Hyun Jin

Ryu

Ryu, who always said he wanted to finish his career back home, said he declined down the offer because he was afraid his effectiveness would wane over the course of a multiyear deal. One imagines he also had some one-year offers to pick from, but that went unmentioned. Ryu signed an eight-year deal to return to the Hanwha Eagles, though the length of the contract appears to be for bookkeeping reasons.

The Hanwha Eagles have said nothing is confirmed, but is looking likely Jin Ryu will return to his former team in the KBO. According to Naver Sports, the deal is worth a little under $13 million over 4 years. Jin Ryu pitched for the Eagles from 2006-2012 and has said in the past he would finish his baseball career with the team. In his 7 seasons with the Eagles, Jin Ryu posted a 2.80 ERA, 1.15 WHIP over 181 starts. The 36-year-old lefty, who came back from Tommy John surgery last season, was unable to find a deal in MLB after spending the last 4 seasons with the Blue Jays. Last season, he made 11 starts and posted a 3.46 ERA, 1.29 WHIP across 52 innings. A reunion with the Hanwha Eagles, the team that began his professional career, seems pretty fitting.

Ryu told reporters at the conclusion of last year that he would like to pitch in the majors again this upcoming season, but the soon-to-be 37-year-old southpaw remains unsigned at the outset of spring training. He made a successful return last year from Tommy John surgery, posting a serviceable 3.46 ERA, 1.29 WHIP and 38/14 K/BB ratio across 52 innings (11 starts) for the Blue Jays. However, it seems far more likely that he’ll return to Korea, where he spent the first seven years of his professional career, for the remainder of his baseball life.

There had been rumblings that Ryu would head back overseas, but it sounds like he’s got his heart set on returning to Major League Baseball. Coming back from Tommy John surgery, Ryu made 11 starts for the Blue Jays in 2023 — posting a 3.46 ERA, 1.29 WHIP and a 38/14 K/BB ratio across 52 innings. He’ll generate enough interest on the open market that he should be able to come away with a two-year contract this winter.

This wasn’t a planned early exit, but the Rays were hitting Ryu pretty hard and the Jays thought their bullpen would give them a better chance the rest of the way. Ryu had good velocity today, but he got just three missed swings and eight of the 15 balls in play against him left the bat at over 95 mph. Ryu ends the regular season 3-3 with a 3.46 ERA in 52 innings over 11 starts. It might be enough to get him a two-year deal as a free agent. First, though, he’d like to pitch in some postseason games.

Ryu gave up homers to Yandy Díaz, Josh Lowe and Christian Bethancourt before being lifted in the fifth. The five runs allowed were a season high. He surrendered four runs in his first start back from Tommy John on Aug. 1, but he hadn’t allowed more than three in eight outings since. He’ll need to bounce back next time out if he hopes to be part of the Jays’ postseason rotation, though obviously quite a bit still has to happen before the Jays will need a fourth starter in October.

It was not a great effort for Ryu, but he was able to pitch himself out of trouble throughout the afternoon. The left-hander had an 18 percent whiff rate and a 28 percent CSW on the afternoon and walked two batters. He’s on your team strictly for ratios and a potential win, but he has a much tougher road next week against the Rays.

Ryu struck out five and walked one. He didn’t necessarily pitch poorly on Tuesday but the Blue Jays struggled to score against the Rangers’ pitching staff. He allowed a two-run homer in the fourth before giving up another run in a sacrifice fly in the sixth. He generated nine swinging strikes on 82 pitches, posting a 32 percent CSW rate. The lefty will bring a fantastic 2.93 ERA back to Rogers Centre when he and the Blue Jays host the Red Sox on Sunday.

Ryu pitched well in this one, limiting Oakland’s offense to just a fourth-inning homer by Carlos Pérez, but still wound up being saddled with a loss. He finished with five strikeouts and only issued one walk. The veteran southpaw has posted a stellar 2.65 ERA, 1.06 WHIP and 28/8 K/BB ratio across 34 innings (seven starts) since returning last month from Tommy John surgery. He’ll square off against the reeling Rangers on Tuesday in his next outing.

Coors Field was a nightmare for Ryu as a Dodger — in his last five starts there, he allowed 24 runs — 19 earned — in 20 2/3 innings and went 0-4 — but he did just fine there against a subpar Rockies lineup tonight. He’s now 4-1 with a 2.48 ERA in six starts since returning from Tommy John surgery.