At the 2025 trade deadline, Boston Red Sox fans became convinced that Joe Ryan would be coming to town to assist with their playoff chase. A few publications were so sure Ryan and the Red Sox were destined for each other that they erroneously declared a trade complete on social media, sending Bostonians into a frenzy.
Once the offseason started, the Minnesota Twins declared that they had no plans to trade Ryan or their other top pitcher, Pablo López. The Red Sox instead added to Sonny Gray and Johan Oviedo to shore up their rotation, then turned their sights on Alex Bregman, whom they failed to land after he signed with the Chicago Cubs.
Chief baseball officer Craig Breslow didn't rule out a return to the starting pitching market after his Bregman whiff, his logic being that a better rotation and more run prevention offsets Boston's worse offense. Nothing has officially changed about Ryan's status on the trade block, but Sox fans can't help but speculate after a recent update from Aaron Gleeman, Twins reporter for The Athletic.
Ryan is no longer expected to attend the Twins' winter fan festival, TwinsFest, according to a team source. He was initially among the players slated to appear, but he's been removed from the list.
Red Sox fans hoping Joe Ryan is back on the trade block after he was removed from Twins fan fest roster
Joe Ryan is not expected to attend TwinsFest, per a team source.
— Aaron Gleeman (@AaronGleeman) January 13, 2026
Ryan has been removed from the lineup of Twins players scheduled to make an appearance.
There could be many reasons for Ryan's removal from TwinsFest, which runs from January 23-24 — he and his partner had a baby in November or a family event may have come up, for example. He and the Twins may also be headed for an arbitration hearing due to a $500 thousand gap in their filings at last week's deadline, and there could be some bad blood there at the moment. But an impending trade is undoubtedly the most fun rumor for the Red Sox.
Ryan would be a great addition to the Sox's rotation alongside Garrett Crochet, Gray and Oviedo. Ryan earned his first All-Star nomination during the 2025 season and posted a 3.42 ERA, a 1.035 WHIP, a 4.97 strikeout-to-walk rate and 194 strikeouts over 171 innings.
It won't be easy for the Red Sox to land Ryan since he has two years of control remaining on his contract. Boston has already depleted some of its tradeable pitching depth and moved top outfield prospect Jhostynxon Garcia in the trades its already made this offseason, and a free agent pitching addition is probably better for the long-term future of the farm system. But if the Red Sox can extend Ryan, as they did with Crochet, the risk of another trade could be worth it.
Again, there has been no official change in Ryan's status as a trade candidate and Sox fans should still assume that he won't be moved. But Breslow's other trades came with very little smoke or warning that there was movement behind the scenes.