Dodgers Team News

Dodgers News: Hyun-Jin Ryu Discusses His Free Agency

Both runner-ups for the 2019 Cy Young awards are free agents, and while there has been a ton of rumors surrounding Gerrit Cole, the Hyun-Jin Ryu market has remained pretty quiet.

In a bit of a twist to normal reporting, news about Ryu’s market came from himself as he talked about his free agency status and season with reporters at Incheon International Airport.



Ryu said he is looking to sign a three-to-four-year deal this off-season. At 33 years old with a pretty significant injury history, that would likely take Ryu right into his retirement. I recently predicted Ryu would sign a four-year deal with an average annual value of $20 million.

The story from The Korea Times also mentioned that South Korean outfielder Shin-soo Choo of the Texas Rangers asked their front office to pursue Ryu this off-season, which Choo discussed on a Korean radio station in Dallas.

When told about the comments, Ryu said, “I am grateful. I think it’d be special to be playing with a fellow Korean on the same team.”

There have already been reports of the Rangers’ interest in the left-hander.

Ryu also said his agent Scott Boras is handling everything and he doesn’t believe there has been much contact with the Dodgers about a new contract.

“I am going to focus on training for the new season,” Ryu said. “Honestly, I am not really thinking about free agency. But if there’s anything I need to do (regarding free agency), I’ll probably fly back to the U.S. at some point.”

It appears the Dodgers have their eyes on a bigger prize.

Blake Williams

I graduated with an Associate's Degree in Journalism from Los Angeles Pierce College and now I'm working towards my Bachelor's at Cal State University, Northridge. I'm currently the managing editor for the Roundup News and a writer for Dodgers Nation. Around the age of 12, I fell in love with baseball and in high school, I realized my best path to working in baseball was as a writer, so that's the path I followed. I also like to bring an analytics viewpoint to my work and I'm always willing to help someone understand them since so many people have done the same for me. Thanks for reading!

6 Comments

  1. 4 years $80 mil is insane. Congrats to Ryu if he gets some team to offer that! Just like Hill, team discount, come back and help the cause.

  2. Ryu is a very good pitcher when he’s healthy. His health and staying healthy is a question to really think about because he has gotten ill or something physical is always popping up and nothing is said until he’s on the mound. I know it’s hard for the Dodgers to say yes to any ballplayer about any extended contracts especially when one’s physical break downs are a bit too often. there are many other players to look at in that aspect also. We all know players train hard to do their very best and sometimes they overextend and that’s things happen. Most players do their best to help themselves and the team in that order. The Dodgers need to look at the last 2-3 years at their players and change what needs to be changed, players with fewer complications physical or otherwise.

  3. I would move on from Ryu,, injury risk and soft thrower,, yes, he had a terrific season but can he repeat that? Dodgers like them injury prone so likely he returns.

  4. No way to a 3 or 4 year deal. He’s had 1 good year in the last 5. 2019 is the anomaly so it would be crazy to go overboard on him. Let him walk if he and Boras stick to their demand.

  5. i would try to sign him for 2 years or even one year if he agrees to that he signed for one year last time i would not give him 4 or 5 years he is already 32 years old

  6. 2018 he had ERA around 2. He is one of best when he is healthy and he looks healthy these days.
    Ryu please come to east coast!

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