As part of their blockbuster trade involving ace pitcher Tarik Skubal to the Los Angeles Dodgers, the Detroit Tigers received a trio of prospects in return, including right-handed arm River Ryan.
Ryan made his Tigers debut on Monday in a 9-2 win over the Washington Nationals at Comerica Park, throwing three shutout innings and striking out three batters.
And as Ryan would explain afterward, he had been feeling as though he could soon be moved from the Dodgers when the trade went down in early August.
Detroit Tigers Pitcher River Ryan Speaks Out After Motor City Debut
As Ryan would put it, he had a feeling that he could soon be on the move from the Dodgers, but had a newfound sense of freedom upon joining the Tigers.
“I kind of knew something was going to happen with the situation they were in and Skubal being who he is,” Ryan said via The Athletic. “I was ready for anything to happen.”
“I kind of felt like everything that I’ve been through this year was all coming to fruition,” Ryan said. “I felt free. Had fun.”
As Tigers manager AJ Hinch would put it, Ryan was “excellent in his debut.
“I thought he was excellent,” Hinch said. “It was a lot to try to get in today, get to know everybody or remember a face and name, where to go in this building. I thought he handled all that extraordinarily well. And then he flashed all the stuff that makes us excited about him.”
River Ryan Feels More Freedom With The Detroit Tigers
Ryan is already noticing a difference between the organizations of the Tigers and the Dodgers, saying that he has more freedom to work on his arsenal with Detroit as opposed to Los Angeles, who had no shortage of weapons on the mound.
“If I don’t do as hot out there, I’ll have the freedom to work on things at the big-league level,” he said. “Versus if I wasn’t doing well with the Dodgers, I felt like I was always going to be looking over my shoulder because they had so many starters.”
Tigers’ Tarik Skubal Trade Acquisition Sends Clear Message With First Impression