“The Korean Monster has gas left in the tank.”
The view of Ryu Hyun-jin, 36, a free agent, is mixed. After a year and two months of Tommy John surgery and rehabilitation, he returned in August and went 3-3 with a 3.46 ERA in 11 games. His command and command of the game are still there, and he’s smart enough to have a fully loaded super-slow curveball.
On the other hand, his command isn’t always perfect, and his velocity isn’t overwhelming. He’s a pitcher who runs the risk of giving up a lot of well-hit balls. He’s not young, and his durability is a weakness. That’s why he’s now considered a fourth or fifth starter in the majors. To be fair, the Blue Jays haven’t gotten their full $80 million over the last four years.
However, the upside is that they have a lot of room for improvement in pitching next year. Ryu Hyun-jin also came to Korea after this season and said that he was satisfied with his comeback this year and predicted that his velocity and pitches will be better next year.
In fact, pitchers who have completed Tommy John surgery and rehabilitation tend to improve their pitches in their second year. Ryu Hyun-jin also had shoulder surgery in the past, which cost him the entire 2015 season. Taken together, there is a lot of hope that he can still be competitive in the major leagues. If he can get back to averaging $20 million per year on a 1-2 year deal, he’ll be a steal.굿모닝토토 도메인
JustBaseball looked at Toronto’s 2023-2024 free agent market on Friday and said, “Ryu’s four-year deal is over. For the first time in the Ross Atkins era, a high-profile free agent signing is on the horizon.” However, they didn’t expect Ryu to stay in Toronto.
Still, JustBaseball noted that “Ryu spent much of this season and last season recovering on the IL after Tommy John surgery. The second half was strong. There is gas left in the tank for the Korean Monster. He showed that he should be able to secure a deal somewhere, whether it’s in the major leagues or the KBO.”
JustBaseball’s view is that Toronto needs to bolster its lineup. That’s in case the likes of Whit Merrifield, Matt Chapman, and Kevin Kiermaier leave. They also mentioned the biggest free agents, Shohei Ohtani, Cody Bellinger, and Jacoby Pederson. On the other hand, even if Hyun-jin Ryu leaves, the starting rotation is solid.