Joe Ryan still looks like the kind of starter the Padres would love to land. The Twins right-hander has the résumé, the production and the team control that usually make A.J.
Preller’s phone light up during trade season. He’s sitting on a 3.38 ERA with 131 strikeouts over 114 1/3 innings, making just $6.1 million this year and under club control through 2027.
But the latest update around Ryan should make San Diego pause.
Minnesota scratched him from his scheduled Sunday start against the Athletics because of what manager Derek Shelton called general arm fatigue. The move came after Ryan was tagged for a career-high six home runs and eight earned runs in four innings against the Guardians.
The Twins are still hopeful he can take the mound again during their upcoming series against Kansas City. Ryan threw a bullpen session Saturday, said the fatigue was easing and noted there was no present reason to worry about a major injury. That’s a good sign, but it doesn’t erase the concern for a Padres team that can’t afford to gamble on a pricey trade.
San Diego’s rotation is already hanging together by a thread. In AJ Cassavell’s latest look at the staff, Michael King and Walker Buehler are the only two starters working every fifth day. The rest of the group has turned into a mix of bulk innings, piggyback plans and matchup-based juggling.
The results show it. The Padres’ rotation has a 4.68 ERA, which ranks better than only the Rockies among NL teams. Nick Pivetta, Joe Musgrove and Lucas Giolito are all on the IL, and Pivetta and Musgrove are not expected back before the middle of August.
That’s why the bar for a deadline addition should be reliability, not just upside. Ryan still has the All-Star track record, the manageable salary and the extra year of control that make him attractive. But the Twins don’t have any reason to sell low, and the Padres would still be paying for a healthy front-line starter while taking on the uncertainty that just popped up with his arm.
That’s a hard deal to justify.
In Other News...
Former Padres Reliever Woo-Suk Go Hit Another Brutal Career Twist
Woo-Suk Gos latest stop in professional baseball got off to a rough start this week, and it came only days after the Minnesota Twins sent the former Padres reliever down to Triple-A St. Paul. Go, who arrived in Minnesota after a winding path that included a trade out of San Diego and then another move before landing with the Twins, was trying to reset his season in the minors after a difficult major league stint.
Instead, his first appearance for the St. Paul Saints ended before he could even settle in. The outing turned into another harsh reminder of how quickly Gos career has veered from one organization to the next, and for San Diego fans, it is another footnote in a strange chapter that never produced a regular-season pitch in a Padres uniform. [Read more 🡒]
Former Padre Takes Direct Aim At Manny Machado's Offseason Choice
Manny Machados 2026 season has produced the kind of split that always invites debate: the power is still there, but the batting average has lagged far behind. Through the seasons grind, he has managed 23 home runs and 63 RBIs while sitting at .210, and the conversation around him has shifted from production to approach as the Padres continue to watch how his swing changes play out over time.
Former Padre Heath Bell added another layer to that discussion by suggesting Machado should slide a little lower in the order, a reminder that even a stars place in the lineup can become part of the evaluation when the contact isnt matching the damage. Machado, for his part, has not pointed to the offseason work as the source of his struggles, and there was at least a small sign of life Sunday when he delivered a game-tying two-run homer in a comeback win over the Marlins. [Read more 🡒]
Former Yankees Arm Is Suddenly Back In Trade Rumors
The trade market around the Padres is starting to feel like it could include more than the usual rental pieces, and Michael King has surfaced as one of the names worth watching. According to USA Todays Bob Nightengale and rival executives, San Diego could listen on the right-handed starter before the August 3 deadline, a sign the club may be weighing bigger decisions as it looks at its roster and where this season is headed.
Kings contract gives the Padres some flexibility, with control beyond this year and player options in 2027 and 2028, which is part of why any chatter around him stands out. Nothing is confirmed, but the speculation fits a broader sense that San Diego could consider moving expiring assets if it decides to reshape the roster rather than ride things out. [Read more 🡒]