Dodgers' Dave Roberts Provides Unfortunate Update On River Ryan Injury

Maren Angus-Coombs | Aug 11, 2024

Kiyoshi Mio-USA TODAY Sports

The Los Angeles Dodgers have lost another pitch to the injured list.

River Ryan, who exited Saturday night's game against the Pittsburgh Pirates in the fifth inning alongside a trainer, will now be done for the rest of the season according to manager Dave Roberts.

Roberts met with reporters from the dugout at Dodger Stadium and said the following about the rookie: “I don’t know the exact diagnosis, but his season is going to be over. I think they’re waiting on some other scans to figure out the exact course of action. Obviously, right now, what I can say is his season is going to be over.”

Ryan excelled in his first four starts posting a 1.33 ERA. As the No. 4 prospect in the Dodgers farm system, he should be considered a part of the club's future rotation plans.

Luckily, the Dodgers are set to recall Walker Buehler from his rehab assignment with Triple-A Oklahoma City on Wednesday against the Brewers in Milwaukee. They also activated Landon Knack on Sunday.

Ryan, who allowed just four hits over 4.2 scoreless innings, was immediately seen shaking his right arm in discomfort. The Dodgers later announced that he left with right forearm tightness.

The discomfort began in the third inning, according to Ryan. He worked on it between innings with a massage gun to keep it loose but as he fired off two pitches to Michael A. Taylor, he couldn't hide his facial expression.

River Ryan on if he's concerned about the forearm tightness:

"Not very. I feel pretty solid right now. We took some tests it's strong. I'm going to go to a doctor tomorrow morning. See how it is. I didn't want to come out of the game. I begged Doc to let me keep going." pic.twitter.com/AiHbGOEvvt

— Doug McKain (@DMAC_LA) August 11, 2024

“I definitely didn’t want to come out of the game,” Ryan said on Saturday. “I wanted to finish. But they saw me grimace a little bit on the mound, and they’re not going to take any chances. So they decided to call it then and there.”

Ryan was called up to make his big league debut much earlier than expected because of all the injuries to the Dodgers pitching staff. Altogether, Los Angeles has had 11 starters land on the injured list at least once this season.

“It’s been challenging,” Roberts said. “Personally, I feel for each guy, because it’s their careers and I know how hard it is. Most recently with River and how disappointed he is, but it’s one of those things that there’s some sensitivity in the sense of feeling it, but also making the guys available feel like they’re the best options. I think they’ve done a really good job of picking up the pieces, and the guys who are available are giving us the best chance to win.”