The Boston Red Sox were so close to landing Joe Ryan before the MLB trade deadline that news broke saying the Red Sox had in fact landed Joe Ryan.
They hadn't, though.
The Minnesota Twins didn't agree to a final trade, and Ryan closed out his season at Target Field and not at Fenway Park.
Now that the offseason has arrived, though, there could be a second chance.
Ryan's name has popped up in trade rumors again, and the Red Sox have been linked to him again.
In fact, ESPN's Jeff Passan writes that it would be the "perfect move" for the Boston offseason to actually pull off the Ryan deal this time.
"At the trade deadline this past season, the Red Sox believed they were close to landing Joe Ryan, an elite arm who had his best year yet for the Twins in 2025," Passan writes. "As long as Red Sox ownership keeps the financial clamps on chief baseball officer Craig Breslow, he'll need to get creative in improving a Red Sox team that's already quite good. Revisiting what he missed at the deadline is the simplest way to do so, and as much as the Twins say they want to win in 2026, they understand: Now is the time to strike and dealing Boston another front-line starter to pair alongside Garrett Crochet is the way to do it."
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Ryan had a 3.42 ERA and 194 strikeouts in 2025. He's a 6-foot-2 right-hander who is 29 years old.
At this point in his career, Ryan would be the ideal match for Crochet atop Boston's pitching rotation.
This time, the Red Sox just have to get the deal over the actual finish line.
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