RYU comeback moves Toronto…PO berth on the line, all bets are off

With Hyun-jin Ryu back, Toronto is in “serious mode” for fall baseball.

Ryu Hyun-jin’s Toronto Blue Jays are making a bold move. It’s clear that they’re serious about fall baseball this season. The timing of Ryu’s return is perfect, and it’s hard not to see a rosy future for Toronto.

On July 31, Toronto announced that it had successfully acquired St. Louis Cardinals’ “lightning fast bullpen” Jordan Hicks in a trade. The Jays gave up two top pitching prospects and received a power arm who can immediately fill the closer’s role.

Hicks is one of the most dominant hard-throwing pitchers in the majors, touching 100 mph. His sinker, which isn’t even a fastball, comes in so fast that hitters can’t handle it. This season, he has a 1-6 record with six shutouts and eight saves for St. Louis. While he hasn’t completely solved the problem of overcoming velocity issues, which is the fate of any fastball pitcher, having a bullpen capable of throwing game-changing fastballs can have a huge impact on late-game performance.

Toronto lost closer Jordan Romano to the disabled list with a back injury. The 28-save pitcher leads the league in that category. If he’s out and there’s no alternative, it’s going to be a morale killer for a team that’s struggling to make the playoffs. But by bringing in the strongest pitcher the club could find, the players were assured that the club was serious about fall ball. The best-case scenario for Toronto would be for Hicks to handle the back end in Romo’s absence, and for the two pitchers to synergize when Romo returns. The Jays have already added bullpen depth with the acquisition of Genesis Cabrera.

You can’t win baseball with a back door. The front door is Ryu Hyun-jin. He’ll make his first start in 14 months on April 2 against the Baltimore Orioles. He had elbow surgery at an advanced age, so there are many people who are worried about him, but he hasn’t rushed his rehabilitation and has focused on getting back to full strength slowly. With Ryu anchoring the starting rotation, Toronto’s chances of making the playoffs could be even better. 안전놀이터

Toronto is in third place in the American League East, but they have won three straight and are only 4.5 games back of first place Baltimore. That makes Ryu’s start against Baltimore all the more important. The Rays are also in second place in the wild-card race, behind first-place Tampa Bay, so they can’t afford to give up.