Dave Roberts Praises Dodgers Pitcher in Midst of Rotation Battle

The Los Angeles Dodgers once again are faced with starting rotation questions as Blake Snell isn't healthy, Roki Sasaki is trying to find his mechanics and Gavin Stone is shut down for multiple weeks.

Stone was among the candidates to make the Dodgers' Opening Day rotation in response to Snell being slowed by left shoulder inflammation. The team still has enough options to fill that void, though a second spot could be created if Emmet Sheehan doesn't get back on track after dealing with an illness.

Sheehan should have enough time to stretch out if he gets into a Cactus League game this week. Meanwhile, River Ryan and Justin Wrobleski are in position to battle for a spot in the Dodgers' rotation.

Ryan drew more praise from Dodgers manager Dave Roberts following his latest appearance, viaJack Harris of the California Post.

"I thought he looked like a major league pitcher today and not just a guy with a lot of stuff. So that was encouraging. For him to punch out Ramírez on a breaking ball, that's a real hitter. Hopefully that's a confidence builder for him too."

Thus far, Ryan's two appearances of the spring have both come out of the bullpen. He threw a scoreless inning against the Arizona Diamondbacks, and pitched two innings in relief on Tuesday. Ryan walked one and struck out three against the Cleveland Guardians.

He issued a leadoff walk and proceeded to retire the next six batters faced. One of Ryan's strikeouts came against Guardians All-Star José Ramírez.

Earlier this spring, Roberts remarked that Stone was further along than Ryan in his return from surgery, but that both were faring well all things considered.

"River, the stuff is good. The command early on is not there. It will get better," Roberts said. "But the ball is coming out, so that's good. He's healthy. I think just kind of tightening up the command.

"Gavin has been really good. Gavin has been further along since his post-surgery, so he's in a good spot."

Ryan made just four starts in 2024 before undergoing Tommy John surgery.

River Ryan transformed physique

With a plan to not return until this year, Ryan's rehab process included adding 30 pounds of muscle to his 6'2" frame.

"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 195 pounds, and now I'm hovering around 225," Ryan said. "That's helped a lot. 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 go out there and perform."