River Ryan is making a case for a rotation spot with strong spring training outings
The The Los Angeles Dodgers have an abundance of wealthwith all kinds of All-Stars in the rotation, bench and starting lineup. Some of the Dodgers’ more obscure players also make a strong statement on spring training. That includes pitcher River Ryan, who had an outstanding trip on Tuesday.
“Impressive outing from River Ryan today. After a leadoff walk, he retired six batters in two scoreless innings. He had three strikeouts, including a pair of 92 mph sliders against Jose Ramirez and David Frye,” California Post reporter Jack Harris reported for X, formerly Twitter.
A video also went viral about Ryan showing off that effects slider against the Cleveland Guardians. The slider was one of several different pitches Ryan used on Tuesday.
River Ryan, Vicious 91mph Slider. 😤 pic.twitter.com/dvZgmCaoki
— Rob Friedman (@PitchingNinja) March 3, 2026
Ryan is considered a candidate to land a rotation spot in Los Angeles this upcoming Major League Baseball season. He would be part of a group that includes Yoshinobu Yamamoto and Tyler Glasnow.
River Ryan hopes to impress the Dodgers
Ryan was getting a lot of love online for his release on Tuesday.
“River Ryan looked like River Ryan today! Look and get out! He took the lead, which is NEVER a good thing, but then he threw a really good change, so the cutter went, 4 Sea at 95.5, and then another well-placed change up,” posted the Dodgers Daily on Ks account.
The pitcher has started four games in his MLB career. They all came in 2024 with the Dodgers. That season, he finished the year with one win and a 1.33 ERA.
Ryan missed the entire 2025 season after recovering from Tommy John surgery. The Dodgers are excited to see how he impacts the team moving forward. He and fellow Dodgers pitcher Gavin Stone are coming back from injuries.
“I’m excited for River. I’m excited for Gavin,” Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said at the MLB Winter Meetings, according to MLB.com. “To see your teammates celebrate and go through what we went through and not be able to participate, those are the things we’re all betting that that extra hunger would have an impact in 2026.”
The Dodgers go into 2026 on back-to-back World Series championships.
2026-03-03 22:46:00
