The Giants have a rotation problem, and Minnesota Twins right-hander Joe Ryan is the kind of name that can immediately jump to the front of the conversation.
San Francisco needs pitching in a bad way, and that alone makes the offseason search worth watching. Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle believes Ryan should be considered this winter, and the fit is obvious enough to get attention. Right now, there’s no sign the Giants and Twins have had talks, but Ryan checks a lot of boxes if San Francisco decides to get serious.
He’s an All-Star. He’s under team control through the 2027 season. And he knows the Bay Area, which adds an extra layer to any possible pursuit.
Ryan was born in San Francisco, went to high school in San Anselmo and grew up cheering for the Giants. San Francisco drafted him in the 39th round in 2014, though he didn’t sign.
He later went to Cal State Stanislaus before Tampa Bay took him in the seventh round of the 2018 MLB Draft. Minnesota acquired him in 2021, and he’s developed into one of the best arms on the roster.
The right-hander made his second All-Star team in 2026 after going 7-10 with a 3.79 ERA and 159 strikeouts in 144 2/3 innings. He missed time because of a left glute injury in August, which makes those numbers look even better.
The ERA isn’t flashy, but Ryan’s value goes deeper than that. He walked only 1.9 batters per nine in 2026 and had more than five strikeouts for every walk.
That kind of profile is backed up by the bigger body of work, too. Across six MLB seasons, Ryan has a 3.79 ERA and 878 strikeouts in 786 innings.
Of course, that sort of pitcher isn’t cheap.
Minnesota controls him through 2027 on his current deal, and the contract includes a $13 million mutual option for 2027. If that option is declined, he would be eligible for salary arbitration. That gives the Twins some flexibility: keep him for another year or act on his value now and explore a trade.
For the Giants, the question becomes how far they’re willing to go.
Their farm system has taken a major step forward, with Baseball America recently ranking it No. 4 in baseball. That gives Buster Posey and general manager Zack Minasian options if they want to add talent without dealing away players already on the big league roster.
But a trade like this would still demand caution. Moving several promising players for a pitcher with only one guaranteed season of control would be a major decision.
A longer-term deal from Ryan would obviously make the idea easier to swallow.
San Francisco has real work to do on the mound before the start of the 2027 season, assuming there is one. Logan Webb remains the anchor, and Landen Roupp has already shown he can help when healthy.
But the depth behind them has taken hit after hit. Carson Whisenhunt and Trevor McDonald underwent Tommy John surgery during the 2026 season.
Hayden Birdsong is still recovering from the same procedure. Blade Tidwell suffered a significant elbow injury and will also require Tommy John surgery.
That leaves the Giants with limited internal answers.
Ryan would give them a proven starter who could slot near the top of the rotation and pair well with Webb and Roupp. His strikeout ability and control would also play nicely at Oracle Park.
There are free-agent options and international pitching possibilities out there, but none of them come with Ryan’s Bay Area connection. And in a winter like this, that can matter.
In Other News...
Giants May Finally Close The Book On A Bullpen Move That Flopped
JT Brubakers time in San Francisco looks set to end the way a lot of bullpen experiments do, quietly and without much celebration. The Giants took a shot by tendering him a $1.8 million contract after he had made only limited appearances in 2025, then used him mostly as a bulk innings reliever in low-leverage spots in 2026, where he logged 60 and 1/3 innings over 41 games with a 3.58 ERA.
Now the veteran right-hander is headed into the offseason as an unrestricted free agent, and the expectation is that the Giants will not bring him back. For a club that has spent plenty of time searching for reliable relief depth, moving on would close the book on a move that never quite became more than an innings-eating stopgap. [Read more 🡒]
Blake Snell Just Gave Giants Fans Another Reason To Laugh
The Brewers 3-0 surge over the Dodgers on Wednesday night offered Giants fans a familiar kind of satisfaction, especially with Blake Snell in the middle of it. Snell, whose comments about adversity were already part of the pregame backdrop, saw the game turn on him in the seventh inning when he gave up two home runs and helped send Los Angeles deeper into trouble.
For a pitcher who has had a rougher run in recent postseason appearances, the outing only added to the noise around him. His postseason ERA now sits at 4.66, a number that fits the larger story of October frustration and gives Giants fans another reason to enjoy the Dodgers latest stumble. [Read more 🡒]
Giants Still Have One Unsettled Roster Battle That Could Matter A Lot
The Giants have made plenty of decisions for next season, but one of the quieter roster battles still hanging over camp is behind the plate. Daniel Susac and Drew Cavanaugh are the likeliest candidates to handle the bulk of the catching work, with Jess Rodrguez also in the mix thanks to his contact ability even as his defensive game continues to develop. Andrew Knizner, meanwhile, is eligible for arbitration, adding another layer of uncertainty to a position group that still does not have a clean answer.
Susac enters the conversation with strong defensive metrics from 2026, while Cavanaugh brings a more patient approach at the plate despite below-average defense. Rodrguez offers a different look altogether, and the Giants could end up carrying that competition well into spring training, with the possibility it stretches into the season. For a team trying to settle the roster without sacrificing flexibility, this is one of those decisions that could matter more than it looks at first glance. [Read more 🡒]