Dodgers GM Reveals Timeline for River Ryan to Return From Injury

The Los Angeles Dodgers have had a great start to the 2026 season.

Unfortunately, the same cannot be said of the team's top pitching prospect, River Ryan.

In mid-April, Ryan was placed on the minor league injured list due to a hamstring injury. This week, he returned to the IL with the same injury.

Dodgers general manager Brandon Gomes said that Ryan suffered the injury during his last Triple-A start, when he gave up eight runs on 10 hits over 4.1 innings.

Although Ryan is going on the IL, Gomes described the injury as "not anything overly serious."

“The good thing is it’s not anything overly serious,” Gomes said to The Athletic. “[Ryan] will be able to keep throwing, just not off the mound. Obviously, we’ll continue to look at what are the things we can do to make sure this doesn’t happen again."

Gomes added that he hopes Ryan could be an option for the team sooner rather than later.

“It’s frustrating for River and unfortunate that he’s not able to continue right now," he said. "Now we’re just looking towards figuring out how to handle this and put it behind him, so he can be an option for us in a few weeks moving forward.”

Dodgers Taking Cautious Approach With River Ryan

Earlier this season, Ryan missed over a month of action with his hamstring injury. When healthy, though, he's been dominant this season.

Although he holds a 4.46 ERA and a 1.30 WHIP, most of that damage came in the aforementioned bad outing. Before that, he had a 2.81 ERA, and he currently has 43 strikeouts to just eight walks over 36.1 innings of work.

Ryan has appeared in four career games in MLB, all coming in 2024. He missed the entire 2025 season recovering from Tommy John surgery, and the hope was that he could make an impact sometime in 2026.

However, that has not yet been the case due to injuries.

Making the jump from the minors to the majors is never easy, especially after recovering from a major procedure like Tommy John. That's why Dodgers president of baseball operations Andrew Friedman said the team is taking a cautious approach with the 27-year-old, ensuring he is fully prepared when his moment eventually comes.

“Especially with our young pitchers, as much patience as we can exercise when they’re coming back from a major surgery, the better,” Dodgers president of baseball operations Andrew Friedman said to The Athletic recently. “The level of intensity is different at the major league level than it is in the minor leagues.”

Ryan is still expected to help the team sometime over the next few months. For now, though, he'll focus on getting and staying healthy.

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