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The Dodgers introduced Tuesday that prime pitching prospect River Ryan will bear Tommy John surgical procedure. He’ll miss the rest of the 2024 season and fairly probably the entire 2025 marketing campaign whereas recovering. Ryan, who posted a 1.33 ERA by means of his first 4 huge league begins, hit the injured checklist over the weekend after struggling a UCL sprain in his most up-to-date begin.
Ryan’s 2024 season was already recognized to be over, however the Tommy John process marks a worst-case situation within the wake of his UCL damage. An inside brace process may’ve include a shorter timeline for restoration, however he’ll require a full ligament substitute, which tends to shelve pitchers for upwards of 14 months. Each rehab course of is completely different, and there’s all the time an opportunity Ryan may heal a bit quicker than the usual pitcher, however a 12-month restoration is usually an absolute minimal for pitchers who require Tommy John surgical procedure.
The 25-year-old Ryan was an Eleventh-round choose by the Padres in 2021. He went to the Dodgers in a commerce that now appears to be like like a heist, sending first baseman/outfielder Matt Beaty again to San Diego. (Beaty performed in 20 video games with the Padres and hit .093/.170/.163 earlier than being lower free.) Ryan hadn’t even made his skilled debut on the time and had signed for a $100K bonus, so he was hardly a high-end prospect. Ryan merely attending to the majors would’ve been a participant improvement success story for Los Angeles, however he as an alternative ascended to the purpose the place he’s thought to be one of many prime pitching prospects within the sport. Ryan climbed as excessive as No. 21 total on FanGraphs’ top-100 prospect rankings and sits 99th on MLB.com’s top-100 checklist in the intervening time.
The reasoning behind that rise isn’t particularly troublesome to see. Ryan spent the vast majority of the 2023 season in Double-A and pitched to a tidy 3.33 ERA in 97 1/3 frames earlier than being bumped to Triple-A late within the 12 months. He was hit laborious in these two begins however returned to Triple-A this 12 months and carved up opponents with a 2.76 ERA, 28.8% strikeout charge and 9.1% stroll charge in 5 begins. He was restricted within the minors this season because of a shoulder damage, however Ryan graduated to the majors with a 3.22 ERA, 28.5% strikeout charge and 10% stroll charge in components of three skilled seasons since being traded to the Dodgers group.
Ryan turns into the newest Dodgers hurler to land on the injured checklist in what’s been a attempting season for his or her rotation depth. Los Angeles entered the 12 months with Clayton Kershaw on the injured checklist and figuring out that Tony Gonsolin would miss most/the entire season recovering from final summer season’s Tommy John surgical procedure. They’ve since seen Emmet Sheehan (Tommy John surgical procedure) and Dustin May (esophageal surgical procedure) fall to season-ending surgical procedures, whereas Yoshinobu Yamamoto (strained rotator cuff) and Walker Buehler (hip and elbow) land on the shelf with long-term damage troubles of their very own. Prospects Nick Frasso (shoulder surgical procedure) and Kyle Hurt (Tommy John surgical procedure) are on the minor league injured checklist and performed for the 12 months as effectively. Final 12 months’s breakout right-hander, Bobby Miller, has made simply seven MLB begins and been ineffective each with the Dodgers and with Triple-Some time navigating a shoulder damage of his personal.
With that laundry checklist of accidents, the Dodgers at present have a rotation that features Kershaw, Tyler Glasnow, Gavin Stone and deadline pickup Jack Flaherty. Buehler is predicted to return from the injured checklist later this week, however he’s been bludgeoned for a 5.84 ERA in eight huge league begins and has a 5.01 mark in one other eight Triple-A begins this season — his first 12 months again from 2022 Tommy John surgical procedure. He provided a glimmer of hope in his most up-to-date rehab begin, tossing 5 1/3 innings and holding the Rangers’ Triple-A membership to 1 run on one hit and three walks with 5 punchouts.
As a result of Ryan’s damage occurred whereas pitching on the huge league degree, he’s on the MLB injured checklist and can spend his 2025 rehab on the large league injured checklist as effectively. He’ll earn main league pay and repair time whereas recovering from the damage. That’ll give him a minimum of a full 12 months of service whereas he recovers, placing him on observe for arbitration within the 2027-28 offseason and free company following the 2030 season. After all, future non-obligatory assignments might change one or each of these trajectories, and for now the instant focus will merely shift to the lengthy strategy of getting the proficient younger righty again to full power with a watch towards a late-2025 or early-2026 return.
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