The Boston Red Sox's starting rotation isn't looking too hot through the first month of the 2026 season. Not only are Garrett Crochet and Brayan Bello struggling, Crochet, Sonny Gray and Johan Oviedo are on the injured list and Ranger Suárez experienced hamstring tightness in his last start.
The Minnesota Twins have given an unintentional reminder that things could always be worse. Twins ace Joe Ryan departed his May 3 start in the first inning after experiencing soreness in his elbow. Just by reading Ryan's body language after his pitch, he's probably expecting an injured list stint, or worse — he walked off the mound immediately after his last pitch to meet his catcher and training staff, seemingly knowing he had to leave the game.
Ryan has already undergone an MRI to see if there's any structural damage in his elbow. If there is and he requires surgery, it'll be a brutal blow to Minnesota's rotation, which already lost Pablo López after he received the internal brace procedure during spring training.
Ryan was a popular Red Sox trade candidate leading up to the 2025 trade deadline and the following offseason — there were even incorrect tweets posted by a few media outlets saying that Boston had indeed landed Ryan at the trade deadline, which left fans even more disappointed when the team had to pivot to Dustin May. Maybe, since the club's newly revamped rotation had faltered so early, Craig Breslow had more trade plans up his sleeve to bring Ryan in to save the day. If he did, they probably don't matter anymore.
Red Sox might've dodged a bullet as Joe Ryan injury could foreshadow long recovery process
While there are still no results from Ryan's imaging, elbow soreness usually foreshadows a devastating outcome. Tommy John surgery or the internal brace procedure could be in Ryan's future if his injury is serious enough, both procedures can take a year or more of recovery. Had Boston traded for Ryan with a top prospect like Connelly Early or Payton Tolle, its rotation would be in a much worse place than it is now, even with a full five-man cycle on the IL.
There is a mutual option on Ryan's contract for 2027, and if he needs elbow surgery this year, he may trigger it to try and get a rebound under his belt before hitting free agency for the first time. If he does show signs of bouncing back, his trade value could still be substantial in the final year of his current deal. Mutual options are rarely exercised, however.
The Red Sox's chances of trading for Ryan at the deadline (if they can work themselves into a position to buy, which seems unlikely in its own right) could drastically decrease if his injury is serious. If he needs surgery or a long recovery of any kind, Boston is better off since it didn't trade for him over the offseason.
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