Dodgers Team News

Dodgers News: Hyun-Jin Ryu signs with Toronto Blue Jays

After seven seasons in Los Angeles, left-handed starting pitcher Hyun-Jin Ryu has agreed to head to Toronto.

Ryu and the Blue Jays agreed to a four year, $80 million deal, according to Jeff Passan of ESPN. The deal was confirmed by Jon Heyman.



Bob Nightengale reported the deal comes with a full no-trade clause.

Ryu was the top free-agent left this off-season and has been drawing interest from more than six teams, according to Heyman.

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Even coming off a Cy Young caliber season where he finished second in the voting, Ryu does have some concerns surrounding him that makes him a risky long-term bet, such as his age (he’s entering his age 33 season) and his lengthy injury history.

He owns a career 2.98 ERA, 3.32 FIP, 8.08 K/9, 1.99 BB/9  and 15.1 fWAR in 740 1/3 innings.

The Dodgers are now limited to the trade market if they want to add to their starting rotation.

NEXT: Indians Reportedly Asking for Final Trade Packages in Francisco Lindor Talks

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!

37 Comments

    1. I’m making sure to go see Hyun-Jin in late June when Toronto comes to Anaheim. Either in person or ON LOCAL TV.

  1. Well, now it looks like trade time. We can go into next year and have Urias, Stripling, May, and Gonsolin chasing 2 rotation slots; but it WOULD be wise to have a solid, proven rotation arm. Can we come up with a solid trade package that does not include one of those guys? Or do we roll the dice? Hate to be Friedman. But we still have Pederson as a strong chip to throw in. Pederson , Rios, anyone? But, please, not David Price.

    1. I agree. Plus you could easily wear out young arms like May, Gonsolin, and Urias by season end since they haven’t built up their season long pitch counts. So they would either be off the table in the postseason or less effective. Even Stripling fell off sharply in the second half two years ago, after a great first half alongside Buehler.

      1. Any trade with other teams will now really cost the Dodgers big time, much more than they would cost any other team. I won’t hold my breath for anything of substance to take place. It looks more and more now with Ryu off the board that Dodgers will enter 2020 with what they have and I cannot be convinced it will be good enough for October baseball.

  2. This is unsurprising, as we all knew that LA wasn’t going to throw big money at Ryu. It would be less concerning if the team wasn’t pulling their usual stunt of sitting out the off-season, watching other competitors sign everyone up. LA has more money than any team in the league, yet far too often it seems like they are trying to operate on a shoestring budget. We can’t reasonably expect a better season from Kershaw than last year; he’s clearly in his decline phase. Buehler is the only sure thing in the rotation now. We assume Urias and May are ready, but this is a big supposition for a team that expects to win 100 games again next year. My honest guess is that Cleveland’s asking price for Lindor will be too high, and the team will open next season with Smith – Muncy – Lux – Turner – Seager – Pollack – Bellinger – Verdugo in the starting lineup. Pederson still likely to be traded.

    1. Been thinking Pederson would be traded for awhile; but other teams will be trying to get him for nothing. 35 homers and all. So any package with him will have to have a couple solid “extras”. Like Beatty and Rios or Ruiz . Other teams are giving us a hard sell this year hoping we bite. I say go straight for Clevinger. Forget Lindor. Not enough of an upgrade over Seager.

  3. Lol the Angels just missed a chance to have a decent pitching staff. Rendon is a complete waste now all they have are hitters per usual

  4. Even though this team falls short every year I get sad when favorites leave or retire. Now that Ryu is officially gone I’m saddened but we needed room for May and Gonsolin eventually. I don’t want to see Stripling hogging a spot again. Buehler Kershaw Urias May Gonsolin, we aren’t gonna win the World Series anyway so might as well start the major league development process right now for our young guns

  5. Congratulations to Hyun-Jin Ryu. Another player that bet on himself by taking the “Qualifying Offer” and then cashed in big time!
    I never thought the Dodgers were seriously in the running to sign Ryu. It’s not their style!

