Los Angeles Dodgers pitcher River Ryan could be a potential trade candidate for the team, which is looking to add relief pitching and outfield depth.
Ryan spent the entire 2025 season rehabbing from Tommy John surgery, the procedure that tends to require the most rehabilitation.
He made his MLB debut in 2024, in the middle of the season after the Dodgers were hit hard by injuries, and he allowed just three runs in 20.1 innings.
Sadly, he could not make it to the postseason because of the injury, leading him to miss out on two straight World Series titles.
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Considering how poor the Dodgers’ bullpen was in 2025, Ryan would have gotten every chance to establish himself as a high-leverage arm.
Heading into 2026, he will be ready for Spring Training, though, according to MLB.com’s Sonja Chen, Ryan could be dealt as the team looks to address a pressing need. At 27, he is a valuable asset in the trade market as part of a larger package.
“As someone with tantalizing potential, but a limited track record and the uncertainty that comes after Tommy John surgery, Ryan could be an interesting trade chip for the Dodgers,” Chen wrote.
“Or they could bet on the exciting young arm they saw in 2024 becoming a valuable part of their rotation in the foreseeable future.”
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Ryan is going to have a tough time cracking the rotation — a unit regarded as the best in baseball — though he would be extremely valuable out of the bullpen and could provide spot starts that help keep the starters healthy for October.
Manager Dave Roberts expressed his excitement about Ryan’s return to the team, hoping he is motivated by the success the team has achieved.
“I’m excited for River. I’m excited for Gavin,” Roberts said at the Winter Meetings.
“Because to see your teammates celebrate and go through what we went through and not be able to participate, those are things that we’re all betting on for that extra hunger to kind of make their impact in 2026.”
Photo Credit Kiyoshi Mio-Imagn Images
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3 Responses
Stone and Ryan will have to show a lot in spring training. I believe Stone has the edge based on how he was pitching when he got hurt, having the best season of his career. He was spotting his pitches and getting outs, the most important stat. Ryan had a more serious injury so how he returns in the spring will say a lot, He is the odd man out because he will not be satisfied being in the bull pen and would be an excellent trade chip for someone willing to take a chance on his injured shoulder… There won’t be any room in the rotation for up to 4 years out so it is better to trade him while his value and potential is still high There are three players competing for one spot and Roki Sasaki seems to have the inside edge at the moment. Plus you have Emmett Sheehan in the mix, even though he could be a trade chip as well for the same reason. Too many good pitchers even with a 6 man rotation and one (or more) will end up going elsewhere just to keep the line moving…
I’m curious why the Dodgers don’t utilize pithers like Stone, Ryan, Sheehan, Hurt with a different approach than just thinking of them as starting pitchers. Instead of repeating the same old patterns from year to year and decade to decade where a SP is taken out of the game and replaced with a RP who will mostly either pitch 1 or 2 innings depending on their results of retiring batters. Then they will usually not be available the next day (especially if they had to pitch 2 innings). So that now puts more pressure on the other RPs who are available. Why not start using the afrementioned starting pitchers as relief pitchers (RP) who can then give them 3-4 innings which saves the team from using 3-4 RPs. If you do that once every other week, that would be a tremendous help in avoiding the relief corp from wearing down so quickly as we experienced the last few years. Would love to hear the advsise of some well informed pitching coaches or other seasoned voices. Thanks Bfw
You can never have enough pitching, some will be on the DL