River Ryan debuts for Tigers in number 77
TLDR: River Ryan, the headliner return in the Tarik Skubal trade, threw 3 shutout innings in his first start for Detroit.
River Ryan hadn't pitched in the big leagues since August 2024. Monday night he was back on a major league mound, this time in a Tigers uniform, and he picked his old number right back up.
That's not a small detail in a Tigers clubhouse. No. 77 belonged to Andy Ibáñez before Ryan showed up, and getting to keep the same digits he wore with the Dodgers is the kind of continuity a guy clings to after the year Ryan just had. He debuted with LA in July 2024 and was electric — 1-0 with a 1.33 ERA across 4 starts — before an elbow injury in August ended that season and turned into Tommy John surgery that wiped out his 2025 entirely. His path back this year wasn't clean either; the comeback got interrupted twice by hamstring injuries before he ever got the call.
Ryan is one of 3 prospects Detroit landed from the Dodgers in the August trade that sent 2-time Cy Young winner Tarik Skubal to Los Angeles, and Monday was the first time any of that return actually took the mound for the Tigers. He went 3 shutout innings against the Nationals, allowing just 2 hits and a walk while striking out 3 on 43 pitches — a start that looked a lot like his last two outings for Triple-A Toledo.
The stuff matched the hype. Ryan's fastball was reportedly touching the upper 90s, but it was the offspeed pitches that had scouts buzzing on Twitter. Rob Friedman posted the 92-mph changeup that made hitters look silly.
He backed it up with a sinker running the same velocity, another swing-and-miss pitch that's rare to see paired with a changeup that sharp.
Detroit didn't stop at Ryan. Jace Jung was also called up and expected to be active for the same game, and the Tigers are reportedly waiting on medical evaluations for Troy Melton and at least one other player before making the roster moves official. With Justin Verlander's Tigers tenure winding down at the same time, the timing of Ryan's arrival — throwing gas and getting outs in the same week Detroit is saying goodbye to a franchise legend — is not lost on anyone in that clubhouse.
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