    1. Not to say Ryu wouldn’t have another good year; but hard to see him having 4 good years with no DL time. 3 years of playing time out of the 4? But still would have been good to help the youngsters transition. And we bit the bullet with Hill. Weird the GM passes with Ryu. He has the inside track on Betts or Lindor scenarios. Just hope May
      stays.

      1. Just a thought here, and that is Dodgers would not go to 4 years and $ 80 million for Ryu and /or he was not overjoyed with the prospect of being under the control of Roberts and Freidman anymore. Honestly, as I said before, Andy and Roberts could very well be one reason why we haven’t been able to sign or trade for anyone…yet. WSS

  6. You guys are fools if you pay one dime to these conmen! I wouldn’t be so harsh if they didn’t lie so much! Quotes from Friedman and Roberts about how the Dodgers are going to be big players! They really think we are all stupid enough to believe they are actually trying to win a world series. If they just said ” hey, mngt is giving us 160 million a year” so we can’t afford to pay any TOP MLB talent to play here, so we have to find guys that will all share playing time and be good clubhouse guys, even if their careers suffer from losing full opportunity to play all 9 innings. Ryu will do a great job, and deserves every dime he gets. So once again, anyone in line to get a big pay day that they earned won’t be coming from the penny pincher Dodgers. See you Bellringer! Unbelievable!

    1. During the Friedman era, he has consistently suggested that they were interested in the top free agents only to go on the cheap – seeking the reclamation projects which small market teams thrive on. This year he overtly proclaimed to be going after “top-tiered” talent and once again failed to spend any of ownership’s over-flowing coffers gleaned from their mammoth TV deal and the multitudes who pass through the the turnstiles paying the obscenely high prices for parking, refreshments and tickets. Who would have thought that we hadn’t hit the bottom with the Frank Mc Court ownership? Carpet baggers and con men every one of them.

    2. Kirk, you are pretty spot on here, and that’s how I and others are seeing the true picture here as of now. It is sad and any players who are clients of Boras will be gone when their FA time comes along, sad but IIWII.

  7. “Another fine mess you have gotten me into” : the FO is starting to remind me of Laurel and Hardy. This, however, is serious. On the one hand, we can stand pat and ride the same horse into 2020 that we had in 2019. But its not the same horse as Ryu is gone!!!!! On the other hand, we can go after Clevinger (who I prefer to Ryu anyway), and maybe Lindor (who only has one year left on his contract before hitting free agency). I am not keen getting only Lindor because our FO will overpay just like they did with Pollock, unless Lindor decides to extend his contract, I doubt he will do this, for we would miss another big payday. If we listen to Roberts, who says the Blue are after top-tier talent, we might have to be satisfied with relief pitcher Treiner, who is not top tier. The price of Lindor and Clevinger is now going to skyrocket. Sit back, Dodger faithful – of which I have been for 65 years – this is going to be a bumpy ride. Go Blue!!!

    1. BLUE LOU! The Laurel and Hardy reference is a crack up for sure, kind of funny but true at that. The top tier FA’s have all signed elsewhere and a theory behind this may be , and it was on another page here, that teams have collaborated on getting Dodgers involved in lengthy discussions and thus allowing players the Dodgers are targeting to end up signing elsewhere in the mean time. what is sad here is that 2020 with the ASG being at DS, the hosting team will have a sub par year up to that point

  8. Didn’t necessarily want Ryu back especially at the price he got from Toronto. Where’s the “elite players we’re targeting,” or “we’ll probably see more turnover on the roster than at any other time.”

    I’m not completely inspired with the backend of the SP rotation with the likes of Maeda, May, Stripling, Gonsolin and Urias. Is there an upside?…………yes, but it’s largely unproven as May, Gonsolin, Urias have never pitched an entire season at the MLB level and Stripling is made of porcelain.

