Joe Ryan’s 2026 season ended with a mix of promise and frustration, and that leaves the Twins facing an important call on their top starter.
There was enough in Ryan’s year to see why Minnesota still believes in him. He turned in 27 starts and finished with 12 quality starts, which is a respectable total for a pitcher expected to anchor the rotation. He also showed he can rise to the moment away from home, with his start at Yankee Stadium standing out after a stretch that had gone sideways.
That outing in the Bronx mattered because it fit one of the clearest positives from Ryan’s season: when he was on, he looked capable of handling a big stage. The Twins missed the postseason, and Ryan was part of that picture, but he also gave them proof that he can take the ball in a pressure spot and deliver.
The underlying numbers back up some of the optimism. Ryan’s 3.70 xERA, according to Statcast, sat below his 3.79 ERA, suggesting there was more good in the profile than the final line alone shows. His walk rate was also in the 95th percentile in baseball, a strong mark for a power pitcher.
Still, the season never fully came together. Ryan missed more than a month after being placed on the IL in the middle of July and staying out until the end of August.
That absence hurt the Twins’ postseason push, even if it wasn’t the only reason they fell short. Availability mattered, and Ryan simply wasn’t fully available in 2026.
The other issue was more familiar and more troubling. In division games especially, there were times when Ryan couldn’t get out of his own way. The biggest thing he has to clean up this offseason is keeping the ball in the park.
He allowed 21 home runs and finished with a 1.31 HR/9 rate, according to FanGraphs. The long-ball damage got worse in the second half, though that could have been tied to health or fatigue. Even so, there’s a bit of context here: Ryan’s xHR rate was 18.8, which means he was somewhat unlucky compared with the home run total he actually surrendered.
So the Twins are left with a familiar kind of question. Ryan showed enough to believe in the ceiling, but not enough to ignore the flaws that kept the season from becoming something bigger.
In Other News...
Twins May Have Just Seen A Painful Goodbye Behind The Plate
The Twins closed their 2026 season with a 6-4 win over the Rangers, and for Mitch Jeffers, it may have also marked the end of the line in Minnesota for now. Jeffers wrapped up his final game of the year with the club, then looked back on a career that brought both staying power and a strong individual season, even with injury setbacks interrupting the run.
What comes next is the part Minnesota has to brace for. Jeffers is set to hit free agency this winter, and the Twins are left weighing an uncertain future behind the plate while also sorting through other roster moves. For a team that values stability at catcher, the possibility of moving on from Jeffers adds another significant decision to an already busy offseason. [Read more 🡒]
Twins Coaching Shakeup Feels Like The Start Of Something Bigger
The Twins wasted little time starting their offseason overhaul, moving on from pitching coach Pete Maki and assistant pitching coach Luis Ramirez after the regular season ended. The shakeup also reached the training room, where assistant athletic trainer Jason Kirkman is no longer with the club, even as head athletic trainer Nick Paparesta and top assistant Masamichi Abe are staying put.
For Minnesota, the staff changes feel like more than routine turnover. Replacing both leaders of the pitching program suggests the organization wants a fresh direction on the mound, and the front office has now put the coaching side of that conversation squarely on the table as it heads into next season. [Read more 🡒]
Former Twins Pitchers Are Suddenly All Over This Postseason
The Twins may be on the outside looking in this October, but plenty of their old pitching inventory is still very much in the postseason mix. A list of 11 former Minnesota arms has surfaced across the 2026 MLB playoffs, a reminder of how much turnover can ripple through a pitching staff and how often ex-Twins end up scattered around the bracket. Caleb Thielbar is with the Cubs, Jhoan Duran is in Philadelphia, and Tyler Mahle is part of Atlantas rotation picture, giving the postseason a distinctly Minnesota-flavored subplot even without the Twins themselves involved.
What makes it especially notable is the sheer reach of it all, with those former Twins tied to multiple series and matchups as the playoff schedule unfolds. For a fan base that has watched a lot of arms come and go, this is one of those October snapshots that says as much about organizational churn as it does about the players themselves. The full list stretches well beyond the biggest names, and the spread of destinations makes it clear just how many different contenders are carrying a little bit of Minnesota pitching history with them. [Read more 🡒]