Hyun-Jin Ryu has drawn looks from multiple teams this offseason, though the Dodgers have also considered a reunion and are “in” on the southpaw, MLB Network’s Jon Heyman writes (via Twitter). The Blue Jays and Twins are among the other clubs known to have some degree of interest in Ryu, who has pitched only for the Dodgers since coming to Major League Baseball prior to the 2013 season.
As Heyman notes, the Dodgers are also pursuing Gerrit Cole and Stephen Strasburg, so it could be that L.A. views Ryu as something of a fallback if both Cole and Strasburg sign elsewhere. Ryu isn’t exactly a bad consolation prize, coming off a season that saw him post a 2.32 ERA, 6.79 K/BB rate, and 8.0 K/9 over 182 2/3 innings and finish second in NL Cy Young voting. Then again, Ryu will also be 33 years old on Opening Day and comes with a lengthy injury history, placing something of a ceiling on his next contract. The left-hander entered the offseason hoping to land a three- or four-year contract, and MLBTR projected three years and $54MM in our ranking of the winter’s top 50 free agents (Ryu finished ninth in our listing).
Ryu accepted a qualifying offer to remain with Los Angeles last winter, which means that he can be signed by any team this offseason without any draft compensation tied to his services. That will increase the chances that he and agent Scott Boras can land that fourth year, as while teams might hesitate at committing to such an injury-plagued pitcher through his age-36 season, Ryu will only become more attractive to pitching-needy teams as other top arms drop off the board.
For instance, if the Dodgers do miss out on both Cole and Strasburg, they could opt to offer a fourth year to ensure that they can land at least Ryu and beat out other teams who didn’t sign the top two pitchers on the market. Or, a non-contender like the Blue Jays might be willing to offer the fourth year in order to lure Ryu to a team that isn’t lined up to compete in 2020. The added wrinkle to this entire situation is that Boras represents Ryu, Cole, Strasburg, and (another notable pitcher in the “second tier” of free agent arms) Dallas Keuchel, so the agent will have intimate knowledge of what teams are willing to offer his clients.
Phillies c’mon just do it. Ryu and Keuchel. That or trade for someone like Gray, Kluber, Ray, Samardzija, Leake. Every single position player besides 3B is blocked on the MLB level, so trade them and get at least a #3 SP. Boyd sucks, not worth the prospect capital. The above guys should be cheaper except for Gray.
Alex wood may be a good get for relatively cheap IF he can bounce back. Might be worth the try.
you don’t want leake.
been there, done that. I know he’s an innings eater, but he’s frustrating to watch
Leake is going to stay in Arizona
That would be fun. The Phillies need quality innings from their rotation if they don’t want to suck again. Get some steady guys at least, right?
Couldn’t get it done with Ryu. Time to move on. Great pitcher but injury prone. Bring Cole to LA!
Cole is not coming to LA. The Dodgers have already been outbid for him without even making him an offer. Ryu is the much more likely target behind the smokescreen. Never mind that it won’t be enough. The driving force will be the dollar commitment.
Cole will sign for less than what the Yankees are rumored to be offering him. Then the story line will focus on some lie like location preference driving Cole’s decision.
The Angels will real in Cole AND a third tier guy like Porcello or Kuechel. The Phillies will put their money on bats again. Think Donaldson or Castellanos.
Ejemp. Players do not always choose geography. Cole has a better chance at a ring with the Yankees. The Angels have a lot of holes to fill.
Be prepared to shed tears if you really think that, LOL
Moreno will have to offer MORE than 7/245 to get Cole.
In which case he should move on, I think, and add multiple quality pieces instead of just 1.
Ryu and Keuchel combined would be less expensive.
Is that you Eric Stephen? I agree Cole won’t be a Dodger in 2020. Do you think we get Rendon or Donaldson or neither?
Not last I checked. Why, what did Stephen say? Very much doubt the Dodgers are serious about Rendon either. He will also get more than Friedman will be willing to pay. Donaldson is a maybe because he might be had for a two or at most three-year commitment, but I don’t see how he adds much.
Cole will not sign a 3 year deal. He will not be wearing Dodger Blue.
Thats another thing they messed up in the NLDS. Ryu should have started game 2. If he did they very well could have won the series.
3 mistakes in NLDS: 1) Ryu should have been #1 or 2 not Kershaw . 2) Hill should not have started game 4 3) Kershaw should not have come back out in the 8th . Fire Roberts, don’t bring back Hill, resign Ryu and get Cole or Strass, or maybe pull the Lindor Kluber trade, go get a couple good relievers, go win series in 2020.
