WASHINGTON – Joe Ryan got a second lease on the 2026 season. And now the Minnesota Twins hope that applies to them, too.
Ryan threw a scare into the entire organization on Sunday, May 3 when he exited his start against the Toronto Blue Jays after just two batters and nine pitches. Elbow soreness was the report, a nebulous diagnosis that had Twins fans spiraling for two days.
Ryan immediately left Target Field for an MRI and an already depleted organization braced for the worst, just two months after ace Pablo Lopez succumbed to Tommy John surgery in spring training.
But the MRI was clean and Tuesday, Ryan played catch without incident. He will throw a bullpen on Wednesday and, if all goes well, make his next scheduled start Saturday at Cleveland.
All normal stuff – and that’s a huge relief for Ryan given his state of mind after he motioned for manager Derek Shelton and left Sunday’s game under a cloud of uncertainty.
“Any time you dodge a bullet, you’re grateful for every day you get to come in and put the jersey on,” Ryan said Tuesday at Nationals Park, three hours before the Twins opened a three-game series at Washington. “That’s part of being in the big leagues – understanding that. I try to embrace that and not take anything for granted.
“Every day you get to do that, it’s a blessing. I think a little bit extra when you have a little bit of a scare like that.”
Especially when this burgeoning ace avoided major injury at such a key time in his career.
Ryan, who turns 30 in June, was a 2025 All-Star on his way to a career-best season: 194 strikeouts and a 1.04 WHIP in 171 innings over 30 starts. That seemed to increase the likelihood the rebuilding Twins would trade him in the offseason, but he stayed.
He’s posted a 3.72 ERA through his first eight starts this season, his second-to-last before becoming eligible for free agency. Naturally, the Twins would not be able to trade a potential ace rehabbing an elbow injury.
Yet it’s early enough this season that the 15-20 club can appreciate that its ace is structurally sound as it loiters within 2½ games of first in an AL Central where no team is above .500.
“It’s relief,” says Shelton, the Twins' first-year manager. "I think the eternal pessimist in me is like, ‘I’m gonna wait until we get through tomorrow.’
“But today was a really good sign, because he threw well, was able to throw his breaking ball.”
Ryan said he felt the pain Sunday facing the second batter, Kazuma Okamoto. He threw a couple more pitches and it persisted. Not excruciating, he said, though he’s felt lesser pain and it’s turned out to be a more calamitous injury.
“You never know,” says Ryan, who will earn $6.2 million this season, “until imaging comes back.”
Yet Shelton appreciated that Ryan removed himself from the game. Arms, especially elbows, are not to be messed with.
“The one really great thing about Joe is he’s probably as in tune with his body as much as any player I’ve been around,” says Shelton. “He can articulate really well what he’s feeling.”
Now the Twins hope to develop some consistency. They won 11 of their first 19 games, then lost 12 of their next 15, salvaging the final game against Toronto after Ryan departed.
“We’ve played really well, we’ve played not well, and we’ve played well and not won games,” says Shelton. “I think the thing I’m most pleased with is our effort and our ability to play a full 27 outs.
“This is a younger group. There’s going to be times we have ebbs and flows. We just have to keep going.”
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Joe Ryan injury update, what we know about elbow
