Joe Ryan Comments On Late Season Woes

The Minnesota Twins have not been seeing the version of Joe Ryan they recognize during his past three starts on the mound.

On Tuesday, the Twins suffered a brutal 8-2 loss to the AL Central rival Kansas City Royals as Ryan surrendered seven hits and four earned runs through 5.1 innings of work.

Most notably, he allowed an RBI double by Bobby Witt Jr. in the fifth inning to put Kansas City ahead 4-1. Those runs would also be the first that Witt Jr. drove in since his return from a stint on the injured list with low back tightness.

Ryan went on to give up his second walk of the game in the sixth to Isaac Collins, prompting manager Derek Shelton to make a call to the bullpen for left-handed reliever Kody Funderburk.

Following the matchup, Ryan shared his thoughts with the media on his recent struggles.

"It’s been frustrating for sure," Ryan said, according to Dan Hayes of The Athletic. "I think (we’re) trying to get everything right through the week and just not getting back to where I need to be."

Besides his metrics, Ryan has also been battling through arm fatigue this season, an issue that caused him to be scratched from his scheduled start against the Athletics in late July.

When asked if the problem was fully resolved, the 30-year-old right-hander responded with a delayed, "Yeah I guess."

Nonetheless, Ryan has had a history of late season troubles going back to 2025 when he surrendered six hits and four earned runs in Minnesota's 9-3 loss to the Washington Nationals on July 26 less than two weeks after the MLB All-Star Game.

Ryan would also suffer losses in all four of his September starts to end the season. On Sept. 20, the Twins would be shut out 6-0 by the rival Cleveland Guardians as he yielded four home runs, including two to catcher Bo Naylor who is now on the Milwaukee Brewers.

Still, Ryan managed to finish 2025 with a 3.42 ERA and 1.04 WHIP and 194 strikeouts in 171 innings pitched. 

He would maintain a similar track record this season up until his July 20 outing against the Guardians, allowing eight earned runs and a career-high 10 hits as Minnesota came out on the short end of the stick with a 13-4 blowout loss.

Ryan finding his early season form again is a must for a Twins squad with playoff aspirations after trading for Baltimore starter Dean Kremer, New York Mets reliever A.J. Minter and Toronto reliever Jeff Hoffman at this year's MLB trade deadline.

As a result, a phantom IL stint could certainly be a possibility for Ryan as the team tries to get him right in time for the big dance.

"He looks like he’s out of sync," Shelton said. "We’ve got to figure it out. … I don’t know if it’s in his delivery, but we’re just not seeing the sharpness that I think we’ve seen previously."