River Ryan will undergo Tommy John surgery

A brutal loss

It hurts any time a pitcher heads to the IL with a significant injury. I don’t know what it is about this one, but it just seems to sting even more.

On Tuesday, it was announced that rookie starter River Ryan would undergo Tommy John surgery. His 2024 season is over…. and likely his 2025 season as well. Based on the timeline of when he’d be getting his surgery, it’s tough to imagine Ryan returning in time for the 2025 campaign, meaning we won’t see him back on the mound until 2026.

Ryan, who turns 26 this week, was a late bloomer when it comes to being a pitcher. Going back to his time in college, he had only a combined 293 innings under his belt. His arm was fresh. It didn’t matter.

This is just another injury to a Dodgers staff that has been decimated by them. By my count, this now makes FOUR current Dodgers players on the IL with Tommy John surgery. If I were to guess, that has to lead Major League Baseball.

I don’t know what it is. I wish I had a reason. I want to know why all these young pitchers are suffering these horrific injuries. It seems like every young pitcher that comes up has a guarantee that they’ll need some major surgery that will cost them a season or two.

Unfortunately I don’t think we’ll get these answers.

Ryan only made four starts with the Dodgers but he left quite the impact. In his four starts, he posted a 1.33 ERA. His fourth start was looking like his best, as he cruised through 4.2 scoreless innings against the Pirates. With a low pitch count, it was looking like he’d pitch deep into the game for LA.

He said following the game that be began to feel tightness in the third inning, but he pushed through. The fifth inning was when it became noticeable and the Dodgers immediately took him out of the game.

Based on the current state of LA’s rotation, Ryan looked as if he’d earned a spot for the remainder of the season. Not only that, he was making a solid case to be a contributor for October. Just like that, it’s all wiped out.

Again, this just really sucks because it looked like Ryan was already taking that next step towards becoming an MLB-caliber starter. He showed so many flashes of greatness in his brief time here it was hard not to get excited. I was getting ahead of myself and saying he was going to be receiving Rookie of the Year votes.

By the time he returns, Ryan is already going to be 27 years old. He’ll turn 28 during the 2026 campaign. He isn’t going to be a young beck anymore. That age is what we consider a veteran nowadays. Who knows what the starting rotation will look like in 2026. Who knows how effective he’ll be on the mound.

Hopefully he kicks ass in his recovery and looks better than before, whenever he returns to the mound. Ryan just appeared to have that “IT factor” on the mound and I thought he was going to be something special. He still can be, but we’re going to have to wait a while to find out.