MILWAUKEE – The Twins haven't announced whether they will move to a six-man rotation, but they are planning to activate Joe Ryan from the injured list as soon as Saturday.
Ryan, who was sidelined because of a left groin strain, permitted one hit and one run across four innings in his only Class AAA rehabilitation start. He struck out seven and walked two in 71 pitches.
The Twins have Pablo López scheduled to start Thursday's series opener against the Texas Rangers and Sonny Gray is slated to pitch Friday. The starters for Saturday and Sunday have yet to be announced, but manager Rocco Baldelli said Ryan will likely be one of them.
"I don't know the implications with the bullpen and all that stuff, but yeah, if we can afford to do that, I think that's great," Ryan said of the possibility of a six-man rotation. "Give everyone a little extra rest, especially trying to go deep here into the year. I think that totally makes sense."
Another option, aside from a six-man rotation, is piggybacking starters. The lefthanded Dallas Keuchel, who pitched 6⅓ perfect innings against the Pittsburgh Pirates on Sunday, could pair with another starter, and one of them pitches in relief.
In Ryan's last seven starts, he posted an 8.63 ERA and allowed 17 home runs in 32⅓ innings. His groin injury contributed to some of his struggles, but he worked with pitching development specialist Matt Daniels in St. Paul.
With Daniels watching bullpens, Ryan said he ironed things out in his delivery.
"That was a piece that I hadn't really thought of much is when you're compensating, you're moving a lot different," said Ryan, who traveled with the Twins to Milwaukee and threw a bullpen session Tuesday. "Just getting some of that rhythm back was important and we got that."If the Twins implement a six-man rotation, or a piggyback system, they can monitor innings for Bailey Ober and/or Kenta Maeda."