Why Dodgers Aren't Calling Up River Ryan Despite Triple-A Dominance
The Los Angeles Dodgers have plenty of pitching depth within the organization, which allows them to have replacements to call up whenever injuries take place.
So when the team lost both Blake Snell (elbow) and Tyler Glasnow (back), there were questions about why they didn't call up top prospect River Ryan.
Ryan has been making waves in Triple-A this season, proving once again why the team is so high on him.
In six starts this year at Triple-A, Ryan has recorded an ERA of 2.89 The right-hander is coming off Tommy John surgery that forced him to miss all of 2025, but he's showing himself to be fully healthy with his performances.
But instead of giving Ryan a chance to come to the big leagues, the Dodgers went out and landed left-hander Eric Lauer from the Toronto Blue Jays instead. And now the reason has been revealed by insiders Fabian Ardaya and Katie Woo of The Athletic.
"The Dodgers remain remarkably high on Ryan, to the point where they will not risk his long-term ceiling for the sake of temporary need on the major-league roster," Woo wrote. "That's why the club opted to acquire Eric Lauer. Given the overwhelming success so far, the Dodgers want to keep their six-man rotation in place without rushing Ryan. They'd much rather have the right-hander later in the year, either as a spot starter in the regular season or a firepower weapon out of the bullpen in the postseason.
"Barring an injury, we will see Ryan with the big-league club this year. The Dodgers simply want to make sure that when he does come up, it's for good."
Los Angeles wants to keep the six-man rotation going strong, and when he is called up, Ryan will be part of this group. Ryan has a place on this team long-term, but the Dodgers just don't want to rush anything with him.
The Dodgers seem to be putting the long-term plan with Ryan ahead of short-term needs, which could bode well for the young pitcher. Ryan is expected to be a major part of this team going forward, so the last thing that Los Angeles wants is for him to come up and then be sent back down.
Ryan has already pitched in the majors in his career, making four starts for the club in 2024. In the limited time, the right-hander showed why he deserves to be pitching at the big league level, posting an ERA of 1.33.
If Ryan were to keep pitching at this dominant level, the Dodgers may be forced to call him up sooner rather than later. But it's becoming very clear that Ryan is far too talented a player for Triple-A, and the team will give him another chance at the majors.
It seems to be a given that Ryan will help this team this season as the Dodgers try to go for a three-peat. The young right-hander has electric stuff on the mound, and if he performs up to expectations, he will be here to stay with the Dodgers.
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This article was originally published on www.si.com/mlb/dodgers/onsi as Why Dodgers Aren't Calling Up River Ryan Despite Triple-A Dominance.
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This story was originally published June 8, 2026 at 6:30 PM.