The Twins are getting Joe Ryan back at the perfect time, at least from a rotation-depth standpoint.
Minnesota reinstated the right-hander from the 15-day injured list, and he’s set to start Monday against the Tigers, according to the team. Ryan had been out exactly a month because of a left glute strain. To make room on the big-league roster, the Twins optioned Garrett Acton to Triple-A.
Ryan’s season has already had plenty of peaks and potholes. He made his second All-Star team this year, but things went sideways after the break. Before landing on the injured list, he gave up 16 earned runs across a three-start stretch, and his fastball velocity had dipped by more than 1 mph in his last outing.
The injuries haven’t been major, but they’ve been there. The 30-year-old has usually avoided the kind of setbacks that wreck a season, and he came into 2025 fully healthy.
That helped him put up career highs in starts, with 30, and innings, with 171. Still, this year has included more than a few scares: back discomfort in the spring, elbow pain in early May that only cost him one start, and a late-July scratch for “arm fatigue” that didn’t lead to missed time.
Ryan made one rehab appearance and threw three innings, building up to 42 pitches with Triple-A St. Paul on September 1.
He’s probably in the 50-60 pitch range for his return, and Connor Prielipp looks like the most natural follow-up option. Prielipp worked five innings as a bulk reliever in his last outing, also on September 1, and could give Minnesota a useful left-handed look against a Tigers lineup that leans that way.
The timing matters because the Twins have stumbled lately, losing four of their last five series. They’re now sitting on the fringe of the AL Wild Card chase, four and a half games behind the Guardians, with three other teams in between Minnesota and Cleveland. The two clubs will meet later this week, giving the Twins three chances to chip away.
Acton’s roster move comes after a rough Sunday, when he was hit for four earned runs in Minnesota’s 10-1 loss to the White Sox. He was added when rosters expanded in September and had also seen action with the Twins in April before a shoulder strain took him out for a big stretch. In seven games with Minnesota this season, he has a 5.73 ERA.
The Twins picked up Acton from Miami after he was designated for assignment shortly after Opening Day. His strikeout work has stood out in the minors, where he has a 31.3% strikeout rate in 18 games split between the Marlins and Twins systems. That punchout ability has shown up in the majors too, with a 27.5% strikeout rate over 11 innings for Minnesota.
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