Many of the top free agent starting pitchers have already signed, and Hyun-Jin Ryu could be next on the list to find a new team. When he does, he could be looking at a contract larger than the one Madison Bumgarner received.
The Athletic’s Ken Rosenthal said on Monday that the expectation is Ryu will receive at least four years and more than $17 million per season. Bumgarner received a 5-year, $85 million deal from Arizona.
Expectation within industry is Ryu will exceed Bumgarner’s $17M average annual value in deal of at least four years. Two industry people with knowledge of starting-pitching market predict minimum four years, $80M. Teams still in need of starter include #BlueJays; #Angels; #Twins.
— Ken Rosenthal (@Ken_Rosenthal) December 17, 2019
Ryu, 32, is coming off the best season of his career. The southpaw went 14-5 with a league-best 2.32 ERA. He was 7-3 with a 1.97 ERA the year before, but only pitched 82.1 innings.
Ryu has been very good throughout his career, going 54-33 with a 2.98 ERA. However, he has had injury issues throughout his time with the Dodgers. He’s had elbow, shoulder and groin injuries that have caused him to miss significant time. He’s only made 30 starts or more once since beginning his MLB career with the Dodgers in 2013.
The Angels, Twins, White Sox and Blue Jays are among teams with interest in Ryu.
