“A soft-throwing veteran is not a bullpen candidate.”
The Toronto Blue Jays made another move on Wednesday. They demoted Alec Manoa to Triple-A. Manoa, in his second year in the big leagues, still has minor league options with the organization. However, he may not return as a starter, at least not this season.
That’s because Ryu is back and healthy. Toronto ran a six-man rotation of ace Kevin Gausman, Jose Berrios, Hyun-jin Ryu, Chris Bassitt, and Yusei Kikuchi Manoa immediately after Ryu’s return, but the team went back to a five-man rotation when Manoa was moved out of the lineup.
Kikuchi has been outstanding this season, and Bassett has been solid through the ups and downs. Manoa, on the other hand, has been unreliable since his return. On top of that, Toronto ends a 17-game homestand on Thursday against the Chicago Cubs with Hyun-jin Ryu. They then have off days on the 15th, 18th, and 22nd. There’s a nine-game homestand after that, but that’s routine in the majors.
This means that Ryu will play the rest of the regular season on five days of rest and six days of pitching, instead of six days of rest and seven days of pitching. First up, Ryu will make his third start of the season at home against the Chicago Cubs on April 14 at 2:37.
Assuming a five-man rotation, Ryu will finish the season with starts against Cincinnati on May 21 (2:40 p.m., away), Cleveland on May 27 (4:07 p.m., home), Colorado on May 2 (9:40 p.m., away), Oakland on May 7 (4:37 p.m., away), Texas on May 13 (8:07 p.m., home), Boston on May 18 (2:37 p.m., home), Tampa Bay on May 24 (5:10 p.m., away), and Tampa Bay on May 30 (8:07 p.m., home).
That means Ryu has nine starts left. Notice that there are six day games. That’s a lot of day games for Ryu. It’s important for him to stay healthy. In particular, the last three games of the season are crucial: two against Tampa Bay, who are in the first wild card spot, and one against Boston, who are fighting for the fifth wild card spot.
For Ryu, it’s an opportunity. If he can stay healthy and perform well on a schedule that normally includes five days of rest and six days of work, he could be the deciding factor in his value in the upcoming 2023-2024 free agent market. These nine games will determine Ryu’s future as a major leaguer. 먹튀검증
Toronto failed to collect the full $80 million on Ryu’s contract. Instead, they’ve set the stage for him to shed $20 million of his salary this year. It’s a fateful nine games for Ryu, too. At this point, the industry consensus is that he’s more likely to try to stay in the major leagues than return to Hanwha in the KBO this winter.