After unsuccessful attempts to remain in the rotation during Spring Training last year due to an impingement and inflammation in his left shoulder, Hyun-Jin Ryu began the 2015 season on the disabled list.
He ultimately underwent season-ending surgery in May to repair a torn labrum and never stepped foot on the mound.
Ryu’s loss was another blow to a Dodgers rotation that had already lost Brandon McCarthy to Tommy John surgery.
Without two pitchers who had been penciled in, Los Angeles rotated through a slew of options during the season and attempted to find more stable solutions by trading for Mat Latos and Alex Wood.
The left-handed Ryu is expected to make a full recovery and said recently he remains on track to participate in Spring Training. While that continues to be the goal, Ryu isn’t rushing along his recovery, according to Yonhap’s Yoo Jee-ho:
“If I throw in the bullpen and continue to work hard, I may be able to pitch in preseason,” he said. “But I will try not to rush things too much. My biggest goal this year is to join the rotation at the beginning of the season and stay there until the end of the season. I haven’t set any statistical goals for myself.”
Ryu reported to camp last year ahead of when pitchers and catchers were expected at Camelback Ranch. He was in the midst of a rigorous offseason workout program and set a goal of pitching 200 innings in 2015.
The southpaw threw 192 innings during his rookie campaign in 2013, and 152 in 2014. In two seasons with the Dodgers, Ryu is 28-15 with a 3.17 ERA, 2.97 FIP and 1.19 WHIP over 56 starts (30 in 2013, 26 in 2014).
Given his previous contributions, Dodgers president of baseball operations Andrew Friedman referred to the 28-year-old Ryu as one of the club’s wild cards for the 2016 season.
