With shoulder injury behind him, Joe Ryan 'feels great' this offseason

Ryan said he's feeling strong and having a normal offseason after his 2024 campaign ended early.

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-Imagn Images

Twins starting pitcher Joe Ryan's 2024 season ended prematurely due to a shoulder strain in early August, but he's put that issue in the past and is fully healthy as he prepares to report to spring training in a couple weeks.

"I've been hearing that one a lot," Ryan said when asked about his shoulder in a WCCO interview at TwinsFest this weekend. "It feels great. Throwing bullpens, and everything's been pretty normal so far in the offseason. ... Feeling strong. Ready for camp. Offseason training's been going great."

Ryan had a third MRI in early November, around three months after the injury, that showed complete resolution of the problem, according to The Star Tribune. "It healed really quickly," he told writer Phil Miller.

Ever since the injury, Ryan has been following the Twins' training staff's plan for his recovery and workouts. His training these days is geared towards getting ready for the season and hopefully preventing anything similar from happening with his shoulder in the future. He doesn't think he'll have any limitations in getting his arm ready to go for the start of the regular season in two months.

That's great news for the Twins, who would love to see the 28-year-old Ryan put together a career year in 2025. He was very good in 2022, struggled with home run allowance in a difficult 2023 season, and then bounced back last year with a 3.60 ERA before getting hurt. Across his MLB career, Ryan has a 3.92 ERA in 84 starts and has struck out 525 batters in 470.1 innings.

About a month ago, an MLB.com writer predicted that Ryan will earn AL Cy Young votes this season. Asked about that prediction at TwinsFest, Ryan said he'd love to make that happen.

"It's awesome to have that out in the ether," Ryan said. "If I'm stepping on the mound, I'm expecting to win every game, every pitch, and every at bat. And then, take that through a season, I think I can compete with the best of them. That's the goal every year. But just gotta finish the year, that's the biggest thing. I think (if I) finish the year last year, that's probably already said and done (earning Cy Young votes). But yeah, just keep pushing, keep getting better. I think just the consistency of work and finishing the season is what you have to do to get there."

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