The Dodgers and right-hander Ryder Ryan have agreed to a minor league contract, reports Fabian Ardaya of The Athletic. He’ll make $800K if he cracks the big league roster.
The older brother of fellow Dodgers righty River Ryan, Ryder is a 30-year-old reliever who’s pitched in parts of two major league seasons. He saw time with the ’23 Mariners and the ’24 Pirates, combining for 21 2/3 innings during that brief pair of looks. He yielded 13 runs (5.40 ERA) on 21 hits and 10 walks with 19 strikeouts.
The elder Ryan brother spent the 2025 season with Pittsburgh’s Triple-A affiliate, working to a 4.73 ERA with a 19.7% strikeout rate and 12.3% walk rate in 72 1/3 innings. That marked his fifth season pitching at the Triple-A level, where he sports a career 4.42 ERA, 23.1% strikeout rate and 10.4% walk rate in 272 2/3 innings.
Ryan sat 93 mph flat on both his four-seamer and sinker this past season in Indianapolis. He threw those pitches a combined 44% of the time, but it was his 85 mph slider that proved to be his go-to offering, clocking in at a hefty 48.8% usage rate. Ryan also mixed in a very occasional changeup (6.8%), which sat at 88.8 mph this past season.
The Dodgers’ bullpen is stuffed with veterans, leaving little in the way of early opportunity for the older Ryan brother. Edwin Diaz, Tanner Scott, Alex Vesia, Brusdar Graterol, Blake Treinen and Anthony Banda are all locked into spots and can’t be optioned.
The Dodgers presumably want to give Roki Sasaki another crack at starting, but the manner in which he excelled as a reliever during last year’s postseason could tempt them to keep him there for the time being, depending on the health of their other starters. Will Klein, Edgardo Henriquez, Ben Casparius, Jack Dreyer, Paul Gervase, Ronan Kopp and Bobby Miller are all on the 40-man roster and could be bullpen options, as could starters like Kyle Hurt, Gavin Stone, Landon Knack and River Ryan, who don’t appear to have clear paths to rotation work in the majors. Given the crowded nature of the Dodgers’ roster, there’s a good chance that the Ryan brothers will open the season on the same pitching staff in Triple-A Oklahoma City.
Fantastic names. Sounds like a wrestling brother tag team.
Their parents really knew how to name their kids. Both Ryder Ryan and River Ryan work very well.
Ryder, I barely know her.
His spring training invite was deferred until 2028.
“mlb fan” it’s been awhile since I last saw you comment! You’re still not funny.
Dodgers signing everybody. They’re ruining baseball. LOL
I came here for this…ty
The first rule of comedy: Don’t laugh at your own jokes.
True, but knowing some of the commenters on here, I was expecting some to take my comment seriously.
What ever happened to the John Franklins and the Bill Thompsons of this country? How am I supposed to take “Ryder Ryan” seriously?
I would only take Bill Thompson seriously if he didnt have a H in his last name.
Justin Wrobleski, Brock Stewart, Jackson Ferris and so on