Joe Ryan No Longer a Candidate to Pitch for USA in WBC Title Game

Aug 31, 2025; Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA; Minnesota Twins starting pitcher Joe Ryan (41) throws to the San Diego Padres in the second inning at Target Field. Bruce Kluckhohn-Imagn Images

Joe Ryan No Longer a Candidate to Pitch for USA in WBC Title Game

Originally posted on Minnesota Twins on SI
By Will Ragatz | Last updated Mar 15, 2026 5:45 PM ET

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The stage is set for the United States to take on the Dominican Republic in the World Baseball Classic semifinals on Sunday night in Miami. It has a chance to be an epic matchup. Paul Skenes will be on the mound for Team USA against the Dominicans' star-studded lineup. The amount of talent that will be on display on both sides is truly remarkable.

As of recently, Twins ace Joe Ryan was a potential option to start for the U.S. if they were to make it to the championship game. But Ryan is no longer in consideration for that spot. If the United States wins on Sunday and advances to face either Venezuela or Italy in the title game on Tuesday, it'll be the Mets' Nolan McLean who gets the start for the Americans.

This ends a multi-week saga of uncertainty for Ryan, who was on Team USA's original roster and wanted to represent his country after previously doing so in the 2021 Tokyo Olympics. Unfortunately, a minor back injury that saw him scratched from his first scheduled spring training start on February 21 threw a wrench into those plans.

Ryan avoided a serious injury, with an MRI showing only inflammation, but he was sidelined for a bit and was taken off of the United States' roster for pool play in the WBC. He was still a candidate to potentially pitch in the knockout rounds if he was ramped up enough in his recovery process.

On March 10, Ryan made his first spring start. He threw 48 pitches over three scoreless innings in a win over the Rays. It was a solid outing, but Ryan generated only three whiffs and did not record a strikeout. He averaged 92 miles per hour on his fastball (down from 93.7 in the 2025 regular season) and didn't generate any swings and misses with the pitch.

Nathan Ray Seebeck-Imagn Images

With that being Ryan's only spring outing thus far, it probably shouldn't come as much of a surprise that Team USA doesn't believe he's quite ready to pitch in a potential World Baseball Classic championship game. Instead, if the U.S. can get there, the ball will go to McLean, even though he wasn't particularly sharp in his WBC debut, a loss to Italy during pool play.

Reliever Jeff Hoffman, not Ryan, has been added to Team USA's roster. So Ryan, who threw a bullpen session this weekend, will remain in Twins camp and turn his focus towards getting ready to make his second career Opening Day Start on March 26 in Baltimore. He's expected to make a couple more Grapefruit League starts (presumably on the 16th and 21st) before the regular season begins.

This article first appeared on Minnesota Twins on SI and was syndicated with permission.

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