Twins’ Joe Ryan joins AL All-Star team

The Minnesota Twins have had an up-and-down season so far. The Twins own one of Major League Baseball’s longest winning streaks of 2025. However, injuries to Pablo Lopez and others have sunk them to the middle of the American League Central. Despite all of that, Joe Ryan earned his first All-Star selection as a replacement for Houston Astros starter Hunter Brown.

Ryan joins Minnesota teammate Byron Buxton on the AL’s roster ahead of the All-Star Game on Tuesday. For a starter who entered the season out of the spotlight, the fifth-year pro has stepped up. He leads the Twins’ starters in ERA, wins, and strikeouts so far this season. As an ace, he stacks up well against Brown and the other top arms in the AL.

Despite Brown’s best efforts, the Twins will enter the All-Star break wondering how to attack the rest of the season. The team has had dominant stretches, but the lack of consistency is concerning. If Ryan and Buxton continue to play like All-Stars, Minnesota has a good chance of securing an AL wild card spot. However, the latter’s injury history is not a reason for optimism.

Ryan’s name has been thrown around in trade rumors, but it is unlikely that he is moved before the July 31 deadline.

Regardless of how their season ends, Ryan and Buxton deserve their recognition. Both players are deserving, even if the former is an injury replacement, according to The Athletic’s Ken Rosenthal. The Twins have had multiple All-Stars for the last five seasons, including Lopez and Sonny Gray in 2023. They were at risk of snapping that streak, but Ryan’s inclusion holds it together.

The 29-year-old is unlikely to start the game for the AL, but he will get a chance to got up against the best that the National League has to offer. Similarly, Buxton will replace Riley Greene or one of the other AL outfielders. No matter what, the Twins’ presence will be seen in the All-Star Game, even as the team faces uncertainty about its future.