While Hyun-Jin Ryu enjoyed a standout rookie season with the Los Angeles Dodgers in 2013, his time with the organization has since been marred by injury. He put forth another strong campaign the following year but made just one combined start in 2015 and 2016.
Ryu underwent season-ending surgery in May 2015 to repair a torn labrum in his throwing shoulder, and didn’t take the mound for the Dodgers until July 2016. However, that lasted all of 4.2 innings in a rocky start against the San Diego Padres.
Ryu was placed on the disabled list two days later because of elbow tendinitis and eventually underwent elbow surgery. He endured a shaky 2017 campaign but bounced back and was arguably the Dodgers’ top starter this season.
It came with Ryu poised to become a free agent, which began with the Dodgers extending him a qualifying offer. As was hinted to be the case, he accepted the one-year, $17.9 million pact from the Dodgers, per Jorge Castillo of the L.A. Times:
Hyun-Jin Ryu has accepted the qualifying offer from the Dodgers, per source. @Feinsand and @JonHeyman were on it.
— Jorge Castillo (@jorgecastillo) November 12, 2018
While Ryu put together a Cy Young-worthy season, it was another year in which he spent time on the disabled list due to injury. He was removed from his sixth start of the season and went on to miss more than three months while recovering from a severe groin strain.
Ryu nonetheless finished the season 7-3 with a 1.97 ERA, 3.00 FIP and 1.01 WHIP in 15 starts. The success earned him an opportunity to pitch in the postseason for the first time since 2014.
Not only that, but Ryu ended Clayton Kershaw’s streak of starting playoff openers by being handed the ball in Game 1 of the National League Division Series. He tossed seven shutout innings but then regressed in each of his next three postseason starts.
Through parts of five seasons with the Dodgers, Ryu is 40-28 with a 3.20 ERA and 1.22 WHIP in 97 games (96 starts).
