The SF Giants have been seen as an ideal landing spot for Minnesota Twins ace Joe Ryan if the Twins were willing to trade him, but recent reporting suggests Minnesota plans to hold onto Ryan this winter which means the Giants will likely have to look elsewhere.

Ken Rosenthal reported in The Athletic that Minnesota plans to hold onto star players like Ryan and center fielder Byron Buxton. This complicates things for the Giants as they look to upgrade the rotation without spending a lot of money since there seems to be reluctance from Giants chairman Greg Johnson to commit a lot of money to a starting pitcher on a long-term contract.

SF Giants likely to miss out on Joe Ryan as Twins plan to retain him

The trade route seems like the only one the Giants can take to add an ace-level pitcher to the rotation if they are unwilling to meet the asking price of the top starters on the free agent market. If the Twins are not keen on dealing Ryan that means there are fewer choices for the Giants to pursue although there are other options out there.

Grant Brisbee of The Athletic threw out names like MacKenzie Gore of the Washington Nationals and Freddy Peralta of the Milwaukee Brewers as other options. Hunter Greene of the Cincinnati Reds could be another option and then there is the White Whale that is Tarik Skubal who the Giants could make a run at even if it would be unlikely to land him.

The Twins have not completely shut the door on a trade for Ryan. While they seem unlikely to let him go, maybe the Giants could blow them away. Rosenthal wrote that it would likely take an “overwhelming offer” for a team to land one of the Twins’ star players, and the Giants have some valuable trade chips that could get teams interested.

Obviously, dangling top prospect Bryce Eldridge would probably get the Twins interested but it may take even more if they are intent upon retaining their stars and trying to compete in 2026. Perhaps a proven big league player like Heliot Ramos would also have to be part of a deal.

The Giants surely want to improve the rotation, but they seem to be going about it in a cautious way. Trading away a ton of assets does not seem like something the team wants to do even if Ryan would be an ideal fit in the rotation.

There are other ways for them to upgrade the rotation, but it seems likely that they are going to have to turn away from Ryan as a potential option.