Looks like the Minnesota Twins will be without their top starter for at least a few days.
On Wednesday afternoon it was revealed that right-hander Joe Ryan was placed on the COVID-19 injured list.
He would start tomorrow, but those plans are now probably a thing of the past.
“#MNTwins Joe Ryan is on the Covid-19 injured list. Ryan was scheduled to start Thursday vs. Royals, so he will be called up from Triple-A to start with Devin Smeltzer instead. Smeltzer threw 5 1/3 innings of one-run ball against Royals in Kansas City last week, “Athletic’s Aaron Gliman tweeted.
#MNTwins Joe Ryan is on the Covid-19 injured list.
Ryan was scheduled to start Thursday vs. Royals, so he will be called up from Triple-A to start with Devin Smeltzer instead.
Smeltzer threw 5 1/3 innings of one-run ball against the Royals in Kansas City last week.
– Aaron Gliman (AronGliman) May 25, 2022
Twins manager Rocco Baldelli said without giving further details about his star pitcher that the call was “OK”.
The Twins manager did not offer too much detail about Ryan
If Ryan does not test positive and instead reports some symptoms or communicates closely, he may be activated as soon as tomorrow, giving him time to start his scheduled start in theory.
Conversely, if he tests positive for the virus, he should miss at least 10 days unless he spends 24 hours without a fever and is not cleared by doctors and physicians.
That’s why there’s not much clarity about Ryan’s situation, but it’s safe to assume that the twins won’t send him to the mound tomorrow.
Ryan, who came to Minnesota last year in the Nelson Cruise trade with the Tampa Bay Ray, was their best starter in 2022.
He has the twin starter’s lowest ERA this year, at 2.28, and the most innings at 43.1.
Ryan faced 24.3 percent of the batter and is looking very good overall.