Joe Ryan’s latest struggles dampen festive post-deadline mood in Twins clubhouse

KANSAS CITY, Mo. — They’re clearly in a better place than a year ago, but it might not matter for the Minnesota Twins unless Joe Ryan gets back on track.

The Twins reconvened Tuesday for the first time since the trade deadline, their roster intact and the clubhouse putting out the welcome mat for new teammate/high-leverage reliever Jeff Hoffman. A year after they were left stunned by a devastating deadline that resulted in coaches giving rah-rah speeches and imploring them to fight, Twins players smiled and marveled at how ownership kept its promise by adding to the roster as the team pursues its first playoff appearance since 2023.

Then Ryan delivered a dud, his third straight subpar effort. Falling behind early and with the offense stymied again by former teammate Randy Dobnak, Ryan lost his third straight post-All-Star Game start as the Kansas City Royals toppled the Twins 8-2 at Kauffman Stadium.

Ryan allowed five runs (four earned) in 5 1/3 innings and carries a 9.39 ERA since making his second All-Star appearance in July.

“He looks like he’s out of sync,” Twins manager Derek Shelton said. “We’ve got to figure it out. … I don’t know if it’s in his delivery, but we’re just not seeing the sharpness that I think we’ve seen previously.”

Ryan’s post-All-Star struggles in his career are well documented. He entered Tuesday with a career 4.96 ERA after the All-Star break, compared with 3.17 ERA before it.

But Ryan’s current stretch has to be concerning for the team’s decision-makers because he’s clearly not 100 percent. Battling what’s been described as arm fatigue, Ryan’s four-seam fastball velocity was down more than a mile per hour from his season average.

Asked whether he’s past the arm fatigue, Ryan paused and stalled before saying, “Yeah, I guess.”

But something is definitely amiss. Since his All-Star Game appearance, Ryan has allowed 17 runs (16 earned) and 25 hits in 15 1/3 innings while striking out only 10 batters.

He agreed a mechanical issue is part of his struggles before conceding: “I don’t know what’s necessarily causing that side of it.”

The team’s ace then agreed he’s not fully capable of executing what he wants with his pitching delivery.

“It’s been frustrating for sure,” Ryan said. “I think (we’re) trying to get everything right through the week and just not getting back to where I need to be.”

Kansas City didn’t wait long to attack Ryan as Bobby Witt Jr. and Jac Caglianone singled in the first inning, Salvador Perez brought in a run with a sacrifice fly, and Michael Massey doubled in another to make it 2-0.

Ryan went on to retire 10 of the next 12 batters, but faltered again in the fifth when Witt, who was activated off the injured list Tuesday, made Ryan pay for a one-out walk. He doubled in a pair and advanced to third on a throwing error before coming around to score.

Typically loquacious, catcher Ryan Jeffers was reserved when discussing Ryan’s struggles. Jeffers said he doesn’t see a drastic difference in Ryan’s stuff, but acknowledged “maybe hitters are telling you a different story.”

“He maybe doesn’t have his best stuff the whole time,” Jeffers said. “I don’t know. … I’m not sure what he feels and exactly the stuff he feels.”

A cinematic deadline day

Ryan is unsure whether additional days off in between starts or an extra bullpen session would fix him. Losing Ryan would be a buzzkill for a team that was in a festive mood Tuesday afternoon.

After weeks of rumors suggesting Jeffers and Trevor Larnach could be traded, the team’s offense was left alone.

“We kept the band together,” pitcher Bailey Ober said.

Still, nothing was certain as of the final day.

With the trade deadline not complete until 5 p.m. CT Monday, many Twins players spent the morning and afternoon at the movies.

Larnach and Royce Lewis took in a double feature, seeing “The Odyssey” in the late morning before joining teammates who were seeing “Spider-Man: Brand New Day” at 1:30 p.m. After learning he’d nearly been traded to the Houston Astros on Friday in a deal vetoed by Astros owner Jim Crane, Larnach yearned for a distraction, and a trip to the movies provided it.

“It definitely made the morning go by quick and the afternoon,” Larnach said. “But then the last couple hours, obviously, you’re kind of on edge.”

A group of players met in the hotel lobby for the end of the deadline. Moments later, Larnach sensed he, Jeffers and everyone else was in the clear when Shelton emerged from his room and joined the team downstairs.

“It’s a testament to how we jelled as a group and how this roster feeds off each other,” Jeffers said. “It’s not fueled by one or two guys, it’s fueled by the whole group. When you start taking a piece or two out of the group, maybe the dynamic doesn’t work as well. I’m excited to keep rolling.”

Hoffman’s happy

Though he’s battling the emotions of being traded from a Toronto Blue Jays squad with which he reached the World Series, Hoffman said he’s excited to reunite with a Twins pitching group he’s familiar with after spending spring training in 2023 with the club.

Hoffman credits working with the Twins on throwing a harder slider as part of the success he’s achieved since opting out of his minor-league deal in March 2023 and signing with the Philadelphia Phillies.

“It feels good to be wanted,” Hoffman said. “I’m excited to join a team that’s in the middle of a push. … It’ll take some time, definitely. You spend so much time with a certain group and you become family with them. I think that’s the mark of a great clubhouse, great organization and a good culture. That’s what they have in Toronto, and it’s easy for guys to fall in love with a place like that. I’ll always hold those guys in my heart. It was tough to go. But at the same time, I’m looking forward to this opportunity.”

Though Hoffman has previously been a closer and has 50 career saves, Shelton said Hoffman’s opportunities would come in high-leverage situations without committing to a specific role. Shelton still intends to use Yoendrys Gómez as the closer on days when he’s fresh.

Investments mark a fresh start

Same as Byron Buxton last week in Seattle, Shelton is pleased with the efforts of Twins chairman Tom Pohlad, who provided general manager Jeremy Zoll with an additional $8.5 million in 2026 payroll to add Hoffman, A.J. Minter and Dean Kremer.

“He put his money where his mouth is,” Shelton said. “Tom was very clear from the time that he took over that that was something that he wanted to do and was willing to do and allowed (Zoll) to do it.”

Since long before Tuesday, Pohlad has insisted the investment will go far beyond what the Twins did this month. He wants to recapture fans’ attention with bold moves the Twins previously never completed and — to an extent — looks at the San Diego Padres as a model.

After promising he’d meet with the team after the trade deadline no matter whether they added or not, Pohlad and Zoll flew to Kansas City on Tuesday morning. Noting his players earned the extra investment, Pohlad wanted to meet Hoffman, Minter and Kremer, all of whom arrived while the team’s been on the road. He also said the team would increase its payroll for the 2027 season.

“It will be higher,” Pohlad said. “For us to accomplish the things that we want to accomplish, and be a consistently competitive team in the playoffs, and going deep, we have to make an investment into this team. We did that in a small way at the trade deadline. You’ll see more of it next year.”

Before then, the Twins need to right the ship. Getting Ryan back on track will be critical to those efforts. What it will take to help Ryan achieve that appears to be undetermined.

“We’ll get a plan together this week and figure out what’s going to be best for the team going forward,” Ryan said.