TORONTO — Toronto Blue Jays general manager Ross Atkins was in the middle of listing the traits he likes most in Hyun-Jin Ryu — command, a varied arsenal, athleticism — when he turned to the South Korean left-hander sitting to his right and addressed him directly.
“You truly are fun to watch play,” Atkins said to Ryu on Friday during the press conference introducing Toronto’s newest arm. “It’s remarkable what you’ve already accomplished and we very much look forward to the success you’re going to bring to this organization.”
Undoubtedly, Ryu’s a very fun pitcher to watch. At six-foot-three and 255 pounds, he’s an imposing presence on the mound yet one who brings a calm composure to competition. And there’s no arguing that he’s accomplished plenty in his seven-season MLB career. He led baseball with a 2.32 ERA last season, finishing second in National League Cy Young voting. And his 2.71 ERA since the beginning of 2017 ranks fourth among the 115 qualified MLB starters over that span.
But just how much success can Atkins and Blue Jays fans look forward to over the next four years of Ryu’s $80-million deal? That’s the unanswerable question in the wake of the largest free agent pitching contract the franchise has ever awarded, https://www.sportsnet.ca/baseball/mlb/investment-hyun-jin-ryu-sign-changing-times-blue-jays/ and one that will go a long way to determining whether or not the club’s current rebuild is ultimately successful.
“He was going for the Cy Young last year — that tells you everything. We got one of the best pitchers in baseball and we’re going to have a chance to win every time he takes the mound,” said Blue Jays manager Charlie Montoyo. “He’s going to be our ace.”
That much is certain — but Ryu won’t be a domineering, fastball-heavy ace like the Astros’ Justin Verlander or the Yankees’ Gerrit Cole. Ryu’s change-up is actually his best pitch, and truly one of the best off-speed weapons in the game. It’s also his only plus offering, which is why he threw it more than any other pitch last season.
Meanwhile, the average velocity (90.7 mph) and spin rate (2,084 RPM) on Ryu’s fastball were among the lowest in MLB. Same goes for his cutter. And while his curveball features above-average movement and can generate some swing-and-miss, it isn’t considered a dominant pitch. Ryu isn’t overpowering or out-stuffing anyone.
Rather, he uses sequencing, control and deception to keep hitters off balance and generate soft contact. Think first-pitch curveballs for strikes, change-ups in fastball counts and fastballs with two strikes. He repeats his delivery and maintains his release point exceptionally well, providing few hints as to what’s about to come out of his hand.
Elite command and control of the baseball allow him to manipulate his pitches to move the way he wants on their way to the plate and end up where he wants when they get there. Each of those pitches move differently and at varied rates of speed. That’s where a lot of the soft contact he generates comes from, as he stays off the heart of the plate and keeps the ball away from the barrels of bats.
It’s also why he barely walks anyone, with a 1.3 BB/9 over the past two seasons, the lowest of any MLB starter (minimum of 150 innings) by a significant margin. Ryu just pounds the edges of the zone while his catchers mix and match his offerings well enough to prevent hitters from picking up his patterns.
“Obviously, speed is an important factor. But ever since I was young, I’ve focused on pitching as more than just the fastball,” Ryu said through interpreter Tad Yo. “Because if you throw it down the middle, they’re going to hit it.”
It all makes him awfully difficult to square up. The average exit velocity Ryu allowed in 2019 (85.3 mph) ranked 15th among the 436 MLB pitchers with at least 100 balls put in play against them. It ranked sixth among the 198 that allowed at least 200. And you can keep pushing him up that leaderboard if you keep increasing the sample, because Ryu was one of only 43 pitchers to allow more than 500 balls in play in 2019.
As strikeouts surged across baseball, Ryu’s K/9 actually decreased from 9.7 in 2018 to 8.0 in 2019. He simply allows a lot of contact and it’s non-negotiable that a team field a skilled, reliable defence behind him, lest ground balls squeak through a leaky infield and line drives not be run down.
Ryu’s 48.4 per cent career ground ball rate at least demonstrates he’s getting the type of contact you want half the time, as the prevalence of the infield shift has increased the rate at which ground balls are converted into outs. The Los Angeles Dodgers, Ryu’s old team, utilized a shift behind him 40 per cent of the time last season, well above the league average of 25.6 per cent.
