“Ryu Hyun-jin, similar to a trade deadline acquisition…” 10.46 billion won veteran has faith, only to prove it

“Adding Hyun-Jin Ryu and Chad Green has similar power to adding at the trade deadline.”

The Blue Jays ended up not adding starting pitching ahead of the 2023 trade deadline. They added hard-throwing relievers Jordan Hicks and Genesis Cabrera in response to an injury to closer Jordan Romano, and Paul Dedon in response to an injury to Bo Bissett.

Outside of ace Kevin Gausman, there was no one pitcher who could be counted on to deliver a game in the postseason, but Toronto decided to put their faith in Jose Berrios, who has been on fire lately, and Yusei Kikuchi and Chris Bassett, who have had their ups and downs but have their upsides. Alec Manoa is also coming around a bit.

Instead, they added one more starter to complete a six-man rotation that is rarely seen in the major leagues: Hyun-jin Ryu. After rehabbing from Tommy John surgery in June 2022, Ryu made his first start in more than a year and two months at home against the Baltimore Orioles on Feb. 2 (ET). He gave up four runs on nine hits (one home run) in five innings with three strikeouts and one walk.

The general consensus was that he was neither good nor bad. He didn’t give up a lot of hits or runs, and he gave up a lot of hard hits. But the fact that a veteran in his mid-30s was healthy after a year and two months was significant.

It’s not easy for a pitcher to come back from Tommy John surgery in a year and two months. It usually takes a year to a year and a half. Even then, it’s not often that they come back and immediately show their old skills. The risk of failure is much lower than it used to be, but that doesn’t mean that rehabilitation isn’t difficult. It takes a lot of hard work to get back to your old self. 꽁머니지급

It is difficult to evaluate the results of Ryu’s efforts based on his comeback game alone. It’s not too late to make a comprehensive judgment over two months. The general consensus is that he’s more likely to get better and less likely to get worse. He’s already been through Tommy John rehabilitation and rehabilitation in high school, and he’s come back from arthroscopic shoulder surgery, which was even more difficult, to lead the majors in ERA. For now, we’ll have to wait and see how he fares against the Cleveland Cavaliers on Aug. 8.

“Adding starting pitcher Hyun-jin Ryu and reliever Chad Green from the disabled list has similar power to adding at the trade deadline, as they will be key contributors to the team,” said Jays Journal, which covers Toronto for FanSided.

It’s clear that general manager Ross Atkins believed in Ryu’s resurgence and was more focused on addressing Romano and Bissett’s injury concerns than adding to the starting rotation. He is in the final year of a four-year, $80 million contract. Both Ryu and Toronto are looking forward to his return.