The Los Angeles Dodgers made the biggest splash at this year’s trade deadline when they acquired two-time Cy Young Award winner Tarik Skubal from the Detroit Tigers in exchange for prospects River Ryan, Zyhir Hope and Brady Smith.

Ryan was traded while in the middle of recovering from a hamstring injury. That was a unique experience for him, but he praised the Tigers organization for how they handled the situation while seemingly throwing a subtle shot at his former team, via Emily Waldon of Just Baseball:

“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.”

Ryan sustained the hamstring injury this past June while pitching for Triple-A Oklahoma City. He was working his way back after missing all of last year while recovering from Tommy John surgery.

Ryan first joined the Dodgers when he was acquired from the San Diego Padres in exchange for Matt Beaty just before the start of the 2022 season. Ryan at the time was being developed as both an infielder and pitcher.

He committed to pitching with the Dodgers and went on to make his MLB debut in 2024. Ryan made four starts that year prior to undergoing his season-ending operation.

In five Minor League seasons with the Dodgers, Ryan went 6-12 with a 3.43 ERA and 255 strikeouts in 212.2 innings pitched.

River Ryan’s Tigers debut

Ryan made his Tigers debut on Monday night, throwing three scoreless innings against the Washington Nationals. He allowed two hits, issued one walk and collected three strikeouts.

It was Ryan’s first Major League appearance in more than two years. The outing came after he made a pair of rehab starts for Triple-A Toledo.

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