Quiet Twins turmoil could give Red Sox a lifeline for Joe Ryan dream

The Boston Red Sox are among the hottest teams in baseball as we begin the second half of the campaign. We should expect Craig Breslow to operate aggressively after preaching a win-now mentality all year. The Rafael Devers trade, if nothing else, freed up a bit of long-term financial flexibility as the Red Sox scour the marketplace for upgrades.

Among the most popular hypothetical trade targets is Minnesota Twins ace Joe Ryan. The talented righty was seen chumming it up with Alex Bregman and Garrett Crochet at the All-Star Game, which only intensified speculation about a potential move to Boston.

On the other hand, Minnesota is 47-51, still within striking distance of the AL Wild Card race. The Twins also have Ryan under arbitration through 2027, so there's no real pressure to deal him. Ryan is enjoying his best season to date, posting a 2.72 ERA and 0.92 WHIP through 19 appearances (18 starts). FanSided's Robert Murray reports that Minnesota has not discussed trading Ryan with other teams.

And yet, the dream is not dead completely for Red Sox fans. A Ryan trade definitely qualifies as improbable, but Minnesota's complicated financial situation could prop the door open just enough for Craig Breslow to sneak in with an aggressive offer.

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Twins' looming sale could give Red Sox necessary Joe Ryan trade ammo

The Pohlad family is in active discussions to sell the Twins franchise, with a price point around $1.7 billion. This is great news for fans who want to see the front office operate with more financial freedom. And yet, right now, these talks could restrict Minnesota's spending even more.

According to USA Today's Bob Nightengale, the Twins are $450 million in debt — a number that has prospective buyers spooked when packaged with a multi-billion dollar sale price.

Whether it's current ownership or new ownership, there's a good chance Minnesota will spend the next several years attempting to get out from under that mound of debt. That means shedding costs, which could include the increasingly substantial arbirtation-level deals Ryan will get over the next couple seasons.

Nothing can help a contender quite like a small-market team with a perceived financial crunch.

Red Sox need to pounce on Twins' financial weakness

Breslow seems to understand the opportunity laid out in front of him. The AL East is stacked with four good teams, but none of them are juggernauts. In fact, the American League as a whole is short on the juggernaut front. The Tigers are great, but a bad bullpen might undermine their postseason hopes. Houston has talent for days, but the injuries just keeping piling up.

The Red Sox are plenty talented, with big-market spending capacity and incredibly positive momentum entering the second half of the campaign. Now is the time to strike while the iron is hot and pounce on a potential postseason game-changer in Ryan.

Lucas Giolito and Brayan Bello look better now than they did a few months ago, but Garrett Crochet is the only Red Sox starter who feels truly dependable in a postseason setting. Ryan would give the Red Sox another shutdown arm come October.