River Ryan came to the Detroit Tigers from the Los Angeles Dodgers in the Tarik Skubal blockbuster just before the 2026 MLB trade deadline. At the time he was traded, Ryan was still dealing with a hamstring injury he suffered in June with the Triple-A Oklahoma City Comets.

Changing organizations in the middle of a season is rarely simple for a player, and doing it while rehabbing an injury adds another layer. For Ryan, the move from the Dodgers to the Tigers turned out to be close to seamless anyway.

Why River Ryan Settled In So Fast

Every club runs its own rehabilitation program, which is usually where a mid-rehab trade gets complicated. Ryan spoke with Emily Waldon of Just Baseball about the switch, and he said Detroit simply took over where Los Angeles left off.

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

That continuity got him back on a mound before the season ended. Ryan made his Tigers debut on Monday, Sept. 21, starting against the Washington Nationals and throwing three scoreless innings with two hits, one walk and two strikeouts in a 9-2 Detroit win.

He Had Been Traded Before

This was not Ryan’s first trade. The San Diego Padres sent him to the Dodgers on March 28, 2022, in exchange for infielder Matt Beaty. Ryan also added,

“I think since I’ve been through the trading process before, I kind of knew what to expect. 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.”

A Sunday Start, Then the 2027 Rotation

Ryan gets one more look this season. He is lined up to start Sunday against the Pittsburgh Pirates in the regular-season finale, and a second strong outing would only help his case for a spot in Detroit’s 2027 starting rotation. For a 28-year-old who arrived hurt and traded, that is a good place to end the year.