River Ryan’s Hamstring Keeps Pushing Back His Dodgers Timeline and That’s a Real Problem

River Ryan can’t catch a break, and the Dodgers are starting to feel it.

The team’s No. 6 prospect and the highest-ranked healthy pitcher in their system is headed back to the injured list. Not because of the elbow that cost him a full year after Tommy John surgery. This time it’s the hamstring again, and that’s now twice this season the same muscle group has sidelined him.

Fabian Ardaya of The Athletic reported Saturday that Ryan was placed on the minor league IL with a hamstring issue. He’d already missed time earlier in Triple-A Oklahoma City’s season with the same problem, and the Dodgers skipped his scheduled start this week before making the move official.

The right-hander had been showing real progress. Through eight starts for OKC, Ryan was 3-1 with a 4.46 ERA. The walk rate was excellent — just eight free passes in 36.1 innings — and he’d struck out 43. Those numbers aren’t flashy, but for a guy coming off major elbow reconstruction they represent real forward momentum.

Now that momentum stops. Again.

What This Means for the Dodgers Rotation

Los Angeles has been piecing things together all season. Dave Roberts has fielded questions about the staff basically since spring training, and answers have been hard to find. Injuries pile up. Schedules get shuffled. The front office keeps looking for internal options.

Ryan was supposed to be one of those options. Not necessarily tomorrow, but maybe by August or September. A power arm with swing-and-miss stuff who could give the big league club a spark when needed. That timeline now looks a lot less certain.

The Dodgers drafted Ryan in the 11th round back in 2021, originally taken by the Padres before landing in L.A. He wasn’t a hyped name on prospect lists early on, but his stuff jumped after the Dodgers tweaked his delivery and got him throwing harder. By last year he was knocking on the door before the elbow gave out.

Now it’s not the elbow. That’s some good news, at least. But a recurring hamstring issue for a pitcher who relies on lower body drive is worth monitoring closely.

For now, the Dodgers will wait. Ryan will rehab. And the rotation depth chart stays thin, which is about the last thing this team needs during a long summer in a tight division race.