Twins reach agreements with all arbitration-eligible players except Joe Ryan

Joe Ryan, one of the aces of the Twins rotation, is on the path toward an arbitration hearing to settle his rising salary for the upcoming 2026 season.

The Twins didn’t reach a financial agreement with Ryan on Thursday, Jan. 8, before the MLB deadline to exchange salary figures for arbitration-eligible players. Ryan has requested a salary of $6.35 million, and the Twins countered at $5.85 million.

If the two sides don’t resolve Ryan’s salary before the hearing, a three-person panel will pick a winner. Hearings will run from Jan. 26 to Feb. 13 in Arizona.

Ryan, who made $3 million last year, remains under team control for the next two years. Last season, he had a 13-10 record and a 3.42 ERA in 171 innings while earning a spot on his first All-Star team.

Since 2006, there have been only three Twins players who went to an arbitration hearing: Nick Gordon in 2024, José Berríos in 2020 and Kyle Gibson in 2018. The Twins won all three hearings.

The Twins reached one-year deals and avoided arbitration hearings with their other six arbitration-eligible players: Catcher Ryan Jeffers ($6.7 million), starter Bailey Ober ($5.2 million), outfielder Trevor Larnach ($4.475 million), third baseman Royce Lewis ($2.85 million), catcher Alex Jackson ($1.35 million) and reliever Cole Sands ($1.1 million).

They previously signed reliever Justin Topa to a one-year, $1.225 million deal in November to avoid arbitration.

There was a deadline in November to tender contracts to arbitration-eligible players, so the Jan. 8 deadline was solely to settle financial terms.

The Twins, who have a projected payroll around $100 million, have $64.675 million committed to 11 players, excluding Ryan, who were eligible for arbitration or were signed to long-term guaranteed deals. Plus, they owe another $10 million to Carlos Correa next December as a condition of their trade with Houston last year.

Former Twins outfielder Michael A. Taylor, who announced his retirement at the end of last season, will join the organization as an outfield instructor.

Taylor, 34, is expected to be around the team for two weeks during spring training, and he is planning to visit all their minor league affiliates during the season. The role will give Taylor a chance to assess whether he wants to enter coaching afterward.

After Taylor played one year with the Twins in 2023, manning center field when Byron Buxton was exclusively used as a designated hitter, Taylor played under new Twins manager Derek Shelton in 2024 with the Pittsburgh Pirates. When Taylor was on the Chicago White Sox in 2025, he worked with new Twins outfield/first-base coach Grady Sizemore.

“The first day that Oneil went out, and then from there on out, Michael A. Taylor was standing by his side, helping coach him and teaching him along the way,” said Shelton, adding that Cruz’s move to center came at the expense of Taylor’s playing time. “I think it just speaks to the quality of human being.”

Former Twins General Manager Thad Levine, who didn’t have his contract extended after the 2024 season, is joining the Milwaukee Brewers as a special adviser to baseball operations.