The Los Angeles Dodgers enter the offseason with decisions to make on three players set to become free agents at the conclusion of the 2019 World Series. Chief among them is Hyun-Jin Ryu, who is coming off a Cy Young-caliber year at the forefront of the starting rotation.
In 29 regular season starts, the left-hander went 14-5 with an MLB-leading 2.32 ERA across 182.2 innings pitched. Ryu additionally posted career bests in WHIP (1.01) and walks per nine innings (1.2) on top of being selected to his first All-Star Game.
The 31-year-old was named a finalist for National League Comeback Player of the Year and NL Outstanding Pitcher in voting for Players Choice Awards. He is also viewed as one of the frontrunners for NL Cy Young Award honors.
On the heels of a spectacular season, Ryu is now in line to earn a lucrative contract this winter, along with other top free-agent starting pitchers such as Gerrit Cole, Dallas Keuchel and potentially Stephen Strasburg.
Scott Boras is looking forward to the process and believes Ryu will only improve now that he is finally healthy, via the Yonhap News Agency:
Boras said Ryu was finally at “100 percent, physically” this year and people got to see who he really was now that he was healthy. “He had a Cy Young season. He was the best pitcher in the league,” he said. “We’re really excited about his future and we’re just beginning to see the real Ryu.”
Even though he will be entering his age-32 season, Boras believes the lack of wear-and-tear on Ryu’s arm makes him that more valuable on the free agent market:
“He is, age-wise, 32, but the truth is, innings-wise, he’s probably about 26 or 27, because he doesn’t have many innings on his arm,” Boras said. “That makes him very valuable.”
Though he battled through minor injuries this season, Ryu still managed to make the most starts and pitch his highest total innings since a rookie campaign in 2013.
Prior to this season, Ryu had logged a combined 41 appearances (40 starts) when dating back to the end of 2014. Shoulder issues limited him to just one game during the 2015-16 seasons.
While it remains to be seen how much interest the Dodgers have in retaining Ryu, they are expected to address their starting rotation one way or another this offseason. L.A. is already rumored to be one of the primary suitors for Cole.
