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Twins Avoid Disaster as Joe Ryan's Elbow MRI Comes Back Clean

Already without Pablo Lopez for the season, the Twins couldn't afford to lose Ryan as well.
Will Ragatz|
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.
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. | Jesse Johnson-Imagn Images

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Minnesota Twins

The Twins dodged an injury bullet this week that could've sunk any already-slim chance they have to turn their season around and push for a playoff spot.

Joe Ryan, Minnesota's ace starting pitcher, left his start on Sunday with right elbow soreness after facing only two batters. Any time that happens, fans will understandably fear the worst, especially after the Twins lost Pablo Lopez for the entire season to a UCL injury in spring training.

Fortunately, it appears this was nothing more than a scare. Ryan received clean results (meaning no structural damage in his elbow) from his MRI, according to Dan Hayes of The Athletic. He played catch on Tuesday and is scheduled to throw a bullpen on Wednesday. It's not yet clear if that means he'll be ready to make his scheduled start on Saturday in Cleveland, but this is great news for a Twins team that couldn't afford to lose another one of its best players.

Ryan, who turns 30 next month, has a 3.72 ERA across 38.2 innings pitched so far this season. He has 40 strikeouts to just 10 walks and has only allowed three home runs, two of which came in a rough outing against the Mets on April 23.

Two of Ryan's seven full-length starts haven't gone great, with the other being a rain-soaked game in Kansas City on April 1. In each of the other five, he's gone at least five innings, allowed two or fewer earned runs, and struck out at least five batters. Ryan's 3.01 FIP and 3.11 expected ERA indicate that he's pitching even better than the 3.72 ERA would suggest.

Ryan is coming off of the best season of his big-league career. He posted a 3.42 ERA in 171 innings last season, striking out 194 batters with just 39 walks and a 1.035 WHIP. He generated a career-high 4.6 WAR (per Baseball Reference) and made the first All-Star appearance of his career.

Since debuting with the Twins in 2021, Ryan has a 3.79 ERA and 759 strikeouts in 680 MLB innings. Minnesota trading Nelson Cruz to the Rays for Ryan at the '21 deadline is one of the best roster moves they've made in recent memory.

The Twins have gone 4-13 since an 11-7 start, falling to 15-20 on the season. Still, they're not exactly dead in the water just yet. They're only 2.5 games back in a mediocre AL Central that does not have a single team with a winning record (as of Monday, May 4). They're also just two games back of a wild card spot in the AL.

Minnesota will look to inch back towards .500 this week with road series against the Nationals and Guardians.

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Will Ragatz
WILL RAGATZ

Will Ragatz is a senior writer for Vikings On SI, who also covers the Twins, Timberwolves, Gophers, and other Minnesota teams. He is a credentialed Minnesota Vikings beat reporter, covering the team extensively at practices, games and throughout the NFL draft and free agency period. Ragatz attended Northwestern University, where he studied at the prestigious Medill School of Journalism. During his time as a student, he covered Northwestern Wildcats football and basketball for SB Nation’s Inside NU, eventually serving as co-editor-in-chief in his junior year. In the fall of 2018, Will interned in Sports Illustrated’s newsroom in New York City, where he wrote articles on Major League Baseball, college football, and college basketball for SI.com.

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