Los Angeles Dodgers rookie right-handed pitcher River Ryan will not play for the rest of the season because of an elbow injury he got during his fourth major league start on Saturday against the Pittsburgh Pirates.
Dodgers manager Dave Roberts didn’t have detailed information about Ryan’s injury after the 25-year-old had an MRI on Sunday morning. Roberts mentioned that Tommy John surgery might be considered for Ryan, who was traded from the San Diego Padres in March 2022.
“They are waiting on other scans to decide the next steps,” Roberts said.
Ryan had a record of 1-0 with the Dodgers this season and a 1.33 ERA. He pitched 4 2/3 scoreless innings before leaving Saturday’s game. In eight minor league starts this year across three levels, he had a 2.22 ERA.
The Dodgers had limited his minor league play to 49 games (45 starts) over three seasons.
Ryan felt tightness in his forearm during the third inning on Saturday and kept pitching until he was taken out in the fifth inning after feeling pain following a pitch to the Pirates’ Michael A. Taylor.
“It’s part of the game, man,” Ryan said after the game. “The pitch clock definitely makes you speed up a lot. Back in the day, you didn’t have to rush as much when you threw.
So throwing back-to-back pitches in 15 seconds starts to take a toll. But we’ll see how it turns out.”
