Dodgers Lose Yet Another Pitcher to Tommy John Surgery

The Los Angeles Dodgers have lost yet another pitcher to season-ending surgery.

On Tuesday, the team announced that rookie right-handed pitcher River Ryan will undergo Tommy John surgery. The Dodgers announced on Sunday that Ryan’s season was over after suffering a sprained ulner collateral ligament in his right elbow. Now, he’s at risk of missing most, if not all, of the 2025 season, as well.

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Ryan left his start Saturday against the Pittsburgh Pirates after 4.2 shutout innings with what the team called forearm tightness. After the game, though, he told reporters that he wasn’t too concerned.

“Not very (concerned),” Ryan said. “I feel pretty solid right now. We took some tests, it’s strong. I’m going to go to a doctor tomorrow morning. See how it is.”

Unfortunately, tests confirmed that it was much worse than initially expected, and Ryan will now be shelved for the foreseeable future. Ryan was in the midst of an incredible rookie season, sporting a 1.33 ERA across four starts.

Ryan joins a long list of Dodgers pitchers to have Tommy John or elbow surgeries in the last couple years.

Emmet Sheehan and Kyle Hurt, two up-and-coming pitchers in the Dodgers organization, underwent Tommy John surgery earlier this season. Tony Gonsolin hasn’t pitched this season after he had Tommy John surgery last year, while Dustin May will miss the entire 2024 season due to multiple surgeries. Walker Buehler missed nearly two years after he had his second Tommy John surgery in 2022.

Moreover, Shohei Ohtani is only a one-way player this year after he had elbow surgery to repair a torn UCL last year. He’s expected to return to the mound in 2025.

On top of those issues, the Dodgers have been ravaged by other injuries to many of their star players. Mookie Betts missed nearly two months with a fractured hand before making his emphatic return on Monday night. Clayton Kershaw missed the first four months of the season after he had offseason shoulder surgery. Max Muncy has been out since mid-May with an oblique issue, while Brusdar Graterol was able to throw just eight pitches this year before suffering a potential season-ending injury.

Read more: Dodgers Pitcher Suffers Possible Season-Ending Injury Eight Pitches Into His Season

Despite all the injuries, the Dodgers have been able to remain afloat, and currently have the best record in the National League at 70-49. Still, they’re trying to get to the bottom of this elbow injury epidemic.

“We’re trying to figure out. Is there an acute thing, is there an overarching issue to get at?” Dodgers general manager Brandon Gomes said on Monday. “Right now, I wish I had more answers, but we continue to dig. I think we’re seeing it across the industry, and we feel it more acutely when it happens to us, but I don’t think that this is all that unique.”

As for Ryan, he thinks the pitch clock definitely has something to do with it.

“The pitch clock definitely makes you speed up a lot, which back in the day you didn’t have to speed up as much when you threw,” Ryan said. “Throwing back-to-back pitches within 15 seconds, it starts to take a toll.”