On the left is how the Dodgers positioned fielders behind Ryu when he faced left-handed hitters, and on the right is how they approached right-handers:
Has anyone mentioned Toronto was a bottom-10 team across the board in 2019 by whichever advanced defensive statistic you prefer? It seems relevant.
Now, the Blue Jays are expecting to be better defensively on the infield in 2020, with a trimmed-down Vladimir Guerrero Jr. potentially featuring more range at third base, while Bo Bichette and Cavan Biggio continue to improve at shortstop and second. But the outfield is still a big question mark, particularly in centre, which was primarily covered by the erratic routes of Teoscar Hernandez in 2019.
Montoyo may have to tailor his lineups to Ryu’s tendencies on the days he pitches, playing Randal Grichuk in centre and the recently-signed Travis Shaw, who’s accumulated 26 DRS as a third baseman since 2015, at third in order to minimize the possibility of a defensive disaster. It likely won’t be the same calibre of defence Ryu was accustomed to with the Dodgers, but it’ll have to do.
Of course, Ryu will have to be on the mound for any of that to matter, and staying healthy enough to compete has been a perpetual struggle since his MLB debut in 2013. He missed time due to foot and back injuries that year, before hitting the injured list twice in 2014 with shoulder and glute ailments. Then, in 2015, Ryu revealed he’d been pitching with a torn labrum in his left shoulder for years, and underwent surgery to address the issue. A year later, when he was finally attempting a return to play, shoulder soreness and a groin issue kept him out even longer.
In July, 2016, Ryu made his first MLB appearance in 22 months. It was also his last for some time, as elbow tendinitis derailed his comeback and ultimately required surgery two months later. In 2017, it was adductor, hip, foot and forearm issues limiting Ryu to 126.2 innings; In 2018, a groin strain kept him to 82.1. From 2014 through 2018, Ryu threw 365.2 MLB innings — or 73.1 per year. Even last season, his healthiest since he was a rookie, Ryu still made two brief trips to the injured list due to groin and neck issues.
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Yeah, it’s a lot. And it’s why the Blue Jays are likely expecting something closer to 500 innings from Ryu over the next four season as opposed to 800. Getting 125 innings of elite pitching per season is still worth something, of course. And to the Blue Jays, who ran Ryu through an extensive physical this week, it’s evidently worth $20-million per year.
“There is no free agent signing where you’re not sharing some risk. And we feel like we’ve added an incredible talent to the organization and feel like he’s evolved and learned from his transition as a professional and as a Major League Baseball pitcher,” Atkins said. “We’re confident he’s going to continue to do what he needs to do to stay on the field.”
Still, if he does, it’s hard to expect Ryu to post the same numbers this season as he has over the last two. He’s moving to a more difficult division, in a league with a designated hitter batting once every nine instead of a pitcher, to play in a more hitter-friendly ballpark in front of a worse defence. He’s a year older (Ryu will be 33 on opening day) and threw nearly as many innings last season (182.2) as he did in the four that preceded it (213.2). There is a reason Steamer projects him at 2.9 fWAR after he was worth 4.8 in 2019.
But the only Blue Jays pitcher to post a three-win season since 2017 is Marcus Stroman, who doesn’t play for the team anymore. Even when baking in substantial regression to his recent performance, Ryu is a massive rotation upgrade for a team in desperate need of it. Simply put, when he’s healthy and pitching to his ability, Ryu’s among the most effective starters in baseball. And the price to acquire that rare upside is what the Blue Jays paid.
“We just continue to try to make the organization better. And there will be more opportunities like this one. And there have been opportunities that we’ve missed on,” Atkins said. “But we’ll continue to do that. We’re here for one thing and it’s to win. We’re getting closer to those days.”
The French league’s legal commission has ordered Paris Saint-Germain to pay Kylian Mbappé the 55 million euros ($61 million) in unpaid wages that he claims he’s entitled to, the league said Thursday.
The league confirmed the decision to The Associated Press without more details, a day after the France superstar rejected a mediation offer by the commission in his dispute with his former club.
LOS ANGELES (AP) — Former football star Reggie Bush was at his Encino home Tuesday night when three male suspects attempted to break in, the Los Angeles Times reported Wednesday.
“Everyone is safe,” Bush said in a text message to the newspaper.
The Los Angeles Police Dept. told the Times that a resident of the house reported hearing a window break and broken glass was found outside. Police said nothing was stolen and that three male suspects dressed in black were seen leaving the scene.
