New York Yankees Could Swing Shocking Trade After Freddy Peralta Flub

The New York Yankees re-signed Cody Bellinger on Wednesday, but they missed out on Freddy Peralta, who was traded from the Milwaukee Brewers to the New York Mets later that evening.

It was a tough blow for the Yankees, who have been heavily pursuing Peralta all winter, but were unable to close the deal.

Perhaps New York felt the Brewers were asking for too much, or maybe the Yankees were just scared of Peralta's impending free agency after 2026.

Whatever the case, New York will now have to explore other options if it wants another starting pitcher, and while Washington Nationals left-hander MacKenzie Gore seems like the obvious pivot, there is another arm who is far more tantalizing.

Minnesota Twins star Joe Ryan.

Ryan had been pitched as a potential trade target for the Yanks earlier this offseason, but the Twins made it clear they weren't moving him.

But has that changed?

Minnesota is going to arbitration with Ryan over a $500,000 difference. Ryan has also made it clear he has been unhappy with Twins moves in recent years (such as parting ways with Sonny Gray), and he didn't attend TwinsFest this month.

The 29-year-old still has two years of club control remaining, but it seems rather unlikely he will stay in Minnesota long term. So are the Twins — who aren't really contending for anything — really dead set against moving him? Or are they just waiting for the right deal to come along?

Ryan pitched to the tune of a 3.42 ERA in 2025, racking up 194 strikeouts over 171 innings en route to his first All-Star appearance. He owns a lifetime 3.79 ERA while averaging 10.1 strikeouts per nine innings since entering the big leagues in 2021, and he will come very cheap financially over the next two years.

Yes, he would cost an arm and a leg from the Yankees, but New York is clearly in win-now mode, especially after retaining Bellinger on a five-year contract. Why not make an aggressive push for Ryan?

Minnesota can say the righty isn't available all it wants, but if the Yanks put a package that includes Jasson Dominguez (who just became more expendable after Bellinger's decision) and Elmer Rodriguez on the table, the Twins will almost certainly listen.

I've been saying all offseason that the Yankees might just pull off a shocking trade. We kind of, sort of saw it with the Ryan Weathers deal. Weather isn't a big name, but it definitely came out of nowhere. Could the same thing happen with Ryan?

Now that Peralta is off the market, New York should absolutely be placing a call to Minnesota to see if Ryan could be had.