River Ryan’s New Beginning Comes in the Midst of His Comeback

TOLEDO, Ohio — River Ryan’s phone rang around 9:00 p.m.

He and his wife were getting their one-year-old ready for bed when the news came in.

“It just kind of happened really quick,” Ryan said. “My agent called me and said, ‘You’ve been traded to the Detroit Tigers.’”

“I kind of figured something was going to happen. I knew the situation (the Tigers) were in.”

What made the situation even more unique for the 28-year-old was changing organizations in the midst of a stint on the injured list.

After suffering a hamstring injury with Triple-A Oklahoma City in June, Ryan admits his move from the Dodgers’ rehabilitation guidance to the Tigers’ program has been seamless.

“The Tigers definitely just picked up where the rehabilitation was left off, and I guess just made their own adjustments to it,” Ryan said. “It was just a smooth flow into that role.”

Since the Padres selected him in the 11th round in 2021, Ryan has been through the trade process before. A year after he was drafted, the Padres traded Ryan to the Dodgers in exchange for infielder Matt Beaty.

“I think since I’ve been through the trading process before, I kind of knew what to expect,” Ryan said. “Transitioning over to another team, meeting all new people, becoming acquainted with everybody. That was pretty easy because I’ve been through it before and I had a reference.

“I think the transition, as far as being traded on the injured list and then switching to a whole other organization and continuing through that process, I think Detroit made it really easy. I think it was definitely a lot more hands-on with the Detroit organization. I feel like there was a lot more care involved, which was fantastic.”

“They are being really involved in the day-to-day with me,” Ryan said. “They’re all watching my outings, my bullpens. I mean, that’s really it. They’re just really trying to be as involved as they can on a day-to-day basis.”

That involvement has extended to Ryan’s routine, where he has made adjustments he believes are helping him regain trust in his body since returning from injury.

“I definitely think I’ve tweaked it a little bit, in a sense of just putting my body in my routine,” Ryan said. “Putting my body in positions that I’m going to be in on the mound, if that makes sense. And kind of warm it up to that.

“My landing leg, that’s been my struggle this year with injury. So during my routine, I’ll go in there and get in that position and do some isometric stuff with it. Not anything like weightlifting with it, but I definitely get it warmed up and used to what it’s about to endure.”

The 6-foot-2 right-hander works an arsenal of six pitches: a four-seam fastball, cutter, sinker, curve, slider and changeup.

A lesser-known offering in Ryan’s back pocket is a sweeper that he debuted during spring training.

“In the offseason, it was working really well, and I thought I’d be able to really implement it,” Ryan said. “I don’t know if that’s just because I was in the Pacific Coast League or Arizona when I would go to throw it, but it wasn’t doing what it was doing when I was on the east side of the country.

“I think I threw it twice in spring training. I got a strikeout on it, but the Dodgers’ organization is essentially like, ‘You don’t really need to throw it.’”

Another change for Ryan since moving to a new league has been how his pitches move. Like with his sweeper, Ryan is already seeing improvements in the movement he produces, largely due to the altitude change from the Pacific Coast League to the International League.

“It’s actually nice pitching where the balls are actually going to do what I think they’re going to do,” Ryan said. “I’m not pitching at an altitude where you don’t know what’s going to happen with the baseball. It’s been really nice seeing my pitches do what they should be doing and just getting used to finding different start lines with it, obviously.

“My best example I can give, I would say my changeup. I have to start it almost more on the other side of the plate now, versus kind of on the right side of the plate because it’s going to move. It’s moving like eight or nine inches more than it was when I was in the Pacific Coast League. So yeah, it’s great. I’m going to have to adjust as far as sidelines and stuff, but other than that, it’s been great.”

Mentally, Ryan is pleased with where he’s at and physically, he’s continuing to progress. Balancing both sides of a return from injury, Ryan is finding the balance he’s been looking for.

“There are two sides to it,” Ryan said. “One is more significant than the other. Obviously, from a fleshly standpoint, it can be nerve-wracking sometimes because you can struggle with injury and you want it to go well; you want to walk off the mound healthy.

“More importantly, I trust in God and know He has a plan written out for me that nobody else could draw up. So just trusting in what His plan is for my life and that just takes 99% of the stress out of it.”

For Ryan, a new atmosphere means a new opportunity to raise his development to another level.

From a scout’s perspective, Ryan brings plenty to the table.

“He’s multi-faceted,” a National League scout said. “I’ve always found him intriguing. I think if the Tigers can find the rhythm that keeps him healthy, that’s an arm that could be really useful for this going forward.”