Certainly, as the new year begins, the Dodgers are keen on having one of their more promising arms come back into the rotation and, at the very least, helping out their bullpen. That pitcher is River Ryan, who recently went on a Dodgers Nation podcast with Doug McKain and talked about his outlook heading into the 2026 season. 

Ryan, who was once one of the Dodgers' more intriguing prospects when he first made his debut in 2024, was very solid for a Dodgers roster that, at the time, was struggling to make ends meet with their starting rotation down the stretch in 2024. In that time, he would post a 4-0 record, which for a rookie was extremely impressive given that this timestamp was his first-ever stint in the Major Leagues. 

He would also, in regard to his great play, post a 1.33 ERA. Ryan would look really good until his fourth start against the Pittsburgh Pirates on Aug. 10, 2024, where he would experience tightness in his forearm, forcing him to come out of his start early. It would later be revealed that Ryan would be out for the remainder of that season, requiring Tommy John surgery.

Now in 2026, Ryan has a very intriguing outlook on what he expects from this season, “Honestly, we have a lot of great starting pitchers. But honestly, I’m just going to do what [the organization] tells me to do. I mean, it’s a blessing just to be able to play Major League Baseball at all. It’s definitely healthy competition. All of the guys get along. It’s fun to compete like that. I’m just going to go out there and control what I can control. I try not to worry about whether I’m going to be a No. 1 starter or a No. 5 starter. The chips are going to fall where they may.”

Certainly, there is no pressure for Ryan to be one of the Dodgers' more dependable arms early into the season, given that the Dodgers already have pitchers such as Shohei Ohtani, Yoshinobu Yamamoto, Roki Sasaki, Blake Snell, and Tyler Glasnow, to name a few. 

But in recent seasons, the Dodgers have been prone to missing some of their pitchers down the stretch of a regular season. So while Ryan may not be depended on early in the season, it really isn’t far-fetched to say that he can make an impact at some point in the season.

More or less, given the current state of the Dodgers, it will certainly be a storyline to keep an eye on, especially given the fact that the Dodgers are likely going to have a chance at three-peating, something that no team has done since the 1998-2000 Yankees. Nevertheless, it will likely be an exciting year of baseball ahead of the new MLB season.

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