This week, ESPN MLB Insider Jeff Passan said that trading for starting pitcher Joe Ryan of the Minnesota Twins is the perfect offseason move for the Boston Red Sox, and I agree with it.

Per Passan:

As long as Red Sox ownership keeps the financial clamps on chief baseball officer Craig Breslow, he'll need to get creative in improving a Red Sox team that's already quite good. Revisiting what he missed at the deadline is the simplest way to do so, and as much as the Twins say they want to win in 2026, they understand: Now is the time to strike and dealing Boston another front-line starter to pair alongside Garrett Crochet is the way to do it.

The Ryan file

Now 29 years old, Ryan is a five-year veteran of the Twins. He's won double-digit games in three of his career seasons, but only four of those seasons are close to full workloads. An All-Star this past campaign, he posted a 4.5 bWAR in going 13-10 with a 3.42 ERA. He struck out 194 batters in 171.0 innings for the Twins and is under contract through the 2027 season.

Why the deal makes sense

Look: Ryan is really good, and the Red Sox have a stated desire to get another really good pitcher to pair with Garrett Crochet at the top of the rotation. That's reason enough, but there are reasons beyond that too.

Ryan is the perfect middle ground pitcher. Because he's under contract for two seasons, he alleviates concerns on both fronts.

If you are too nervous about giving $150 million or more to an aging Framber Valdez or an inconsistent Dylan Cease, this gets you out of that.

If you are too nervous about blowing out the farm system for one year of a rental player like Freddy Peralta, this gets you out of that too.

The two years with Ryan gives you two bites at the apple and helps bridge the gap until you think that Kyle Harrison, Connelly Early, Payton Tolle or someone else might be good enough to take a premium spot in your rotation.

Timeline

With a trade, anything can happen. The winter meetings from Dec. 7-10 are the first real chance to see any movement on a deal like this, but the Twins can continue to hold out on a potential Ryan deal as long as they want. Remember, because he's under contract for two years, they aren't forced into acting quickly either.

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