KANSAS CITY – A day after his third consecutive subpar start, Joe Ryan has gone to Minnesota to be evaluated by Twins head team physician Dr. Christopher Camp.
The area of concern is not his arm, but “more back and glute issues,” according to Twins manager Derek Shelton.
“It’s very obvious that Joe is frustrated with where he’s at, and I think we owe it to him and to us to kind of figure out, and give ourselves the best situation to figure out where he’s at physically,” Shelton said prior to Wednesday’s game against the Royals.
Ryan’s next rotation turn would be Sunday in Milwaukee, but that is “in question” for the time being according to Shelton. He has not been ruled out but the team is not assuming he will make that start.
Ryan pitched 5 1/3 innings in a loss to the Royals on Tuesday night, allowing five runs (four earned) on seven hits with three strikeouts and two walks. His average fastball velocity on the night came in at 92.2 miles per hour, down more than a full tick from his season average of 93.5.
“It's been frustrating for sure,” he said after the game. “I think trying to get everything right through the week and just not getting back to where I need to be.”
He spoke in somewhat vague terms about his inability to lock in and repeat his delivery, and given the length of the slump and the frustration he expressed, the club decided it was best for him to be checked out.
Ryan, 30, has scuffled in three starts since the All-Star break, allowing 17 runs (16 earned) in 15 1/3 innings in that span. He missed time in Spring Training due to lower back discomfort and was pulled from a start after 1/3 inning in May due to elbow pain, though he pitched one of his best games of the year six days after that.
Most recently, his last start before Tuesday was pushed back three days due to what was called arm fatigue. Asked following Tuesday’s game if that was 100 percent behind him, he did not emphatically say yes.
“Yeah I guess,” he said. “Certain things I'm working on still and trying to figure out. We'll get to the bottom of it.”