Joe Ryan has an initial injury diagnoses after leaving his start against the Toronto Blue Jays.
Minnesota Twins starting pitcher Joe Ryan entered Sunday’s start against the Toronto Blue Jays looking to build on a strong outing against the Seattle Mariners last week. After getting roughed up a bit by the New York Mets on April 23, surrendering seven hits and four earned runs in five innings, Ryan responded with six strong innings of two-run baseball against Seattle.
Unfortunately for Ryan and the Twins, his start against the Blue Jays lasted just nine pitches. Striking out one batter and walking another, Ryan threw his ninth pitch of the game and felt something uncomfortable. He called out the Twins training staff and was removed from the game.
The Twins have since provided an update, revealing that the initial diagnosis for Ryan is right elbow soreness.
This is obviously concerning, as that is his pitching elbow. Any elbow-related injury for a pitcher always brings concern that there could be damage to the UCL, which in most cases requires Tommy John surgery. While there is no way to tell at this point whether Ryan is facing that sort of scenario, that is certainly the concern for Twins fans at this stage.
Ryan’s fastball velocity has been down a bit recently, but according to Dan Hayes of The Athletic, it is something he attributed to mechanical issues rather than something wrong with his arm. It was confirmed right away by Twins manager Derek Shelton that Ryan felt something in his elbow, as he said on the broadcast the team is hoping he’s in a good spot.
"He walked out and said he felt something in his elbow,” Shelton said (h/t The Athletic). “It’s unfortunate, especially this early in the game, but it’s something we’ve got to deal with. Hopefully Joe’s in a good spot."
Having already fallen to 14-20 on the season after a promising start, the Twins cannot afford to lose their ace for an extended period of time. Pablo López is already sidelined for the season, leaving Minnesota’s rotation thin as it is.
There is also the undeniable reality that Minnesota could be looking to move certain veterans at the deadline this year if the AL Central is out of reach. Minnesota had somewhat of a fire sale at least year's deadline, but kept Ryan, Byron Buxton, and Pablo Lopez. Any injuries to top talent will complicate things if the Twins planned on revisiting this strategy this season.