The U.S. sports media The Athletic claimed on the 29th that Kansas City was suitable as Ryu Hyun-jin’s destination. The Athletic recommended Ryu Hyun-jin, saying, Kansas City needs a proven starter to increase its competitiveness by steadily rotating the rotation. 스포츠토토핫 The Athletic offered a one-year total of $8 million, including incentives.
Kansas City won 56-106 in the 2023 season with a 0.346 win percentage. He was last in the American League Central. Of the 30 major league clubs, the Oakland Athletics 50-112-0.309 were the only teams with a lower winning percentage than Kansas City.
Ryu Hyun-jin is the right team to throw without any pressure. Kansas City is in a position to rebuild rather than next year’s results. Ryu Hyun-jin is an experienced veteran of the Major League Baseball. Ryu Hyun-jin can protect the rotation and buy time for young players to grow. Ryu played the same role for the Toronto Blue Jays in 2020 and 2021.
It is a smaller size than Japanese pitcher Kenta Maeda, who was compared to Ryu Hyun-jin. Maeda, one year younger than Ryu Hyun-jin, signed a two-year, $24 million contract with the Detroit Tigers. It is a very generous condition for a pitcher who is in his mid-30s with a multi-year contract for more than $10 million a year. However, Ryu was not evaluated to that extent.
The Athletic said, Ryu Hyun-jin returned from Tommy John surgery last season and performed impressively. He has a 3.46 ERA in 11 starts. He has made nine starts and allowed three runs or less. It is the 7th inning when two runs or less are allowed. He explained that he played five innings in six games and threw six innings in one game.
He went on to say, His fastballs were mostly 87 to 89 miles. He added that the hit rate for each type of pitch was 0.276 and 0.238 for the changeup and cutter.
However, The Athletic warned that Ryu Hyun-jin was not a sure guarantee card. The Athletic pointed out, Ryu Hyun-jin will have to sign a pillow contract that needs proof. Pillow-style contracts mean low-cost one-year contracts that are not burdensome for the club.