The Minnesota Twins held one of the most valuable assets ahead of the trade deadline: pitcher Joe Ryan.

Ryan was one of the most coveted assets at the trade deadline, but the Twins opted to hold onto him while they traded away a lot of their other stars, including Carlos Correa and Jhoan Durán.

FanSided’s Christopher Kline recently predicted the Twins would eventually cut ties with Ryan in an offseason blockbuster trade after holding onto him at the trade deadline.

“Minnesota is navigating over $400 million in debt and the potential sale of the team,” Kline wrote. “Ryan is controllable through 2027 at a bargain price, but there’s no way the Twins are ready to pay him in a couple years. I don’t care who the new owners are.

“As such, we should expect Minnesota to circle back to trade talks for Ryan next offseason, when the market expands and more teams think they have what it takes to contend. The 29-year-old has a 2.82 ERA and 0.92 WHIP with 137 strikeouts in 121.1 innings this season. He’s a stud. Minnesota can get a very nice return package when the time comes.”

Ryan will have a lot of value in the offseason, too.

From the Twins’ perspective, it would make sense to trade him. Two weeks ago, it wouldn’t have made sense to trade him, but after blowing up the roster at the trade deadline, holding onto the star righty doesn’t make much sense.

The Twins are no longer on the cusp of contending. They’re very far away at this point. Holding Ryan would help the Twins win a few more games, but it wouldn’t make them a competitive team again. Trading him would net the team a haul of prospects to build for the future.

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