Right-hander River Ryan, the Los Angeles Dodgers’ top pitching prospect, will require Tommy John surgery, the team announced Tuesday.
It’s the latest blow for an injury-plagued pitching staff that has been held together seemingly by duct tape. MLB.com reported 11 L.A. starters have spent time on the injured list this season.
Manager Dave Roberts said Sunday, without the benefit of full medical scans, that Ryan would miss the season. Now, Ryan potentially is on the shelf for all of 2025, too.
Ryan made his major-league debut on July 22 and started four games, going 1-0 with a 1.33 ERA. He gave up four runs (three earned) on 15 hits and nine walks in 20 1/3 innings. He struck out 18.
On Saturday, pitching against the Pittsburgh Pirates, he was removed from the game due to pain in his right forearm after 4 2/3 scoreless innings.
Ryan, who turns 26 on Saturday, has thrown a total of 295 pitches in the majors.
The Dodgers currently are relying on a rotation of Tyler Glasnow, Clayton Kershaw, Jack Flaherty and Gavin Stone.
Glasnow spent part of July on the injured list with lower-back tightness, and Kershaw has made four starts after missing the start of the season due to offseason shoulder surgery.
Flaherty was acquired from the Detroit Tigers at the trade deadline. Stone has started 21 games for the Dodgers, who have starters Yoshinobu Yamamoto, Walker Buehler, Dustin May, Emmet Sheehan and Tony Gonsolin on the injured list.
Buehler, sidelined since mid-June by a hip issue, is expected to be activated to pitch Wednesday against the Milwaukee Brewers.
–Field Level Media