MINNEAPOLIS – The mound at Target Field was the scene of a welcome sight on Tuesday as injured starter Joe Ryan made his first return to the bump.
Ryan threw 20 to 25 pitches off the mound, his first such action since his last game, which came Aug. 4 at Kansas City. He was placed on the 15-day IL three days later with a strained left glute muscle.
“It's a step in the right direction, for sure,” said Ryan, who is 6-8 with a 3.65 ERA in 23 starts this season but has struggled since pitching a scoreless inning in the All-Star Game. The Twins would like nothing more than to see Ryan recover quickly enough to rejoin the rotation sometime during the September stretch run.
“He’s a very important part of our team, and to see him out there and be healthy … the first step in the progression to getting him back,” said manager Derek Shelton, who added that Ryan looked “free and easy” throwing on Tuesday.
While there remains no timetable for Ryan’s return, Tuesday’s developments are encouraging for a team that will need all hands on deck in the race to reach the playoffs.
“I think anytime a guy's dealing with an injury, to be able to cross hurdles like that, it's extremely important,” Shelton said. “Today was just all fastballs. So then the next step is we're going to mix in some breaking balls. I think the most encouraging sign was the way he was moving today. It looked really good.”
Ryan resumed playing catch on Aug. 10, so he shouldn’t have to knock much rust off his arm as he increases his activity.
“We didn't really take too many days off of throwing, so that was good,” Ryan said. “Just keep your arm moving.”