The Toronto Blue Jays will have a healthy Ryu Hyun-jin.
Hyun-jin Ryu threw in a complex league game in Dunedin, Florida, on Friday (June 5). It was Ryu’s first rehab start since he underwent Tommy John surgery to reconstruct ligaments in his elbow against the Chicago White Sox on June 2 last year. Ryu pitched out of the bullpen three times before his start.
Ryu, who has reportedly lost about 13 kilograms, allowed one run on four hits in three innings with five strikeouts and four walks. He faced 13 batters and threw a total of 42 pitches, with his fastball touching 88 mph (about 142 kilometers). “I heard he pitched well,” local TSN reporter Scott Mitchell said, raising expectations.
Ryu signed a four-year, $80 million deal with Toronto in 2020, so this season is the final year of his contract. He was so desperate to get healthy that he went under the knife, even though he knew that coming back late in the final year of his contract would hurt his next contract. He was also confident that if he was healthy, he could be even better.
And Toronto needs Ryu to come back healthy. Without Ryu this year, Toronto has used a five-man starting rotation of Kevin Gausman, Chris Bassett, Jose Berrios, Alec Manoa, and Yusei Kikuchi until Manoa was sent down to the minors on March 7 after struggling to a 6.36 ERA on the season.
Because of this, Toronto general manager Ross Atkins told local reporters late last month, “It’s not our goal to have bullpen days. One or two turns is fine. It’s our priority to get a starter before the trade deadline (April 2).” “But we do have Ryu Hyun-jin and Chad Green coming back,” Atkins said.토스카지노
Through five days and 86 games, Toronto has a 46-40 record for a .535 winning percentage, but is surprisingly still in fourth place in the American League East. Their “win percentage inflation” is high enough that last-place Boston (43-43) has a .535 win percentage. They’re also fourth in the American League Wild Card, behind the Baltimore Orioles, Houston, and New York Yankees. They need a late-season turnaround.
“Going into the 2023 season, I thought Ryu’s pitching this year would be a bonus for the team, but now it looks like he’s going to be able to pitch some pretty significant innings,” Toronto reporter Keegan Matheson wrote on social media, prompting one fan to ask, “Does that mean Toronto won’t have to sign a starter?” He was right.
Ryu joined Toronto in 2020 and went 21-12 with a 4.07 ERA in 49 games. There’s plenty of time for him to bounce back in the second half of the year to make up for a lost year and prove he can continue his major league career. Toronto needs Ryu as much now as they did when they first acquired him, expecting him to be a starter and a veteran.