The Minnesota Twins have activated right-hander Joe Ryan from the injured list ahead of his scheduled start (and potential playoff matchup preview) on Saturday night against Max Scherzer and the Texas Rangers. In a corresponding move, the Twins optioned fellow right-hander Jordan Balazovic to their Triple- A affiliate in St. Paul.
Ryan, 27, will be making his first start since Aug. 2, after which he was placed on the shelf with a strained left groin. In 22 previous starts, he had amassed a 4.43 ERA (99 ERA+) and a 6.08 strikeout-to-walk ratio. Those marks are skewed by a stretch of poor pitching that occurred between the time he suffered the groin injury (prior to his June 27 start) and when he reported it to the Twins' training staff.
To wit, Ryan had posted a 3.44 ERA and a 7.00 strikeout-to-walk ratio in the 16 starts he made through the end of June. He started six more times afterward before being placed on the IL, and in those appearances he accumulated a 7.67 ERA and a 4.7 strikeout-to-walk ratio.
Twins manager Rocco Baldelli told reporters when Ryan went on the IL that he had addressed the injury-hiding aspect of the story.
"The communication on this certainly has to be better and (Ryan) knows that," Baldelli said, according to The Athletic. "We talked about that with Joe. It was something that he thought he could just manage himself and pitch through easily and not worry about it. I think he came to the realization that he needs to let us know these things."
Ryan, for his part, admitted that he should've spoken up earlier: "I was trying to do it on my own. Didn't probably take the best routes to notifying everyone."
The Twins enter Saturday with a 67-62 mark on the season, putting them six games up on the Cleveland Guardians in the American League Central. That is the largest division lead on the Junior Circuit.