Dodgers need to move on from Ryu, he can come to Texas on a Lynn esc deal. The dodgers though should seriously look at bringing wood back to L.A, or maybe even Teheran, but save their money for a betts, bryant, or Lindor.
I thought the Rangers were done with the rotation
They said they might be done, or they might add a pitcher of Minor’s quality…. So more of a top of the rotation pitcher, like Ryu.
Wood or Teheran would not improve the rotation. FO said Lux is untouchable, so there will be no big name infielders coming to the Dodgers via trade or FA signing.
I think they could trade more than Lux, they do have a deep system.
The Rangers will be interesting to watch, particularly with their need for pitching and their ties to Rendon and Donaldson. By all accounts they want at least one shiny toy for the new stadium.
I heard rendon is a given for the rangers right now, but with hat their pitching is looking like right now, we might be a WC team next year. Personally I think we have made some smart moves this year.
Rangers should go after Donaldson and one of Ryu/Teheran/Kuechel. Then sign Pillar for CF or trade for Marte.
There’s no way Friedman signs Ryu for more than a 2 year deal. He will not be a Dodger.
I think a change in scenery will be good for MadBum if you can get him for the right price. Solid 3 SP and will eat innings. I’m surprised his name hasn’t been surfacing more with Wheeler off the table. Wood/MadBum could turn out pretty well for a reasonable price and leave payroll flexibility. I don’t think Cole will go to the Angels. It seems he wants to compete. Then again, you never know.
Bumgarner is in decline. He did not pitch well on the road and he gave up 30 HR and he pitched at Oracle Park.
Bumgarner pitched pretty mediocre for the majority of the season, as a Giants fan I can confirm from watching.
However, when the Giants got hot in July/August and were within 2-4 games of the 2nd WC you could noticeably see a difference in Bumgarners performance. Look at his game logs and you’ll see he was drastically better in the months where the Giants were fielding a somewhat competitive team. This could either be a coincidence or an indication of his competitive spirit and his ability to pitch well when the stakes are high. Given his career history, I’m betting on the latter.
Please God. I. Move on from him and Rich Hill
I still have ulcers from game 4 . He looked like he was 65 years old out there.
one down from cole drama!
While I don’t normally thing geography plays much of a role in free agent decisions, this might be a rare exception.
Direct flights back home, vibrant Korean population, OC has them. I can see Ryu as an Angel if we miss out on Cole, and perhaps at a little less than expected.
As long as Andrew Friedman wakes up in the pilot Episode of Twilight Zone and there is no one around to offer a fair contract us Dodger fans are going to end up with a good pitcher!
I can’t think of another team in sports where you’re good, but also losers at the same time. The penny pinching Dodger’s will never win as long as Friedman trades for dregs at the deadline over proven talent. Maybe they would have won the series vs the Nat’s if they had a proven lefty reliever. Then again, Kolarek was great vs Soto, but Robert’s special boy Kershaw needed his “redemption.” Sigh. It hurts being a Dodgers fan.
Somewhat agree. However the series is usually won by the team with the best unsung heroes. Kendrick. Pearce. Gattis/Morton. The Dodgers have been developing stars like its no one’s business. They’ve been getting a lot out their retread signings. They made big deadline splashes like Darvish. Just need a Rudy type to push them over the top. Maybe they should get Ian Kinsler at the 2020 deadline. He’d be the perfect story so maybe that’s the ticket.
You think Kinsler isnwhat would push the Dodgers over the top? Seriously?
I think people are sleeping on Ryu. He was the Cy Young runner-up and led the league in ERA. He was healthy last year and he’s the top lefty on the market with all due respect to MadBum
agree completely. witht he money some others are expected to get I’d love for the Cardinals to sign him to slot in 2nd behind flaherty.
Yeah, but people are sleeping on him because of his age, past health issues and he doesn’t throw as hard as they’d like, but that’s not really a problem for him, because he has excellent command and he doesn’t give up a lot of hits.
He is also fat. Fat people don’t last long in pro sports. Except for Colon of course.
Agree 110%
Blue Jays hopefully won’t be willing to offer Ryu a 4th year. I like Ryu. Not THAT much.
The CBA prohibits collusion by teams and owners AND by players.
I don’t know what you call the top 4 FA pitchers all being represented by the same agent, other than collusion.
Not surprised.