Red Sox 'Love' Twins All-Star, Asked For Him In Triston Casas Talks: Report

The Boston Red Sox need a number-two starter, and there's one 2025 All-Star who everyone seems to think fits the bill.

Minnesota Twins right-hander Joe Ryan has been one of the best pitchers in baseball this season, with a 2.79 ERA and minuscule 0.915 WHIP. He'd be a perfect number-two in Boston behind Garrett Crochet, but the price to acquire him would be astronomical.

Regardless, there's evidence building that the Red Sox are not only interested in Ryan, but have been for quite a while.

On Friday, Rob Bradford of WEEI reported that the Red Sox were on Ryan's tail this past offseason, when the Twins came calling about trading for first baseman Triston Casas.

"The Red Sox love the Minnesota starting pitcher. They have for a while. When the Twins dipped their toes in the Triston Casas conversation this past offseason, Ryan was at the top of the Sox's lists of asks," wrote Bradford.

"The front office likes him. The manager likes him. The players in the Red Sox clubhouse like him. There's one problem: The Twins also like him."

That's the real issue for the Red Sox here. They would have been lucky to get Ryan in a package headlined by Casas in the winter, but with the time pressure of the deadline and Ryan under control through 2027, the asking price is going to be far beyond what it would have been then.

Bradford compared the chase for Ryan to what Boston was told when they asked about star pitchers Crochet and Dylan Cease at past deadlines.

"The uncomfortable reminder for the Red Sox during those pursuits of those pitchers were asking prices that included Roman Anthony, Marcelo Mayer and other teams it would now seem implausible to trade. The same would go for Ryan," he wrote.

The evidence is mounting that the Red Sox will try at least pretty hard to get Ryan. But either that's not going to be enough, or fans could wind up shocked at the package they (or another team) wind up sending to Minnesota.