The Los Angeles Dodgers’ starting pitching depth includes River Ryan, who is expected to return this year after missing the entire 2025 season while recovering from Tommy John surgery.
Ryan made his MLB debut in 2024 and impressed to the tune of a 1.33 ERA over 20.1 innings of work (four starts). After a long layoff, he is looking forward to getting back on the mound in Spring Training.
“Absolutely, I’ve been chomping at the bit to get back out there and actually participate in Major League camp,” Ryan said. “The last two years I was there, I’ve been injured and haven’t been able to participate with the team, but yeah, I’m really excited to get out there and get the show going.”
Ryan was able to get some work in toward the end of the 2025 season and had a chance to potentially pitch for the Dodgers during the playoffs but decided to take things slow.
“I’m around bullpen number 10,” Ryan explained. “Toward the end of the year in the rehab process, I had four live outings. Unfortunately, the triple-A season was over, and I couldn’t go out and do any rehab outings.
“So it was either jump straight into the playoffs or take a normal offseason build-up for ’26, and that was the consensus we came to. And I feel great. I feel healthy, feel strong, ready to go.”
Ryan detailed his recovery from Tommy John surgery and revealed that he gained roughly 30 pounds of muscle this offseason.
“It’s definitely a long process,” Ryan began. “I’ve been injured before, taking some time off, so it wasn’t like anything bombarded on me as far as anything I couldn’t handle. It was just really cool to dive into my health a little bit and put some weight on.
“Before I got hurt, I think I was like 195 pounds, and now I’m hovering around 225; that’s helped a lot. Yeah, the rehab process was a big learning curve, as far as putting time into my body and developing a really good routine for me to get ready to go out there and perform.”
Ryan attributed his weight gain to taking in more calories and lifting, consulting with the Dodgers training staff to find the perfect number.
“It’s actually kind of really simple. I just ate a lot of calories, and I lifted like an animal,” River said. “I put on like 30 pounds in five months, or something like that.
“I got to 230, actually, and then I was like, man, I had some talks with the weight coach. I was like, it’s really hard for me to move. I’ve never been this heavy. So we kind of found the honey hole of 220-225, trying to stay around there, and I feel great, I feel agile. So, yeah, that’s pretty much it. It’s really simple.”
River Ryan increased velocity on fastball
Ryan putting on more muscle has led to increased velocity on his fastball, which now hovers around 100 mph.
“Honestly, probably just gaining a lot of weight,” Ryan said. “I think I’ve always been able to throw pretty hard. But I think for me right now, I’m able to throw a lot harder, a lot easier. I’m not having to try as hard to throw upper 90s, hit 100. I think it’s the weight. Putting on some weight really has helped me in that process.”
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