Toronto Blue Jays: Hyun-Jin Ryu could be a rebuilding game changer

The Toronto Blue Jays have been heavily rumoured to former Los Angeles Dodgers starter Hyun-Jin Ryu, and his acquisition would be a game changer for a team looking to improve their rotation.

As per Fangraphs, the Toronto Blue Jays currently rank #29 in the league when it comes to fWAR for the starting rotation. That’s including newly acquired Chase Anderson and recently signed Tanner Roark, both of whom make up 2.8 of the 6.6 fWAR for the team and weren’t even on the Blue Jays roster last season.

While Anderson and Roark aren’t the flashiest additions this off-season, it is a step in the right direction for the rebuilding Toronto Blue Jays. Anderson has experience in the MLB and Roark is an innings eating machine, something the Blue Jays certainly lacked in 2019.

With that being said, neither of the aforementioned players really fit into the long term plan of the Toronto Blue Jays as it currently stands, nor do they strike fear into the hearts of opposing teams like the New York Yankees or Boston Red Sox. They are ‘meh’ acquisitions at best, which doesn’t bode well for an organization who is really looking to improve their starting rotation moving forward.

This is where Hyun-Jin Ryu comes in.

Coming off one of the best statistical seasons of his career, Ryu would be a significant improvement to a rebuilding team like the Toronto Blue Jays.

In 2019, Ryu led the entire MLB in ERA (2.32) and made 29 starts for the Los Angeles Dodgers. This stellar campaign would result in 163 strikeouts, 182.2 innings, 24 walks, and a 4.8 fWAR, which would statistically account for 72% of the entire Blue Jays rotation fWAR in 2019. He also finished second in terms of Cy Young voting in 2019, a nice finish to a spectacular season for the southpaw.

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If he were to sign with the Blue Jays, he would immediately become the Blue Jays top arm in the rotation and probably the opening day starter for the 2020 season. Add to the fold upcoming starters such as Nate Pearson, Alek Manoah, Anthony Kay, and T.J. Zeuch, and the Toronto Blue Jays could have a fearsome rotation within the next few years.

Signing Ryu would force the Toronto Blue Jays to dip into their checkbooks when compared to the recent signings of Roark and Anderson, but they would at least avoid losing a draft pick because of Ryu signing his qualifying offer last season. Top arms in the league are requiring significant financial investment in today’s game, and Rogers will have to open their wallets if they want to acquire top talent for the Toronto Blue Jays roster.

The one caveat with signing Ryu is his injury history, as the South Korean pitcher has had his fair share of injuries over his 6 year MLB career. The worst injury was in 2015, where he required surgery on his throwing shoulder to repair a torn labrum, but other injuries include surgery to his throwing elbow in 2016 and stints on the injured list involving his hip, back, neck, and lower body over his six year career.

At 33 years old, Ryu is what many would consider ‘past his prime’, but it seems like the left handed pitcher has some gas left in the tank given he still threw for over 180 innings and 29 starts this past season. This may cause some teams to scratch Ryu off their free agent boards, but a veteran presence in the young Toronto Blue Jays clubhouse may provide a lot of benefits for a young roster/rotation.

While the injury and age risk will always be present with pitchers in the MLB, Ryu’s career 2.98 ERA and 125 career starts are difficult to ignore for a team heading into the off-season with plans on improving the rotation. The risk of signing Ryu is quite high given the injury history, but if he can be healthy over the next five seasons and continue to pitch as he did during the 2019 season, Ross Atkins and co. will look like geniuses when the dust settles.

If the price is right and the length of the deal can last past the rebuilding years (think 3-5 years), Ryu could be the piece the Toronto Blue Jays need to help drive the organization back to the promised land of October baseball in the next few years.