The Toronto Blue Jays’ free agent signing of Hyun-jin Ryu, 36, is now more concrete. While the five-inning pitcher is unlikely to get a multi-year deal at this point, he is expected to sign a contract worth around $12 million a year.
On March 9 (KST), Bleacher Report listed 10 major league prospective free agents for whom the end of the season is crucial, saying, “There are players who need to prove they are worth the big bucks in the remaining weeks of the regular season. The players on the list are those who have been out for a long time due to injury or need to make up for lost time.
“After undergoing the second Tommy John surgery of his career last June, Hyun-jin Ryu missed most of 2022 and the first two-thirds of this season. Given his struggles in 2021, there was a reasonable concern that he would never approach the level of performance that earned him two Cy Young Award finalists with a 2.30 ERA in 56 starts from 2018-2020, but he has been surprisingly solid since returning,” the publication said, praising Ryu for his rebound.
‘In his second start, Ryu injured the inside of his right knee (after being hit by a pitch), but pitched four innings of no-hit ball. Six days later, he pitched five scoreless innings against the Chicago Cubs.” “But in six of his seven starts, he lasted just five innings. Five innings seems to be his new average. It’s understandable that Toronto is limiting his pitches to allow him to recover, but if this continues, it will be hard to see Ryu getting more than five starts in his upcoming free agency.
Since returning, Ryu has pitched five innings in all but one start against the Cleveland Indians on May 8 (four innings), when he was hit by a pitch. He’s only pitched into the sixth inning in two games and has thrown a career-high 86 pitches. He’s been on the disabled list since returning from the injury, but his innings could raise questions about his availability in free agency. For now, he’s a fifth starter.
‘Ryu will make a big splash if he goes six or more innings against the Texas Rangers, Boston Red Sox, Tampa Bay Rays, and New York Yankees the rest of the season. While multi-year deals are unlikely to be guaranteed, Corey Kluber (Boston) and Johnny Cueto (Miami Marlins), who were the same age as Ryu last offseason, signed one-year, $10 million and $8.5 million deals, respectively. The fact that both pitchers have been ineffective this year could be a slight hindrance to Ryu’s free agency.
Kluber and Cueto, both 37, born in 1986 and a year older than Ryu, have struggled side-by-side this year in the wake of injuries. Kluber’s season came to an end in mid-June with a shoulder injury after an extremely rough 15-game (9 starts, 55 innings) campaign in which he went 3-6 with a 7.04 ERA and one save. Cueto also struggled with a biceps injury, going 1-3 with a 5.54 ERA in eight appearances (seven starts, 37⅓ innings).
Despite showing the limitations of veteran pitchers in their late 30s with high injury risk, starting pitchers are always in demand in the market. “If Ryu closes strong, he could easily get a one-year, $12 million deal with incentives for starts and a second-year option,” the outlet said. While a multi-year deal is hard to guarantee, the report is optimistic about Ryu’s free agency, predicting a higher salary than Kluber and Cueto last year.카지노사이트
In addition to Ryu, shortstop Tim Anderson (Chicago White Sox), outfielder Michael Conforto (San Francisco Giants), pitcher Zach Flaherty (Baltimore Orioles), and first baseman/outfielder Joey Gallo (Minnesota Twins) are all expected to sign, pitcher Lucas Giolito (Cleveland Cavaliers), pitcher Seth Lugo (San Diego Padres), pitcher James Paxton (Boston), shortstop Amedo Rosario, and second baseman Colton Wong (Los Angeles Dodgers) are on the list of prospective free agents who need to improve their value for the rest of the season.