    Typical FO on double-talk BS!.

  9. Memo to Ryu – you sold out, like all the rest of Boras’s “clients.” You will never have a ring in Toronto.

    1. Every player “sold out.” No player picks a team to win. He picks the team that pays the most.

  10. As long as Friedman is running things there will be no WS championships in LA. It’s as simple as that.

    1. If the Dodger fail to live up to the hype, they better plan to give away 81 bobbleheads for the 2021 season, because I really don’t see people paying for the same thing. Times are getting tougher.

        1. I am hundred percent agree! I think Trump is doing a great job under the pressure of Pelosi and the Democrats that was lying bitches. All they care about is getting rid of a great Republican and American who’s getting things done I just wish they would get off his back!! Thank God we don’t have Hillary Clinton in there or someone like Pelosi or any of these other democratic liars out there that are bringing down this country or at least trying to talk about sell outs. As far as for Rio a great left-handed pitcher the Dodgers are selling out me the fans everybody’s making a move like that. I can’t tell you how you’ve ruined my Christmas and I’m sickly holding my breath to see who you’re going to get rid of next. The Giants wouldn’t even do something like this.???????? I’m so ashamed of you guys in the front office. I’m boycotting going to a Dodger game next year. Our team and management are supposed to be a family what the hell is going on here. I’ll because of money you got to be kidding me. I’m so afraid of who is next. I’ve been one of your biggest fans and to a game every year for 51 years and that streak has come to a stop now.?

  11. Let me ask you who may be here:
    Have you ever witnessed a worse off season in Dodger history than this year? I am beginning to think that the game 5 elimination from the 2019 PS will have a lasting effect on this franchise for a few years now. And Roberts is a part of that as well.

    1. Paul, this is so far worse than last years off season even the guys at MLB channel are making up excuses as to Why? What is the Dodgers plan? Do they have one? They just announced that MLB attendance was down for 27 teams. There were only 5 teams that had increased attendance and the Dodgers weren’t one of the 5. The teams that had attendance increases were those that were active in the off season , and showed their fan base they were at least all in! The amount of ticked off Dodgers fans I run into is alarming with the common theme and question ” why” ? 2 and largest market, biggest T.V. deal, most resources! From what I see attendance will decline once again in Chavez Ravine with this penny anti group of con men! This isn’t OUR Dodgers, its theirs, so no more money from me, not until they go for the championship!

      1. Kirk, I am still debating as to whether I will renew the MLB Extra Innings package from DTV. There was a writer on another blog who felt that the regular season is the real and true measure of a successful team. HMMMM. But I would bet most fans feel getting it done in October after 32 years just might be just as an important indicator of what the team really is.

        1. I’m sure the writer was on the Friedman payroll! Why dont any of these writers have the fortitude to call these guys out Paul? Pedro Martinez sure did, same as Smoltz ” although he’s like Darling, a Dodger hater!!!! No one wants to call it what it is! The fan base and paying customers are being hoodwinked by a bunch of fantasy league GMS playing with a traditional authentic sports organization! Get some baseball people in there !!! I’m finding it hard to care what happens to the Dodgers! Its like watching your daughter marry a nightclub owner! Knowing where this ends up!!!!!!!!

  12. All this proves is that once again, Scott Boras could sell a dead mule to someone by saying, “he wont each much and he won’t be any trouble…”

  13. I love the Korean Monster and am sad that he is wearing another uniform … however, good on him getting the money that the Dodgers weren’t going to give him.

    With that said, his injury track record speaks for itself (hence a reason why the FO didn’t commit that many years on the contract offer). No way he stays healthy throughout the season; I can’t remember the last time he topped 190 IP … it’ll be interesting to see how he fares up North … new league, new field (Rogers Centre = turf?) … all the best to him and his family on this next chapter …

  14. my guess is the dodgers did not want to go 4 years i would not have done that either he will be in his upper 30’s at the end of the contract almost 33 already

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