The Baltimore Orioles in the U.S. need a veteran starting pitcher, but what about Ryu Hyun-jin?
The Athletic, a U.S. sports media outlet, evaluated Baltimore’s starting lineup on Monday (Korea time), pointing out the absence of a veteran ace. It mentioned Ryu Hyun-jin’s name as an alternative. “We still lack pitchers to replace Kyle Gibson’s 192 innings,” the media said. “Baltimore General Manager Mike Elias can strengthen his starting lineup as free agents such as James Paxton, Michael Lorenzen, Mike Clevinger, and Ryu Hyun-jin.” “I do,” he said.
Baltimore sent Gibson to the St. Louis Cardinals in free agency this offseason. Gibson was born in 1987 and made his big league debut in 2013 with the Minnesota Twins. He played as a starting pitcher for 11 seasons until last year, and appeared in 300 games. He has a career record of 104-100-2 with a 4.54 ERA. Last season, he went 15-9 with a 4.73 ERA in 22 starts in 33 games.
Preparing for the new season without Gibson, Baltimore plans to set up a rotation this season with Kyle Bradycie, Grayson Rodriguez, Dean Kramer, and John Means. Minns, born in 1993, is the oldest and younger on the starting lineup. Overall, he doesn’t have much big league experience. We desperately need resources to add weight.
Right-hander Bradycardi was born in 1996 and made his big league debut with Baltimore in 2022. He performed well last year with a 12-7 record and a 2.83 ERA in 30 games and 168 ⅔ innings, but his Major League experience lasted only two seasons. Rodriguez, a right-hander born in 1999, made his first big league debut last season. He went 7-4 with a 4.35 ERA in 23 games and 122 innings. He’s still a prospect, so he can’t completely erase the question mark.
A right-handed pitcher born in 1996, Cramer made his MLB debut in 2020. He went 13-5 with a 4.12 ERA in 172 ⅔ innings in 32 games last year. He went 22-20 with a 4.35 ERA in 370 ⅓ innings in 71 games (70 starts) over four seasons. Left-handed pitcher Means entered the big league with the Baltimore Orioles in 2018. Last season, he started after four games and 23 ⅔ innings. He left a record of 1-2 with a 2.66 ERA. He was the fastest Baltimore starter to make his big league debut, but he recorded 21-26 with a 3.74 ERA in 74 games (69 starts) and 380 ⅓ innings in six seasons.
So Ryu is the perfect fit for Baltimore. Born in 1987, Ryu has plenty of big league experience. Making a name for himself as the starting ace of the Hanwha Eagles in the KBO League from 2006 to 2012, Ryu challenged the majors through a posting system (closed competitive bidding) after the 2012 season. He signed a six-year, $36 million contract with the Los Angeles Dodgers.
Ryu had a stellar debut season in 2013 with a 14-8 record and a 3.00 ERA in 192 innings in 30 games. In 2014, he cruised to 14-7 with a 3.38 ERA in 152 innings in 26 games. In 2015, he missed one season due to brachial surgery on his left shoulder. In 2016, he played in only one game, recording one loss and an 11.57 ERA. That year, he removed the necrotic tissue from his left elbow.
It started spinning again in 2017. He threw 25 games (24 starts) and 126 ⅔ innings, going 5-9 with one save and a 3.77 ERA. In 2018, he announced a rebound from 15 games and 82 ⅓ innings to 7-3 with a 1.97 ERA. In 2019, he made a full return to 14-5 with a 2.32 ERA in 29 games and 182 ⅔ innings.
After the 2019 season, Ryu became a free agent. He transferred to the Toronto Blue Jays with a four-year, $80 million jackpot. At the time, it was the highest free agent fee for a pitcher in the club’s history.
In 2020, the first year of his contract, he shortened 60 games per team due to the novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19), and Ryu Hyun-jin had 5 wins, 2 losses, and a 2.69 ERA in 12 games and 67 innings. In 2021, he recorded 14 wins, 10 losses, and a 4.37 ERA in 31 games and 169 innings. In 2022, the season was canceled early due to Tommy John surgery on the elbow ligament in June. He had two wins and a 5.67 ERA in 27 innings in six games.
He came back from rehab last year. He made his comeback on Aug. 2 at Baltimore. He pitched a total of 11 games and 52 innings, going 3-3 with a 3.46 ERA. He is back in the free agent market. Ryu’s overall record in the big leagues is 10 seasons, 186 games (185 starts), 1,055 innings, 78-48 with a 3.27 ERA.
