The Los Angeles Dodgers will need to rely on their pitching depth early on in 2026, with Blake Snell and Gavin Stone already out for Opening Day.
One of the arms they will be looking at to step up is River Ryan, who MLB Pipeline ranks as their No. 6 overall prospect. The right-hander made his MLB debut in 2024 and showed a lot of promise before being shut down for the season due to injury after four starts.
Ryan was also inactive for the entire 2025 season as he recovered from Tommy John surgery.
He is back on the mound in 2026 and factors into the tremendous depth the Dodgers have in their rotation. The 27-year-old has yet to start a Cactus League game for the Dodgers, but has tossed at least two innings in back-to-back outings.
L.A. is still thinking through what role they want the right-hander to play in the pitching staff this season, but plans on letting him continue his build-up throughout the spring, according to Doug Padilla of the Southern California News Group:
The Dodgers are still trying to determine a workload goal for right-hander River Ryan as he returns from Tommy John surgery. “Let him continue to build up and see where that takes us,” Roberts said.
In addition to Ryan, Roki Sasaki, Emmet Sheehan and Justin Wrobleski are also in competition for the few open spots in the rotation.
Sheehan and Wrobleski often occupied a hybrid role in the pitching staff last year, but the organization sees them as starters first and foremost. One or both may stay in that role this season, but, as with Ryan, the Dodgers are preparing them to start.
Ryan and Wrobleski have been impressive across multiple appearances, with 1.59 and 0.00 ERAs, respectively.
Sheehan’s build-up had been delayed due to an illness he contracted at the start of camp. He has struggled with control in his two appearances, surrendering two walks on March 4 in the exhibition vs Team Mexico and another three against the Milwaukee Brewers on Wednesday.
While Sheehan has struggled early on, he has earned some leeway given his strong performance last season.
River Ryan preparing as normal for 2026
Ryan said he has not been informed of any potential innings limit coming off Tommy John surgery, he told Dodger Blue.
Ryan is preparing as he normally would for this season, but he wouldn’t be surprised if the team gave him extra rest at certain points in the year.
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