Finally, the Toronto Blue Jays have their ace. Indeed, when the off-season began in MLB; Toronto had money to spend and had the goal to sign two free agent starting pitchers to bolster their staff at the big league level.
First came Tanner Roark at the MLB Winter Meetings. Now, Toronto adds a bit of a bigger fish to the boat in the form of Hyun-Jin Ryu. Ryu signs on with Canada’s only baseball team for a four year pact worth $80 million dollars. Of course, he will be leaving behind a widely successful run in Los Angeles with a lot of fans who had grown fond of the left-hander from South Korea.
JUST IN: #BlueJays and LHP Hyun-Jin Ryu have agreed to a four-year, $80 million contract, according to multiple sources.
MORE: https://t.co/yiJGrwUbvT pic.twitter.com/2XnkWcP8l3
— SportsCentre (@SportsCentre) December 23, 2019
Without question, 2019 became a special farewell tour for Ryu in Los Angeles. Not only did he start the All Star game for the National League, but he finished second in Cy Young Award voting to New York’s Jacob deGrom.
All of this was due to a 14-5 season with a 2.32 ERA that forever belongs to Ryu on the back of his baseball card. Furthermore, he probably doesn’t land a contract like the one he does from Toronto without his strong 2019 campaign.
Surely, Ryu will add to a dynamic core of young players in Toronto that is markedly different then that of Los Angeles.
For instance, Toronto has Vladimir Guerrero Jr., Bo Bichette Jr., Cavan Biggio, and others dot the Blue Jays’ roster. Still, Toronto will not compete for division crowns perenially like the Dodgers do. And sometimes to a player the money is just too great to turn away from.
By all accounts, the Blue Jays wanted Ryu bad. It will be interesting to see if Ryu day becomes the event in Toronto that is was in Los Angeles.