Bush starred at Southern California and in the NFL. The former running back was reinstated as the 2005 Heisman Trophy winner this year. He forfeited it in 2010 after USC was hit with sanctions partly related to Bush’s dealings with two aspiring sports marketers.
VANCOUVER – A fresh face has been gracing the B.C. Lions‘ highlight reels in recent weeks.
Midway through his second CFL campaign, wide receiver Ayden Eberhardt has contributed touchdowns in two consecutive games.
The 26-year-old wide receiver from Loveland, Colo., was the lone B.C. player to reel in a passing major in his team’s 37-23 victory over the league-leading Montreal Alouettes last Friday. The week before, he notched his first CFL touchdown in the Lions’ win over the Ottawa Redblacks.
“It’s been awesome. It’s been really good,” Eberhardt said of his recent play. “At the end of the day, the biggest stat to me is if we win. But who doesn’t love scoring?”
He’ll look to add to the tally Friday when the Leos (7-6) host the Toronto Argonauts.
Eberhardt signed with B.C. as a free agent in January 2023 and spent much of last season on the practice squad before cementing a role on the roster this year.
The six-foot-two, 195-pound University of Wyoming product has earned more opportunities in his second season, said Lions’ head coach and co-general manager Rick Campbell.
“He’s a super hard worker and very smart. He understands, has high football IQ, as we call it,” Campbell said.
The fact that Eberhardt can play virtually every receiving position helps.
“He could literally go into a game and we could throw him into a spot and he’d know exactly what he’s doing,” the coach said. “That allows him to play fast and earn the quarterback’s trust. And you see him making plays.”
Eberhardt credited his teammates, coaches and the rest of the Lions’ staff with helping him prepare for any situation he might face. They’ve all spent time teaching him the ins and outs of the Canadian game, or go over the playbook and run routes after practice, he said.
“I’ve played every single position on our offence in a game in the last two years, which is kind of crazy. But I love playing football,” he said. “I want to play any position that the team needs me to play.”
While B.C.’s lineup is studded with stars like running back William Stanback — who has a CFL-high 938 rushing yards — and wide receiver Justin McInnis — who leads the league in both receiving yards (1,074) and receiving TDs (seven) — versatility has been a critical part of the team’s back-to-back wins.
“I think we’ve got a lot of talented guys who deserve to get the ball and make big plays when they have the ball in their hands. So it’s really my job to get them the ball as much as possible,” said quarterback Nathan Rourke.
“I think that makes it easy when you can lean on those guys and, really, we’re in a situation where anyone can have a big game. And I think that’s a good place to be.”
Even with a talented lineup, the Lions face a tough test against an eager Argos side.
Toronto lost its second straight game Saturday when it dropped a 41-27 decision to Ottawa.
“We’ll have our hands full,” Rourke said. “We’ll have to adjust on the fly to whatever their game plan is. And no doubt, they’ll be ready to go so we’ll have to be as well.”
The two sides have already met once this season when the Argos handed the Lions a 35-27 loss in Toronto back on June 9.
A win on Friday would vault B.C. to the top of the West Division standings, over the 7-6 Winnipeg Blue Bombers who are on a bye week.
Collecting that victory isn’t assured, though, even with Toronto coming in on a two-game skid, Campbell said.
“They’ve hit a little bit of a rut, but they’re a really good team,” he said. “They’re very athletic. And you can really see (quarterback Chad Kelly’s) got zip on the ball. When you see him in there, he can make all the throws. So we’re expecting their best shot.”
TORONTO ARGONAUTS (6-6) AT B.C. LIONS (7-6)
Friday, B.C. Place
HOME FIELD ADVANTAGE: The Lions boast a 4-1 home record this season, including a 38-12 victory over the Redblacks at Royal Athletic Park in Victoria, B.C., on Aug. 31. The Argos have struggled outside of BMO Field and hold a 1-5 away record. Trips to the West Coast haven’t been easy for Toronto in recent years — since 2003, the club is 4-14 in road games against B.C.
CENTURION: B.C. defensive back Garry Peters is set to appear in his 100th consecutive game. The 32-year-old from Conyers, Ga., is a two-time CFL all-star who has amassed 381 defensive tackles, 19 special teams tackles and 16 interceptions over seven seasons. “Just being on the field with the guys every day, running around, talking trash back and forth, it keeps me young,” Peters said. “It makes me feel good, and my body doesn’t really feel it. I’ve been blessed to be able to play 100 straight.”
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 12, 2024.
