The Boston Red Sox have been linked to Minnesota Twins starting pitcher Joe Ryan in trade buzz for many months.
Even when the Red Sox acquired Sonny Gray and Johan Oviedo in separate trades earlier this offseason, fans and pundits alike speculated as to whether or not Boston would be renewing its efforts to acquire Ryan, making him the Red Sox’s coveted No. 2 starter behind Cy Young runner-up Garrett Crochet.
It turns out that Ryan has never been as readily available on the trade market as many assumed (or hoped for). A new report from The Athletic’s Ken Rosenthal and Will Sammon reiterated this fact on Monday night.
“Teams continue to ask the Minnesota Twins about right-hander Joe Ryan, who is under club control for two more seasons,” Rosenthal and Sammon wrote. “The Twins, though, continue to say they are not shopping Ryan, and one person briefed on their talks said they haven’t even discussed him with other clubs since before the GM meetings in early November.”
Ryan’s unavailability actually aligns with the Red Sox’s reported plan for the rest of the offseason. According to MassLive’s Chris Cotillo, Red Sox CBO Craig Breslow has said that Boston is turning its offseason attention to position players, and that pitching is on the “back burner.”
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If the 2026 season were to start tomorrow, the Red Sox would be rolling with a starting rotation comprised of Crochet, Gray, Brayan Bello, and two of Oviedo, Connelly Early, Payton Tolle, Kutter Crawford, Kyle Harrison and Patrick Sandoval filling out the final two spots. That’s a lot of depth.
