The Minnesota Twins are trying to claw back into the race, and Tuesday night brings a little bit of hope on the pitching front.
Minnesota is back at Target Field against the Detroit Tigers, aiming for a third straight win as it enters the final month of the 2026 MLB regular season 3.5 games behind Cleveland for the American League’s third and final Wild Card spot. After a 10-17 August shoved the Twins to the bottom of the AL playoff picture, the math is ugly. The comeback path is still open, but it would take a huge September to get there.
One reason for optimism arrived Tuesday: Joe Ryan is set to begin a rehab assignment with Triple-A St. Paul.
According to Aaron Gleeman (AaronGleeman.com), Ryan is expected to throw 45-50 pitches, with Derek Shelton saying the plan is for three innings and/or around 45-50 pitches. It will be Ryan’s first game action in four weeks.
Joe Ryan (glute) is scheduled to make a rehab start Tuesday with Triple-A St. Paul.
Derek Shelton said the plan is for Ryan to throw three innings and/or around 45-50 pitches.
It'll be Ryan's first game action in four weeks.
- Aaron Gleeman (@AaronGleeman) August 31, 2026
That’s a meaningful checkpoint for a pitcher Minnesota badly needs back at full strength. Before the All-Star break, Ryan looked like one of the best arms in baseball, logging a 2.85 ERA and 2.76 FIP over his first 110.1 innings, with 128 strikeouts, 25 walks and a 1.054 WHIP.
The second half told a very different story. In three starts after the break, before landing on the injured list, Ryan was tagged for 16 earned runs in 15.1 innings, a 9.39 ERA fueled by seven homers, two walks and only 10 strikeouts.
The Twins have labeled the issue a minor glute strain, but Ryan’s month-long absence has left more questions than answers. Aaron Gleeman laid out his skepticism on the Gleeman and the Geek Podcast on August 21, 2026:
“I don’t get the sense that his return is imminent. And I’m just going off hearing from Joe Ryan, who continues to talk so cryptically about what has been diagnosed as a minor glute strain and a sore back.
And I’m not downplaying that. It’s tough to pitch when you’re not 100%.
But this whole process where they call it a arm fatigue and he’s talking and he just seems so mentally beat down by it, and he won’t really get into specifics. Even now, he does a little scrum after throwing the bullpen and [we ask him], “How’d that go?”
And he’s like, “Yeah, it was good.” And [we ask], “Do you feel like you can take the next step?”
And he’s like, “I don’t know, we’ll check in.’
Aaron Gleeman - Gleeman and the Geek Podcast (August 21, 2026)
For Minnesota, the timing matters as much as the return itself. The Twins’ rotation posted a 4.72 ERA in August, and they need help at the top if they’re going to make a real run.
Their division hopes are basically gone unless the Chicago White Sox collapse, and Fangraphs gives them just a 3.2% shot at winning the AL Central. At this point, it’s Wild Card or nothing.
That Wild Card chase is crowded, too. The Yankees and Red Sox are both comfortably over .500 in the top two spots, while the Twins are trying to muscle past Cleveland and also make up ground on Baltimore, Toronto and Texas. Minnesota sits behind the Guardians by 3.5 games, but the Orioles, Blue Jays and Rangers are all in the way as well.
So the assignment is clear: beat the Tigers tonight, keep stacking wins, and hope Ryan can eventually look like the first-half ace again. The Twins may not be out of it yet, but they need September to start fast - and they need their best pitcher to be part of the answer soon.
In Other News...
Twins Move On From Kyler Fedko In Painful Roster Twist
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Fedkos situation is complicated by the severe knee injury that altered his path, and the injury waiver rules now push him toward release. From there, the door is not necessarily closed, since he could potentially re-sign with Minnesota or land elsewhere, but for now the Twins have had to make the kind of roster decision that cuts deeper than most. [Read more 🡒]
Twins September Call-Ups Raise A Bigger Question About This Playoff Push
The Twins are using Septembers roster expansion to add a little more depth where the stretch run tends to get thin. Right-hander Garrett Acton, recently activated from the injured list after arriving from the Miami Marlins, gives the bullpen another arm, while utilityman Ben Ross arrives with the kind of minor league track record that can help a contender squeeze value out of matchups, especially against left-handed pitching.
For a club still hanging around the postseason race, the moves fit the moment: protect the pitching staff, widen the bench and give the lineup a few more ways to tilt an inning. What makes the call-ups more interesting is what they suggest about how the Twins want to navigate the final weeks, with bullpen depth and platoon flexibility taking on a little extra weight as the games get bigger. [Read more 🡒]
Twins Triple-A Lineup Is Suddenly Chasing An Even Bigger Record
The power surge in St. Paul has turned the Twins Triple-A affiliate into one of the loudest lineups in the minors. The Saints already had enough thump to make a statement, but their latest pair of long balls pushed them past the International League single-season home run record, with Kalai Rosario providing the tie and Cody Morissette delivering the one that moved them into new territory.
What makes the chase even more interesting from a Minnesota perspective is that this has become more than a one-player feat. The Saints now have 12 players with at least 10 home runs, a spread-out attack that has kept the lineup dangerous all season and left them within reach of the all-time minor league single-season home run mark held by El Paso. For a Twins organization that values depth and internal options, this kind of production is hard to ignore. [Read more 🡒]