The Toronto Blue Jays have been considered as an organization that has been extremely hesitant of signing free agents to big contracts, especially since the Ross Atkins regime began in 2015. This was believed to be a major reason why former Blue Jays general manager Alex Anthopoulos rejected a contract extension with Toronto four years ago, and ended up as the vice president of baseball operations for the Los Angeles Dodgers for two years and then the executive vice president and general manager of the Atlanta Braves since 2017.
However, on Sunday, the Blue Jays finally came to their senses and realized if they are wanting to separate themselves from competing against the Baltimore Orioles for the American League East basement, they needed to improve their pitching staff. They did just that. Ryu was awarded a four-year deal worth $80 million to be the club’s ace.
Is the signing of Hyun-Jin Ryu a risk? Of course. The 32 year-old from South Korea has a history of labrum and groin trouble. In fact, he only had one start for the Dodgers in 2015 and 2016 combined.
But it safe to say, when Ryu is pitching, he is solid. In 2019, he had a record of 14 wins and five losses, with a Major League-best 2.32 earned run average. In 182 2/3 innings, he gave up 160 hits, 47 earned runs and 24 walks, for a sparkling WHIP of 1.01. He also had 163 strikeouts.
This was the third time that Ryu won 14 games for the Dodgers, as he also reached that mark in 2013 and 2014. One could argue that Ryu was able to win that many games because he constantly gets run support by playing for the best team in the National League West. However, during those seasons, he had a solid earned run average of 3.00 and 3.38 respectively. Then, Ryu also had an amazing earned run average of 1.97 in 15 starts with the Dodgers in 2018.
The Blue Jays are trying to turn the corner. They realize it starts with pitching. For the next four seasons, Ryu is their man.
