Report: Hyun-Jin Ryu, Blue Jays Agree to Four-Year, $80 Million Deal

Ryu led the National League with a 2.32 ERA and finished second for the Cy Young Award while pitching for the Dodgers.

Brad Mills-USA TODAY Sports

Free agent pitcher Hyun-Jin Ryu has agreed to a four-year, $80 million deal with the Toronto Blue Jays, MLB Network's Jon Heyman reports. 

Ryu, who will be 33 next season, is coming off an All-Star 2019 campaign with the Los Angeles Dodgers, during which he posted a league-best 2.32 ERA and 1.007 WHIP. He finished second in NL Cy Young Award voting to the Mets' Jacob deGrom. 

After playing professionally in South Korea, Ryu joined the Dodgers in 2013, putting up a 3.00 ERA and finishing in fourth in the NL Rookie of the Year voting. 

Ryu has dealt with injuries throughout his career. He missed all of 2015 with a torn labrum, which required surgery that also forced him to miss the first half of 2016. After one start that year, on July 7, he hurt his left elbow and missed the rest of the season. He pitched fairly well in 2017, recording a 3.77 ERA, but he was left off the postseason roster when he was drilled with a line drive in his last start of September. The next season, Ryu was magnificent (1.97 ERA over 15 starts), but he missed time due to a strained his left groin that needed surgery. 

Still, there's no doubt Ryu can pitch. He was one of the Dodgers' three aces this season en route to their 106-56 record.

Ryu's $80 million deal puts the total value of contracts negotiated by agent Scott Boras this offseason over $1 billion. In addition to Ryu, Boras helped secure massive deals for Gerrit Cole, Stephen Strasburg and Anthony Rendon. 

Scott Boras’ $1.022 billion winter:
Cole: $324 million, #Yankees
Strasburg: $245 million, #Nats
Rendon: $245 million, #Angels
Ryu: $80 million, #Jays
Moustakas: $64 million, #Reds
Keuchel: $55.5 million, #WhiteSox
Profar: $5.7 million, #Padres
Watson: $3 million, #SFGiants

— Bob Nightengale (@BNightengale) December 23, 2019

With a $20 million average annual value, the 32-year-old Ryu surpassed 30-year-old Madison Bumgarner's $17 million AAV with the Diamondbacks. Ryu provides Toronto with a much-needed veteran pitcher to go along with its young, talented position players.