Ryder Ryan

Ryder Michael Ryan (born May 11, 1995) is an American professional baseball pitcher for the Pittsburgh Pirates of Major League Baseball (MLB). He has previously played in MLB for the Seattle Mariners.

Amateur career
Ryan attended North Mecklenburg High School in Huntersville, North Carolina, where he played baseball for his father, Sean. As a junior in 2013, he hit .597 with 29 RBIs along with pitching to a 0.28 ERA in 54.2 innings. He committed to play college baseball at the University of North Carolina for the North Carolina Tar Heels the summer before his senior year. As a senior, he batted .536 with six home runs and 28 RBIs while also pitching to a 7–1 record and a 0.57 ERA.

Although Ryan was projected to be drafted as high as the third round in the 2014 Major League Baseball draft, he was not drafted until the 40th round by the Cleveland Indians. He did not sign and instead enrolled at North Carolina. In his freshman and sophomore years at North Carolina, Ryan appeared in only 33 games as a hitter, and only one game as a pitcher.

Cleveland Indians
After Ryan's sophomore year, he was drafted once again by the Indians, this time as a pitcher, in the 30th round of the 2016 Major League Baseball draft. He chose to sign with Cleveland rather than return to school. After signing, Ryan made his professional debut with the Arizona League Indians where he was 0–1 with a 3.86 ERA in $18 2⁄3$ relief innings pitched. He began 2017 with the Lake County Captains, where he was named a Midwest League All-Star after compiling a 0.84 ERA in $21 1⁄3$ innings pitched.

New York Mets
On August 9, 2017, Ryan was traded to the New York Mets in exchange for Jay Bruce. He finished the year with the Columbia Fireflies. In 41 relief appearances between Lake County and Columbia, he was 3–4 with a 4.14 ERA. In 2018, he began the season with the St. Lucie Mets, where he was named a Florida State League All-Star after posting a 1–0 record, a 1.77 ERA, and a 0.93 WHIP over 16 relief appearances. He was promoted to the Binghamton Rumble Ponies in late May. Over 42 relief appearances between St. Lucie and Binghamton, he went 4–3 with a 3.23 ERA and a 1.06 WHIP. Ryan, now ranked the Mets' #23 prospect on MLB Pipeline, returned to Binghamton in 2019, going 3–1 with a 3.05 ERA over $44 1⁄3$ innings, striking out forty. He did not play in a game in 2020 due to the cancellation of the minor league season because of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Texas Rangers
On December 18, 2020, Ryan was traded to the Texas Rangers as the player to be named later in the Todd Frazier trade of August 31, 2020. For the 2021 season, he was assigned to the Round Rock Express with whom he went 2–7 with a 5.60 ERA and 55 strikeouts over 45 innings pitched in relief. He opened the 2022 season back with Round Rock. He fared better in the 2022 season, improving to a 3.64 ERA with 67 strikeouts in 59.1 relief innings.

Seattle Mariners
On December 19, 2022, Ryan signed a minor league contract with the Seattle Mariners organization. He was assigned to the Triple-A Tacoma Rainiers, where he pitched in 16 games and registered a 4.58 ERA with 15 strikeouts in $17 2⁄3$ innings of work. On June 3, 2023, Ryan exercised an opt-out clause in his contract and was released by the Mariners. He re-signed with the team on a new minor league contract on June 5. On August 3, Ryan was selected to the 40-man roster and immediately optioned back to Tacoma. On August 8, Ryan was promoted to the major leagues for the first time. On August 11, Ryan pitched the 8th inning of 9–2 win over the Baltimore Orioles, with two strikeouts and a walk in his MLB debut. After only one appearance with the Mariners, Ryan was optioned back to Triple–A Tacoma. On November 6, Ryan was removed from the 40–man roster and sent outright to Triple–A Tacoma, making him eligible to elect minor league free agency.

Pittsburgh Pirates
On December 11, 2023, Ryan signed a minor league contract with the Pittsburgh Pirates. On March 25, 2024, the Pirates announced that Ryan's contract would be selected after he made the Opening Day roster. He notched his first MLB win in a 7–2 victory over the Miami Marlins on March 29, 2024, going 1.2 innings with two strikeouts and stranding two runners inherited from starter Martin Perez.

International career
On July 2, 2021, Ryan was named to the roster for the United States national baseball team for the 2020 Summer Olympics, contested in 2021 in Tokyo. The team went on to win silver, falling to Japan in the gold-medal game. Ryan allowed no earned runs across four appearances in the tournament and earned the win in the semifinal game versus South Korea.

Personal life
Ryan and his wife, Brynn, have one son together. Ryan's younger brother, River, plays in the Los Angeles Dodgers organization.