BLUE JAYS BRASS FINALLY ARMS FANS WITH HOPE
The Toronto Blue Jays have found their ace: a big-money, top-of-the-rotation starter in the form of free-agent left-hander Hyun-jin Ryu.
And in landing the 32-year-old South Korean late Sunday night, general manager Ross Atkins turned an interesting off-season into a potential blockbuster.
Yes, the four-year, Us$80-million deal for Ryu not only gives the Jays a much-needed lead man of the pitching staff, it vaulted the credibility of the rebuilding team throughout the baseball world.
With one signing — weeks in the making, according to team sources — the Jays are back in the game in a big way.
Not enough, perhaps, to counter the powerhouse Yankees, who got stronger with the signing of superstar Gerrit Cole earlier this month. But it was enough to show that ownership is committed to complementing the outstanding core of young position players with credible, accomplished pitching.
A home-run acquisition for Atkins and president Mark Shapiro, the Ryu signing gives manager Charlie Montoyo and pitching coach Pete Walker a legitimate starter to lead the young team after one of its worst seasons in decades.
Though he pitched for the Los Angeles Dodgers for six seasons, Ryu led the majors with an ERA of 2.32 in his outstanding 2019 campaign. That effort also earned him an all-star nomination plus a runner-up finish for the National League Cy Young Award following a season in which he had a 14-5 record over 1822/3 innings of work.
Clearly the southpaw immediately vaults to the top of a Toronto rotation that for the most part was a disaster last season. It got particularly bad when Aaron Sanchez continued to battle injury issues and Marcus Stroman was a disruption in the clubhouse. Both were dealt before the July 31 MLB trade deadline as part of a troubled season in which the Jays used 21 different starters.
In Ryu, however, the team now has a legit ace to build around and complement the talented group of young players led by Vladimir Guerrero Jr., Bo Bichette and Cavan Biggio.
It also makes for a productive off-season for Atkins and a Jays front office that has taken plenty of heat from a frustrated fan base for relative inactivity over the last couple winters. Quietly, the Jays brass made it known they were serious about signing Ryu, so from a perception standpoint with the club’s followers, landing him has to be viewed as a large score.
The fact that they were able to land Ryu carries added significance given that the Jays outlasted as many as six other suitors for one of the top starting pitchers available.
Already, the team has acquired potential starters in Chase Anderson, Tanner Roark and Shun Yamaguchi, the latter appearing to be a candidate for the bullpen.
As with any acquisition, the Ryu deal is pending a physical. In his six seasons with the Dodgers, Ryu compiled a 54-33 record with a stellar 2.98 ERA. Before coming to North America, Ryu was a legend in his homeland, where he was a star in the Korean Baseball Organization.
The signing comes with some risk, however, given Ryu’s age and the fact that he has battled injuries throughout his career. Between 2015 and 2018, Ryu made just 40 combined starts. But his most recent form is difficult to ignore and the need for the Jays to acquire a pitcher with star power and effective stuff was critical.
From a money standpoint, the expenditure on the lefty is certainly a breakthrough for the Jays organization. Atkins has vowed all off-season that he had clearance from team owner Rogers Communications to spend — and spend he did.
The reported $80-million outlay is the most under the current administration and is the most money the team has spent since signing Canadian-born catcher Russell Martin to a five-year, $82-million contract. It also continues a massive MLB off-season for free-agent pitchers to break the bank. The biggest of those contracts went to Cole, who signed with the Yankees for a record $324 million.
In a perfect world, the Jays likely would have preferred topping out at three years for Ryu, so the term certainly brings some risk as the pitcher ages. On the other hand, with the Yankees getting so strong, so much young talent on their own roster and attendance plummeting, one could argue that the team could ill afford not to make a splash in terms of acquiring a quality arm.
If you were projecting a rotation today — seven weeks and change before pitchers and catchers report to Dunedin, Fla., for spring training — Ryu would be at the top followed by Roark, Anderson and Matt Shoemaker (who is coming off knee surgery) with Ryan Borucki and Trent Thornton battling for the fifth spot.
With Ryu under contract for four years, the Jays’ pitching situation, if things go to plan, now seems loaded with promise. Nate Pearson, one of the most coveted pitching prospects in the game, is a year at most from a potential arrival in the big leagues and a host of other strong arms, including 2019 first-round pick Alek Manoah, are also well-regarded.
The need for pitching help was as dire and it was immediate, especially after what unfolded in a 95-loss 2019 season. A Christmas miracle? Perhaps not, but the signing came just in time for excited fans to stuff some Jays tickets under the tree.