Los Angeles Dodgers rookie River Ryan is scheduled to undergo Tommy John surgery. The procedure is expected to be completed by Dr. Neal ElAttrache.
Ryan needing Tommy John surgery doesn’t come as much of a surprise considering the nature of his injury and that Dodgers manager Dave Roberts had already revealed he would miss the remainder of the 2024 season.
“It was a UCL strain. I don’t now which grade it is. All I know is this is going to be the season,” Roberts said on Sunday.
Ryan was removed early from his start over the weekend against the Pittsburgh Pirates due to what was initially described as right forearm tightness.
“I definitely didn’t want to come out of the game, I wanted to finish,” Ryan said after the Dodgers’ win. “But they saw me grimace a little bit on the mound, and they’re not going to take any chances, so they decided to end it there.”
He also expressed hope the injury would not be too serious but an MRI and additional testing the following morning revealed that Ryan sustained a strained ulnar collateral ligament (UCL) in his right elbow.
The right-hander was only four starts into his MLB career and had been a pleasant surprise for the Dodgers. Ryan went 1-0 with a 1.33 ERA, 3.38 FIP and 1.18 WHIP in 20.1 innings at the big league level.
What Tommy John surgery means for River Ryan
Needing Tommy John not only ends Ryan’s bid to continue making an impact for the Dodgers this year and potentially in the playoffs, but it puts his 2025 season in jeopardy as well.
The 25-year-old joins a long list of injured Dodgers pitchers, which includes Kyle Hurt having Tommy John surgery last month.
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