The Baltimore Orioles, which reigned as one of the strongest teams in the Major League Baseball (ML) last year, have put Ryu Hyun-jin (37) on the list of candidates for recruitment. Baltimore Baseball, a U.S. media outlet, said on the 1st (Korea time), “With the start of 2024, Baltimore continues to look for starting pitchers. Lucas Giolito (30, Boston Red Sox) and Frankie Montas (31, Cincinnati Reds), who could have been interested in them, have reached an agreement with a new team.”
Giolito and Montas were expected to win similar contracts to Ryu’s for their own reasons. Last year, Giolito won eight games and lost 16 games with a 4.88 ERA and 204 strikeouts in 184 ⅓ innings. Notably, Giolito had 41 home runs, which was considered the No. 1 player in the American League, and he signed a two-year contract worth 38.5 million U.S. dollars with the Boston Red Sox. Montas only pitched one ⅓ against the Kansas City Royals on Oct. 1, the end of the season after undergoing shoulder surgery since last year. However, he won a one-year contract worth 16 million dollars with the Cincinnati Reds.
As they signed the deal on unexpectedly good terms, Ryu’s ransom also went up. “In the slow-moving FA market, the price of Montas was certainly high,” Baltimore Baseball said. Mike Elias, Baltimore’s senior vice president and general manager, will monitor the trade market. “There are several pitchers in the FA market that are suitable for Baltimore in terms of Baltimore’s budget, and they include right-handed Marcus Stroman and Michael Lorenzen, left-handed Sean Murney and Ryu Hyun-jin,” he pointed out.
However, if you look at the roster as of January 2 in Baltimore, you wouldn’t know if you need a certain ace? It is not necessary to have a fourth to fifth-line pitcher. Based on solid starters ranking seventh overall in ERA (3.91), he recorded 101 wins and 61 losses last year, achieving his 100th winning season in 43 years, and dominating the American League East for the first time in nine years.
According to the U.S. baseball statistics outlet FanGraphs, Baltimore’s starting pitchers Kyle Brady (28), Grayson Rodriguez (25), John Mins (31), Dean Kremer (28), and Cole Irvin (30) are the same from last year’s. Brady, who ranked fourth in the American League Cy Young Award with 12-7 losses and 2.83 ERA in 2023, was expected to be the ace. Rodriguez, one of the top prospects who had a decent debut season with seven wins and four losses and a 4.35 ERA last year, was expected to be the second starting pitcher. Having ranked second in the Rookie of the Year award and returned after undergoing Tommy John Surgery for tendon connections in his elbow, Mins is like a man in heaven. With Kremer having 13 wins and five losses and 4.12 ERA, four starters, and Irvin having one win, four losses and 4.42 ERA, the team has solid lower rotation. Why did Baltimore need Ryu Hyun-jin.
He must have tried to fill the vacancy because he felt it somewhere. St. Louis Cardinals left right-hander Kyle Gibson (37) out of the Baltimore starting lineup last year. He was the hint. Gibson was drafted by the Minnesota Twins with No. 22 overall in the first round of the rookie draft in 2009 and is a 12-year veteran who made his big league debut in 2013. He has never received votes for the Cy Young Award in his career, with 104 wins and 100 losses, an ERA of 4.54, and 1,359 strikeouts in 1,696 innings. However, he was a solid starting pitcher who could expect double-digit wins by consistently working in innings.
Baltimore and Gibson only met last year for one year. They signed a one-year FA contract worth 10 million U.S. dollars, and played the starting role with 15 wins and nine losses, an ERA of 4.73 and 157 strikeouts in 192 innings. In recognition of their achievements, he headed to the St. Louis Cardinals in November last year to sign a one-year FA contract worth 12 million dollars with a team option for 2025.
It was only one year, but the feelings and meaning he had for Gibson at the Baltimore club were different. MASN, a leading Baltimore newspaper, reported that Gibson had signed a one-year contract with the St. Louis Cardinals, saying, “Gibson was a great recruit to Baltimore, a great teammate, and a special presence in the clubhouse. We didn’t know much about Gibson until we saw him in person, but we truly realized it.” He continued, “We will miss Gibson in the media as well. He was very helpful to us and always provided insight with thoughtful answers. The leadership vacuum he left behind will be filled by young veteran groups such as Austin Hayes and Cedric Mullins.”
According to MASN, Gibson was a great model for the young Baltimore team that finished rebuilding. His departure has left the Baltimore pitching staff feeling a leadership vacuum again. Ryu, who made his Major League debut in the same year as Gibson and has had a similar career, could be an alternative. Ryu has also been recognized as a clubhouse leader several times in Toronto. 에볼루션 바카라사이트
Of course, Ryu is considered to be sufficient as a low-ranking starter in terms of skills. Ryu returned to the mound in August last year after receiving Tommy John Surgery meant for the second time in his career in 2022, and has a 3.46 ERA over 52 innings in 11 starts. SNY praised Ryu, saying, “Ryu has only two starts in 25 games a year during his Major League career. However, he is one of the effective and reliable left-handers.”