Report: Blue Jays Hyun Jin Ryu to Train With Former KBO Team Amid MLB Lockout

With uncertainty surrounding MLB Spring Training due to the lockout, Blue Jays SP Hyun Jin Ryu is working out with his former KBO team, the Hanwha Eagles

Unable to use the Toronto Blue Jays facilities, Hyun Jin Ryu is finding other ways to stay ready for the 2022 season.

Amid the uncertainty of an MLB lockout and not allowed to work out at Toronto's Dunedin complex with CBA talks ongoing, starting pitcher Hyun Jin Ryu will remain in Korea, training with his former KBO team the Hanwha Eagles, Daniel Kim reported Wednesday. 

Ryu completed his regular off-season workouts in Korea last week, but will now join his former team for KBO Spring Training, beginning in early February, and is expected to train with the team until the lockout ends, per Kim. The Eagles' Spring Training will be held in the South of South Korea, where temperatures are warmer than the current sub-freezing weather of Seoul or Daejeon, home to the Eagles.

Hyun-jin Ryu completed his pre-spring workouts w/ former #HanwahEagles teammates in Jeju island. Due to current #MLB lockout, it’s uncertain when he will be leaving for Dunedin at this time. #BlueJays pic.twitter.com/UUR9Q4xFwK

— Daniel Kim 대니얼 김 (@DanielKimW) January 20, 2022

Ryu prepares for his third season with the Blue Jays after inking a four-year, $80 million deal. Coming off a year where the 34-year-old lefty made 31 starts and reached 169 innings for Toronto, Ryu remains an integral part of a seemingly strong Blue Jays rotation. Ryu's ERA and FIP ticked up in 2021, reaching the highest numbers of his career in both statistics since 2017. 

"The best way is to forget about the past and get ready for the next start," Ryu said after an early exit in one of his final starts of 2021.

With 40-man roster players unable to use MLB team facilities during the lockout, Ryu isn't the only Blue Jay who has had to make alternative offseason plans to stay ready for the 2022 season. Toronto's top prospect, Gabriel Moreno, has been working out with Atlanta star Ronald Acuña Jr. and others in Venezuela and several Blue Jays big leaguers, including Teoscar Hernández, Bo Bichette, and Danny Jansen, took regular swings at a Clearwater, Florida batting cage in December.

Though there have been indications of a delayed season or potential games missed, all of the league's 40-man players must stay ready for a 2022 season that could become a reality at any moment, with or without the use of team facilities.

H/T Daniel Kim