section why Minnesota may well be throwing in the towel at the trade deadline for a second consecutive year. The Twins are +500 to make the playoffs with a win total line of 73.5—and that o/u inexplicably didn’t move an inch after the news of Pablo López’s Tommy John surgery.
And with Joe Ryan, A) only under team control for one more year beyond the upcoming season and B) not in possession of a full no-trade clause, he is perhaps 10 times as likely to be traded as Buxton.
However, for around 1.33 seasons (and ideally two postseasons) of what has been a borderline top-20 pitcher over the past four years, Ryan won’t come cheap.
There were no starting pitchers of this caliber dealt at last year’s deadline, but remember the Luis Castillo trade in 2022? For 1.33 seasons of a borderline top-25 pitcher, Seattle gave up three of its five best prospects, including Noelvi Marte, who was a top-20 prospect in all of baseball at that point.
Could the Mariners do it again?
They have one of the most talent-rich farm systems, largely consisting of top players who are likely at least a year away from actually contributing in the big leagues—which is the sort of top prospect a rebuilding team would covet.
And while their starting five of Castillo, Bryan Woo, Logan Gilbert, George Kirby, and Bryce Miller is stout, Logan Evans is already out for the year, and it’s looking like Emerson Hancock or Dane Dunning as the “break in case of emergency” backup starter. In other words, Seattle is one report of “forearm tightness” away from potentially needing to swing big for an ace-caliber arm, while also needing it to be an arm with a salary figure that doesn’t break their bank.
Ryan could fill that role, if they’re willing to part with a package headlined by something like Kade Anderson and Jonny Farmelo.