Red Sox reportedly ‘monitoring’ Twins starter Joe Ryan as potential trade target
"I think he's one of the best starting pitchers in the American League, and he's only getting better."
If the Red Sox want to make a second-half push for the postseason, they’re going to have to add some reinforcements behind Garrett Crochet in the rotation.
Even with the recent strong play of Lucas Giolito (0.83 ERA in his last five starts) and Brayan Bello (2.83 ERA in his last nine outings), Boston could significantly solidify its pitching corps by adding a proven No. 2 option to that group for the stretch.
As such, it should come as little surprise that Boston has now been linked to one of the top potential starters on the market in Twins righty Joe Ryan.
According to MLB Network’s Jon Morosi, the Red Sox are one of several teams keeping tabs on Ryan to see if Minnesota opts to dangle the 29-year-old before the July 31 trade deadline.
“They could be a buy and sell posture with a focus on adding a longer-term arm to the starting rotation,” Morosi said of Boston on Wednesday. “And the man that the Red Sox and a number of teams in the Major Leagues are monitoring at least right now, Joe Ryan of the Minnesota Twins. Ryan has been excellent so far this season. … I think he’s one of the best starting pitchers in the American League, and he’s only getting better.”
Ryan would be a key pickup for the Red Sox as they not only try to secure a playoff berth in 2025, but also build up a sustainable contender for the future.
Ryan has been one of the best pitchers in baseball during the 2025 season, posting an 8-4 record with a 2.76 ERA, 0.89 WHIP, and 116 strikeouts over 104.1 innings pitched. Over his five big-league seasons, Ryan sports a 3.71 career ERA.
Even if Ryan isn’t just entering his prime like Crochet at 29 years old, he is on a favorable contract with two more years of arbitration eligibility — allowing Boston to keep him as a potent 1-2 punch with Crochet for the next few years at an affordable price tag.
Of course, that production on the mound and his favorable contract also means that the righty will not come cheap to a Twins team that doesn’t necessarily have to move an asset with terms like Ryan.
Even if the writing is on the wall that the Red Sox will have to deal away an outfielder like Jarren Duran or Wilyer Abreu before the trade deadline to alleviate a roster logjam, the Twins would likely also target prospects in Boston’s pipeline — even if it’s a rising star further down in the farm system like Franklin Arias.
“Jarren Duran posts,” Morosi said of Duran’s viability as a trade chip. “And not to necessarily say that this would be the deal, Ryan for Duran, but the Twins [are] a team that has needed guys that post consistently.
“Duran would fit very nicely for the long term in a lineup like what the Twins have. I’m not putting two and two together and getting 10, but these are just scenarios where the Red Sox, when you’ve already traded Rafael Devers, what’s one more consistent, everyday player who’s been an All-Star in the past in Jarren Duran?”
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