Back tightness sidelines Joe Ryan from his spring debut. With Pablo Lopez out, this unexpected scratch raises serious concerns for the Twins' pitching rotation.
Minnesota Twins ace Joe Ryan was set to make his 2026 spring training debut on Saturday, February 21, 2026 against the Boston Red Sox.
However, Boston Red Sox beat writer Chris Castillo reported that Joe Ryan was scratched from his start 15 minutes prior to first pitch.
Minnesota's public relations team later announced that Ryan was dealing with lower back tightness on his right side.
Ryan (29), is expected to be Minnesota's opening day starter, especially with Pablo Lopez being ruled out for the entirety of the 2026 season due to receiving Tommy John surgery on this right elbow.
However, as spring training starts up, teams will have to be cautious with their starting pitchers, especially Minnesota.
If Minnesota were to lose Ryan for an extended period of time, they would go into the regular season missing their top two starting pitchers -- that wouldn't be good.
Throughout his five-year big league career, Ryan has been a relatively healthy and reliable starting pitcher.
However, Ryan was placed on the 15-day injured list on August 9, 2024, after exiting a game against the Chicago Cubs due to a right shoulder strain. Ryan would eventually get moved to the 60-day injured list.
Since the start of 2022, Ryan has had four consecutive seasons with 23 or more starts.
Ryan posted career high's in WAR (4.5), ERA (3.42), games started (30), innings (171.0), strikeouts (194) and tied his career-high with wins (13) in 2025.
Ryan was ultimately replaced today by pitching prospect Eston Stull, who had a strong debut start for Minnesota. Stull pitched two innings of zero run ball, striking out one batter and only allowing two base runners.
Although the extent of Ryan's injury is unknown, lower back tightness/soreness is no joke, especially for starting pitchers as they use so much of their hips and lower back area when throwing.
An acute back tightness injury takes 2-4 weeks of recovery, whereas moderate/recurring back tightness takes about 6-8 weeks to recover. Minnesota will have a better understanding of Ryan's injury later today or tomorrow, as there's a possibility of him undergoing certain testing.
The one concerning aspect of Ryan being a scratch from today's exhibition game is that it was 15 minutes before first pitch. Maybe Ryan's back flared up on him and is worse than we thought?
Overall, back injuries are no joke but we'll have a clearer understanding on the extent of Ryan's injury.