Brewers Should Have Eyes on Twins Ace This Summer

The Milwaukee Brewers should give the Minnesota Twins a call about Joe Ryan.

Apr 6, 2026; Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA; Minnesota Twins starting pitcher Joe Ryan (41) delivers a pitch against the Detroit Tigers in the first inning at Target Field. Mandatory Credit: Jesse Johnson-Imagn Images | Jesse Johnson-Imagn Images

This could very well be the year that the Milwaukee Brewers make a deep run in the playoffs.

Milwaukee is that good. Jacob Misiorowski and Kyle Harrison are legit National League Cy Young Award contenders. Jackson Chourio is a star in the making and is just 22 years old. Christian Yelich is still Christian Yelich. Also, Andrew Vaughn is having a wild season so far and is batting .354 in 21 games.

It doesn't hurt that the Brewers have the No. 1 overall farm system in baseball, led by baseball's No. 1 overall prospect Jesús Made. The Brewers are 36-21 on the season so far. Right now, the Brewers have the third-best record in the National League behind the Atlanta Braves and the Los Angeles Dodgers. Milwaukee has enough prospect capital to realistically pull off any sort of major deal. The club could use a slugger and potentially a starter. On the pitcher front, Tarik Skubal of the Detroit Tigers has been speculated as a fit on multiple occasions. Bleacher Report's Kerry Miller floated another intriguing name, that's much more realistic: Joe Ryan of the Minnesota Twins.

The Brewers Should Call Minnesota

May 26, 2026; Chicago, Illinois, USA; Minnesota Twins starting pitcher Joe Ryan (41) delivers a pitch against the Chicago White Sox during the first inning at Rate Field. Mandatory Credit: Kamil Krzaczynski-Imagn Images | Kamil Krzaczynski-Imagn Images

"They certainly have the prospect capital necessary to swing big, landing at No. 3 in Joel Reuter's farm system rankings in late May," Miller wrote. "And with major holes at third base, shortstop and several spots of the starting rotation, there's no question they could stand to gain from a few upgrades.

"They won't trade away Jesús Made or Luis Peña, but they do have a handful of fringe top 100 prospects who could be the main attraction moving out in a minor blockbuster for someone like Houston's Isaac Paredes or Minnesota's Joe Ryan."

Ryan was talked about as a trade candidate last season and it was somewhat surprising he didn't get moved. The Twins are five games below .500 right now with roughly two months to go until the trade deadline. Ryan has a 3.20 ERA so far this season in 13 starts.

If Skubal does get moved, it's going to cost an arm and a leg to get him. Ryan isn't going to be inexpensive, to say the least. Plus, he's going to be a free agent after the season. Ryan has one more season of control left. If the Twins make him available, he'd arguably be a better option than Skubal because of that.