Who Is River Ryan? Tigers Get Dodgers Arm in Skubal Deal

Of the three players Detroit acquired for Tarik Skubal, River Ryan is the only one who has already pitched in the majors. He has also had Tommy John surgery, missed an entire season, and watched two World Series parades from the sidelines.

River Jason Ryan was born Aug. 17, 1998 in Charlotte, North Carolina, and attended North Mecklenburg High School in Huntersville. He came to the Dodgers from San Diego in the Matt Beaty trade and is now their No. 7 prospect and No. 68 in baseball per MLB Pipeline.

Twenty innings

He opened 2024 on the minor league injured list with shoulder fatigue, did not appear in a game until June, and made five starts at Triple-A Oklahoma City before the Dodgers purchased his contract. They needed him — the rotation had been gutted by injuries, as it is most years.

He debuted July 22, 2024 against the Giants: 5.1 innings, one unearned run, two strikeouts, Tyler Fitzgerald the first man he ever struck out. Six days later in Houston he struck out eight Astros.

Four starts. Twenty and a third innings. Three earned runs, a 1.33 ERA. Then it ended.

Aug. 10, 2024, fifth inning against Pittsburgh. Tommy John surgery followed. He did not pitch again in 2025 — not in the majors, not in the minors, not in a single rehab game.

Two parades he did not get to be in

Ryan and fellow starter Gavin Stone, who had right shoulder surgery two months later, missed two postseason runs and two championships while they rehabbed.

“I’m excited for River. I’m excited for Gavin,” Dave Roberts said at the Winter Meetings last December. “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.”

He came back this spring into a rotation that had no room for him. Yamamoto, Snell, Glasnow, Ohtani, Sheehan, Sasaki. He was on the injured list again in June. He is on it now with a hamstring.

As the Dodgers go for a third straight title, he is going to Detroit.

What Detroit is betting on

Brandon Gomes said it plainly in December: “We know that pitching depth is fleeting.” The Dodgers had more starters than starts. Ryan was the surplus.

The Tigers traded two-time Cy Young winner Tarik Skubal for three players, none of whom has thrown a big league pitch this season. Ryan is the one who could change that fastest — a 27-year-old with major league experience, a 40-man roster spot, and twenty and a third innings that suggested something real. He is also the one whose value depends entirely on being available.

Detroit’s other returns are outfielder Zyhir Hope and right-hander Brady Smith.