Right-hander River Ryan of the Los Angeles Dodgers’ first major league stint came to an end in the fifth inning of his fourth career start. The Dodgers said on Tuesday that the 25-year-old would have Tommy John surgery, putting his 2025 future in danger.
After a misplayed slider to outfielder Michael A. Taylor, Ryan shook his hand and left Saturday’s start against the Pittsburgh Pirates. Two innings earlier, he would complained of forearm pain, but he brushed off any worries following the game. Following more testing, which identified a sprained ulnar collateral ligament, specialists were consulted once more on Monday, and surgery was ultimately decided upon.
Owing to the injury’s timing, Ryan is unlikely to play a significant role in the Dodgers’ plans for the upcoming season. After Tommy John surgery, recovery typically takes between 12 and 18 months.
In his debut major league appearance, Ryan, the former infielder turned outfielder, made an impression. Ryan “was making a case for himself,” according to manager Dave Roberts, to be included in the Dodgers’ hazy rotation plans for their final stretch. In 20 1/3 innings, Ryan gave up just three earned runs with a 1.33 ERA, and he was pressed into starts more than at any other point in the two years since the Dodgers acquired him in exchange for Matt Beaty and forced the two-way athlete to pitch solely.
After Kyle Hurt and Emmet Sheehan, he is now the third prominent young Dodgers pitcher to have Tommy John surgery this season. The team has already lost former All-Star Tony Gonsolin for the whole 2024 season due to the procedure he had about a year ago. Prior to needing emergency surgery last month for a ruptured esophagus, Dustin May had undergone surgery to repair his flexor tendon and modify his 2021 Tommy John treatment. As a result, he has missed the entire season.
The Dodgers team has experienced an alarming number of injuries; in fact, more days and production have been lost to the injured list than any other team in baseball, according to Baseball Prospectus’ injury ledger. Although five were anticipated to begin the season there over the offseason, Ryan became the 11th starting pitcher the Dodgers have placed on the disabled list only this season.
“We’re looking into it and trying to figure out: Is there an acute thing? Is there an over-arching issue to get at?” Dodgers general manager Brandon Gomes said this week about the glut of impactful players on the shelf. “Right now, I wish I had more answers but we continue to dig. We’re seeing it across the industry. We feel it more acutely when it happens to us. But I don’t think this is all that unique.”
(Photo of River Ryan: Thearon W. Henderson / Getty Images)
