Cincinnati Reds pitching prospect Ryan Olson has decided to retire. The 13th round pick for the Reds in the 2016 draft dealt with injuries throughout the last few seasons, dating back to his time in college.
His junior season at Cal Poly Pomona was cut short with a back injury in March of that season. He didn’t pitch again that year after being drafted by the Reds. In 2017 he made four starts in April for the Dayton Dragons, but then hit the disabled list for the remainder of the season. In 2018 he moved up to Daytona where he made 10 starts through June 3rd, but then was injured again. He went to Greeneville a month later and pitched in two rehab games out of the bullpen before being shut down the rest of the year.
The back has been a recurring issue for him. During the offseason, in an effort to get things taken care of, he had surgery that placed two screws in his spine. Olson noted in an interview with Daytona broadcaster Justin Rocke earlier this year that without the surgery that it would look like he was going to be done playing. The 2019 season saw the right-handed pitcher transition from the rotation into the bullpen. The hope there was it would lead to less stress on his surgically repaired back and allow him to remain healthy. Things had gone fairly well until his final appearance against Dunedin on May 2nd when he allowed three earned runs in 0.2 innings. That would be the final game he played this season, and at this point, it would seem his career.