"Right-hander was scratched from his scheduled Spring Training start yesterday due to lower back tightness and underwent an MRI yesterday to determine the severity of the issue. Those results came back today, and The Athletic's Dan Hayes reports that the MRI revealed only inflammation in Ryan's lower back. That's a "best case scenario" for Ryan, in the words for Hayes. It should allow the right-hander to avoid a lengthy layoff and, while the Twins' exact plans for Ryan as he nurses that inflammation aren't yet clear, it seems reasonable to expect the right-hander's ability to be available for Opening Day to be unaffected by this injury. That's great news for the Twins, who have already lost right-hander Pablo Lopez to the injured list for the year as he prepares to undergo Tommy John surgery."
"Ryan figures to be especially important to the Twins this year given that he's coming off the best season of his career. An All-Star for the first time in 2025, the right-hander posted a 3.42 ERA in 171 innings of work. He made 30 starts (31 total appearances) and struck out an impressive 28.2% of his opponents while walking just 5.7%. Ryan was held back from true ace-level production by his lackluster 11.5% barrel rate; only five qualified pitchers allowed more home runs than the righty's 26 last year. Even with that flaw, however, Ryan was a quality front-of-the-rotation starter who garnered plenty of interest at last summer's trade deadline."
Ryan was scratched from his scheduled Spring Training start due to lower-back tightness and underwent an MRI that revealed only inflammation. The inflammation represents a best-case scenario and should allow him to avoid a lengthy layoff; the Twins' precise plan for managing the condition is not yet finalized, but his availability for Opening Day appears likely to be unaffected. Pablo Lopez is out for the season preparing for Tommy John surgery, increasing Ryan's importance in the rotation. Ryan posted a 3.42 ERA in 171 innings in 2025, made 30 starts, struck out 28.2% of batters, and walked 5.7%.
Read at MLB Trade Rumors
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