Twins' Joe Ryan leaves start vs. Cubs with right triceps tightness

Hopefully this is nothing serious for Ryan, who has had a strong season.

Aug 7, 2024; Chicago, Illinois, USA; Minnesota Twins pitcher Joe Ryan (41) throws against the Chicago Cubs during the first inning at Wrigley Field. / David Banks-USA TODAY Sports

Twins starting pitcher Joe Ryan left Wednesday's start against the Chicago Cubs at Wrigley Field in Chicago during the third inning with right triceps tightness.

Ryan threw an 0-2 splitter to Chicago center fielder Pete Crow-Armstrong, his 33rd pitch of the game, and immediately signaled to the dugout. After a quick meeting with manager Rocco Baldelli and head athletic trainer Nick Paparesta, he came out of the game. Trevor Richards quickly got warm to replace him. It's hard to tell exactly what happened, but it's not good that Ryan quickly felt the need to call to the dugout and eventually left the contest due to the injury.

Twins manager Rocco Baldelli told reporters postgame that there was no further update beyond the right triceps tightness and that they'll have to see how he's feeling in the coming days. While Baldelli said he didn't anticipate Ryan's injury to be a "large-scale issue," he also said that Ryan is "probably going to miss some time in some form or another."

It would be a huge blow to the Twins if Ryan was out for any significant period of time. The 28-year-old has been an anchor of their starting rotation all season, posting a 3.59 earned-run average with 145 strikeouts in 133 innings coming into Wednesday's game. He leads all Twins starters in strikeouts, FIP, and strikeout-to-walk ratio across his 22 full starts.

If Ryan does have to miss any time, the Twins would presumably turn to Louie Varland to join Pablo Lopez, Bailey Ober, Simeon Woods Richardson and David Festa in the rotation. Varland is already coming up from Triple-A St. Paul to start one of the games in Friday's doubleheader against the Cleveland Guardians. Chris Paddack is currently on the injured list with a right forearm strain.

The Twins lost Wednesday's series finale to the Cubs, 8-2.