The Minnesota Twins are standing at a complete crossroads right now. And it’s not just about baseball anymore. With the apparent threat of a 2027 MLB lockout casting a shadow of doubt over the sport, the team’s plan for its star pitcher Joe Ryan has suddenly become much more complicated.
Ryan, who is set to hit free agency after 2027, was expected to be the key piece of the Twins’ future, or at the very least a hot commodity at the 2026 trade deadline if things went south. But as ESPN’s Buster Olney has reported, the league’s labor tension issue might speed things up in a rather unexpected way.
Olney explained it bluntly, “However, with many executives believing that at least some of the ’27 season is in jeopardy because of the labor strife, placing an appropriate trade valuation on Ryan will be much, much more complicated next July; teams might not be willing to part with significant return if they believe the ’27 season will be truncated or lost. So if teams want to get proper return on players like Ryan, they could be better served to take offers this winter, rather than waiting until next summer.”
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In other words, Onley is saying, if the 2027 season gets shortened or lost, then Ryan’s value would go down. That’s why, according to Olney, Minnesota might be better off listening to the trade offers this winter instead of waiting for what’s ahead of them.
Joe Ryan’s name was familiar on the trade block this past summer. The 29-year-old didn’t shy away from it and, in fact, called the idea of being traded exciting. But despite a flurry of deadline moves, the Twins held on to their ace, who had wrapped a career-best season with a 3.42 ERA, 194 strikeouts, and 171 innings pitched.
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But now that patience might not last, as the front office just has a new manager, Derek Shelton. He has been clear—he is focused on developing new and young talent. Ryan, meanwhile, is nearing 39 and might not be fit for this long-term . The CBA agreement is set to expire on December 1, 2026, and a lockout could be inevitable.
So the clock is ticking fast for Ryan.