Los Angeles Dodgers right-hander River Ryan will miss the rest of the season due to a right elbow injury, manager Dave Roberts said Sunday.
Ryan underwent an MRI exam on Sunday that detected some damage. Roberts said the medical staff hasn’t ruled out Tommy John surgery for Ryan.
“I don’t know the exact diagnosis, but his season is going to be over,” Roberts said. “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 was placed on the 15-day injured list on Sunday, and the team recalled fellow rookie right-hander Landon Knack from Triple-A Oklahoma City.
Ryan, who turns 26 on Saturday, left in the fifth inning of his start Saturday against the visiting Pittsburgh Pirates. He allowed four hits while striking out four in 4 2/3 scoreless innings as the Dodgers went on to a 4-1 victory over All-Star pitcher Paul Skenes (6-2) and the Pirates.
Ryan felt discomfort in his right forearm in the third inning, he said, and used a massage gun to keep it loose between innings. However, his reaction to a couple of pitches against Michael A. Taylor in the fifth inning gave him away and his coaches pulled him from the game.
“I definitely didn’t want to come out of the game,” Ryan said Saturday night. “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, whose rise in the organization came with injuries decimating the Dodgers’ pitching staff, is 1-0 with a 1.33 ERA, nine walks and 18 strikeouts in 20 1/3 innings over four starts. He is the organization’s No. 4 prospect, according to MLB Pipeline.
“… I just feel bad for River,” Roberts said, “because he was pitching such a good ballgame, and was just excited, kind of feeling his energy.”
Knack, 27, is 2-2 with a 3.07 ERA, 12 walks and 42 strikeouts in 44 innings over nine games (eight starts) since making his major league debut on April 17.
The Dodgers selected him in the second round of the 2020 MLB Draft out of East Tennessee State.
–Field Level Media
