The Joe Ryan trade rumors won’t ever seem to go away. With the Atlanta Braves thought to need another starting pitcher ahead of 2026 Opening Day, the Minnesota Twins‘ All-Star Ryan continues to pop up in speculative mock trade pitches.
The most recent, by Bleacher Report’s Zachary D. Rymer, has the Atlanta Braves acquiring Joe Ryan, but giving up an absolute haul in return, which begs the question of whether the trade would even be worth it for Atlanta.
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Should the Braves Trade for Joe Ryan?
GettyJoe Ryan continues being linked to a Braves trade.
With the Twins getting tough injury news on Pablo Lopez, who will miss 2026 with Tommy John Surgery, Minnesota might regain its fire sale form from back in July, when they traded nearly half of the roster.
Joe Ryan is dealing with a slight back tightness issue at the moment, which is causing him to miss the WBC, but it’s not expected to hinder his Opening Day status.
Here is the trade that Rymer proposes the Braves could offer to acquire Joe Ryan:
“Trade Proposal: Atlanta Braves get RHP Joe Ryan; Minnesota Twins get LHP Cameron Caminiti, RHP JR Ritchie, SS Alex Lodise”
The Twins have already indicated on several occasions that it would take a haul to acquire Ryan, but do the Braves really want to offload their good farm system pieces in Lodise, JR Ritchie, and Cam Caminiti?
Would the Braves Make this Trade?
If I were Alex Anthopoulos, despite all the hardships endured by the starting rotation over the last two seasons, it doesn’t make sense to trade Caminiti and Ritchie. JR Ritchie could be an important piece of the Braves’ rotation this year, as his emergence throughout the minors has been well documented.
Instead, Anthopoulos, with new cash at his disposal due to the Jurickson Profar suspension, should try to acquire a low-cost arm via MLB free agency. There are still starters out there who can give you nearly 30 starts at a price tag less than $10 million.
Will the Braves actually add an arm? That’s a completely different story, but Atlanta is surely going to continue being linked to Joe Ryan and other starters thought to be on the trade market as the 2026 season approaches.
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