“We may be able to sign a multi-year contract, which seemed unlikely.” While

Ryu Hyun-jin pitched in 6 games last year and recorded 2 wins, no losses, and an ERA of 5.67, he felt pain in his forearm muscles and upon examination, he was diagnosed with Tommy John surgery. ‘I received the opinion that this is necessary. As a result, he underwent elbow surgery by Dr. Neil Ela Traje, an expert on elbows and shoulders who had previously performed surgeries on him. And then he entered into a long ‘fight’.

In the case of Tommy John, surgery requires more than a year of rehabilitation. ‘Korean Monster’ made good use of his long absence. Ryu Hyun-jin put in a lot of effort to return to the big league stage, not only recovering his elbow condition but also losing about 13kg of his weight. And he raised expectations by appearing in 4 minor league games and recording 2 wins, no losses, and an earned run average of 2.00.

The process and result of his first appearance were clearly disappointing. On the 2nd of last month, Ryu Hyun-jin made his return to the big league against the Baltimore Orioles, who had risen to first place in the Eastern Division of the American League and were reborn as a ‘strong team’. He allowed 4 runs, including 9 hits (1 home run) in 5 innings. (4 earned runs). But it was certainly encouraging that he finished his first appearance without any pain.

It doesn’t take long for Ryu Hyun-jin to regain his true value. Ryu Hyun-jin suffered an ‘accident’ during the game when he was hit on the inside of his right knee by a 97.7 mph (approximately 157.2 km) hard hit, but showed a sign of revival by pitching a ‘no-hit’ in 4 innings against the Cleveland Guardians in his second appearance since returning. I fired it up.

Ryu Hyun-jin experienced his first victory in 444 days by pitching against the Chicago Cubs, his third opponent after returning from Tommy John surgery, with 2 hits, 2 walks, 3 strikeouts, and 2 runs (unearned) in 5 innings. As the potential of prospects exploded, he was selected as a wild card. In the match against the Cincinnati Reds, who are competing to advance to the postseason, they also went on a winning streak, allowing 2 runs (unearned) in 5 innings.

The good trend continued. Ryu Hyun-jin met again with Cleveland, who had been unable to play long innings due to an ‘accident’, and this time, he pitched well, allowing 2 runs (2 earned) in 5 innings, earning his 3rd win of the season. In addition, at Coors Field, the stadium where he struggled the most throughout his career, he pitched 2 runs (2 earned) in 5 innings, proving that his previous performance was not ‘sparkling’.

The most disappointing game of all his appearances so far was against the Oakland Athletics, the previous appearance (on the 7th). Oakland is a team that is evaluated as the ‘weakest’ in the Major League. It was worth aiming for not only 4 wins but also a quality start (3 earned runs or less in 6 innings). However, due to an unexpected blow and the misfortune of not receiving support from the batting line, he suffered his second loss of the season, but was able to prevent the team from allowing 2 runs in 5 innings in 5 consecutive games.메이저놀이터

In fact, this season is very important for Ryu Hyun-jin. This is why you can actually exercise your last free agent right as you enter your late 30s. The flow so far is very good. It is unfortunate that he has never been able to play 6 innings due to the thorough management of the Toronto team(?), but there is no doubt that he is a ‘card’ that can reliably block at least 5 innings.

The American media is also not aware of this. ‘MLB.com’ selected ‘9 FAs who need to end 2023 on a positive note’ on the 8th (Korean time), and Ryu Hyun-jin’s name was mentioned. The media began the article with high praise, saying, “It usually takes a long time for pitchers to get back on track after returning from Tommy John surgery, but not Ryu Hyun-jin.”

‘MLB.com’ said, “Hyun-Jin Ryu has made 7 starts since being removed from the injured list and has pitched 34 innings, recording an ERA of 2.65 and WHIP (on-base percentage per inning) of 1.06.” He gave a thumbs up to Ryu Hyun-jin’s performance, saying, “After being sent down to the minor league for the first time, he filled the gap as Toronto’s fifth starter.”

MLB.com’s view is that with the current trend, you can aim for a good contract. The media said, “Ryu Hyun-jin, now 36 years old, will not receive the same four-year, $80 million (approximately 106.6 billion won) contract he signed as a free agent last time,” but “if he continues like this, he may sign a lucrative multi-year contract that seemed unlikely a month ago.” “It will be possible,” he predicted.

When Ryu Hyun-jin continued to pitch well, allowing 2 runs in 5 innings, local media in Toronto called for a renewal of his contract. If he pitches more than 5 innings in each game and maintains the minimum number of runs allowed until the end of the season, he will be able to recover the value lost due to ‘Tommy John surgery’ and receive a good contract again.