Struggling Minnesota Twins ace Joe Ryan has been placed on the 15-day injured list after an MRI on a lower-body injury revealed a left glute strain, the team announced Friday.
With the Twins on a road trip, Ryan had returned to Minnesota to see the team doctor after he was hit hard in a loss to the Kansas City Royals on Tuesday.
"Encouraging that it's nothing serious," Twins manager Derek Shelton told reporters Thursday, according to MLB.com. "I think we're just going to have to wait and see.
"We've just got to wait and see how he feels. I think as he's talked about, and I've talked about, he looks like he's been out of sync and hasn't felt right. So I think part of it is going to be just how he feels. We'll sit down and talk as a group about what are the steps forward."
The All-Star right-hander has taken losses in his past three starts. His latest setback came Tuesday against the AL Central-worst Royals, as he allowed five runs (four earned) and seven hits in 5⅓ innings.
Ryan sits at 6-8 for the year with a 3.65 ERA.
Losing Ryan is significant for a Twins team in the thick of the AL wild-card race. Minnesota entered Friday night's series-opener against the NL-best Milwaukee Brewers a half-game back of the third and final wild-card spot.
In a corresponding move, Minnesota recalled right-hander Zebby Matthews from Triple-A St. Paul. Matthews is 4-8 with a 5.22 ERA in 14 starts this season for the Twins.