Twins agree to arbitration terms with pitcher who has dominated Guardians 

One of the biggest storylines in the American League Central this offseason has been the Tigers’ arbitration saga with Tarik Skubal, which has featured plenty of finger pointing and hypotheticals about Skubal’s future in the motor city. 

But another AL Central pitcher storyline that’s quietly been lurking in the background has been that of Minnesota’s Joe Ryan, who was one of 18 players to not settle on an arbitration figure with his team before the deadline earlier this month. 

But it seems like the two sides were able to finally work out a figure, as Ryan and the Twins agreed to a $6.2 million deal for 2026 that includes a $100,000 buyout for 2027 along with a $13 million mutual option. 

Not only does that deal confirm that Ryan isn’t going anywhere any time soon (so long as the Twins don’t go into a full-blown rebuild), but it also confirms the Twins and Ryan are going to avoid arbitration drama, which would have been good theater for Guardians fans. 

Guardians killer Joe Ryan agrees to salary with Twins for 2026 

Ryan’s coming off one of the best seasons of his career, as he posted a 3.42 ERA in 171 innings and was a first time All-Star for a Twins team that only won 70 games. 

That season sums up how steady he’s been during his career. He’s recorded a 3.79 ERA in 641 1/3 innings in his career, and he’s posted a 3.60 ERA in three of the five seasons he’s had in his career. 

His fastball routinely ranks as one of the best pitches in baseball, and his sweeper had a stellar whiff rate of 34% last season.

He’s been an incredibly valuable pitcher since he entered his career, and always seems to reach a new level against the Guardians.

Ryan has a 2.94 ERA in 70 1/3 career innings against the Guardians (the most he has against any club) and has allowed three runs or less in 11 of the 12 starts he’s made against Cleveland. 

His lone dud against came last September when he allowed four earned runs in five innings in a start where he allowed four home runs. 

Ryan was a mainstay in trade rumors last summer when the Twins commenced their trade deadline sell-off, but Minnesota elected to hold onto him as they (theoretically) try to compete in 2026. 

Even if Ryan and the Twins agreeing to a deal takes away one arbitration saga that Guardians fans would be able to watch from the sidelines, Skubal's contentious arbitration hearing should carry more than enough intrigue to make up for the lack of Ryan.