Former Dodgers All-Star Heading Home to South Korea: Reports

The pitcher was a Cy Young and Rookie of the Year candidate from 2013-19 in Los Angeles.

Hyun-Jin Ryu provided five memorable seasons and two unmemorable ones during seven years as a Dodger.

Add it up, and his original six-year, $36 million contract was a bargain for the team — and a watershed moment for the KBO, which had a short history of producing major league talent.

Now, 11 years after the Dodgers originally signed Ryu after he was posted by the Hanwha Eagles, Ryu is returning to the KBO according to Jeehoo Yoo of Yonhap News:

Korean media are reporting free agent pitcher Hyun-Jin Ryu has signed with his ex-Korean club Hanwha Eagles, but the Eagles are saying nothing has been finalized at the moment. Seems inevitable, though, that Ryu will return to #KBO.
He was KBO MVP and Rookie of the Year in 2006

— Jeeho Yoo (@Jeeho_1) February 20, 2024

Ryu went 54-33 with a 2.98 ERA in 125 regular-season starts with the Dodgers from 2013-19. He also made eight starts in the postseason, going 3-2 with a 4.05 ERA across 40 innings.

A shoulder labrum injury that was diagnosed in 2012 finally caught up with Ryu after two full seasons — the first of which ended with a fourth-place finish in National League Rookie of the Year voting. Ryu lost the entire 2015 and 2016 seasons to surgery and the subsequent recovery. 

By 2019, the left-hander was fully healthy and recovered. That season he went 14-5 with a 2.32 ERA, which led the NL. Ryu was named to his only All-Star team that summer, and finished second in Cy Young Award voting after the season.

A free agent for the second time, Ryu landed a four-year, $80 million contract with the Toronto Blue Jays. The left-hander went 24-15 with a 3.97 ERA in 60 starts with Toronto, but lost most of the last two seasons to Tommy John surgery.

Now 36, Ryu will head home for at least the next four years:

Xsports is reporting that Hanwha's deal with Ryu Hyun-jin is worth at least 17 billion won (about $12.7 million USD) for 4 years. https://t.co/mpdrb4aCBc

— Dan Kurtz (@MyKBO) February 20, 2024

In 10 MLB seasons, Ryu went 78-48 with a 3.27 ERA in 10 MLB seasons.