Dodgers Team News

Dodgers News: Hyun-Jin Ryu Nominated For Comeback Play of the Year

After a fantastic 2019 season, it appears Hyun-Jin Ryu is in the running for the National League comeback player of the year.

Ryu Comeback

After an exceptional season interrupted by a ugly groin injury that cost him half the season in 2018, Ryu came back to winner the NL ERA title in 2019. Moreover, his 2.32 ERA was best in all of baseball. He also lead the NL with his astronomically low 1.2 BB/9 walk rate. His other numbers were impressive. He went 14-5 in 182 innings. He struck out 163 and gave up only 160 hits.

Don’t Call It A Comeback?

The question on the minds of many will surely be: Was this a comeback year? The left-hander was injured for much of 2018, but he still had a 1.97 ERA last year and struck out almost 10 per 9 innings of work. The difference is here:

2018: 82.1 IP

2019: 182.2 IP

His 100 more innings and full season of work is probably what qualifies him. When you go from a pitcher who’s very good but not contributing enough to his team to a Cy Young candidate, the award becomes tangible.

How Many Awards and Where Will He go?

He’s got the NL ERA title already. He’s still a candidate for Cy Young. Now, he’s a candidate for the comeback player of the year. The questions for Hyun-Jin Ryu are: How many awards will he win, and more importantly, what jersey is he going to wear next year? As a free agent, this potential award only pads his worth. Here’s to hoping the award winning southpaw is still wearing Dodger blue in 2020.

AJ Gonzalez

AJ is a lifelong Dodgers and Lakers fan who grew up in California. His whole family is also lifelong Dodgers fans. He lives in Pennsylvania with his wife, two kids, his guitars, and beagle Kobe.

3 Comments

  1. Dodgers should be targeting:
    1) Cole
    1a) Strasburg
    2) Rendon

    As for Ryu, because of his age, generally poor conditioning and a guarantee of a trip to the IL every year, at most I think he should be offered a 2 year deal with a team option for a 3rd. Cole is the more desirable because he’s 2 years younger than Strasburg. Cole, Buehler, Ryu, Kershaw and May or Urias would make for a very good rotation. I really wouldn’t object to trading Kershaw but at $31 million per year for 2020 and 2021, his diminished velocity, and his post-season failures, I don’t see any takers without the Dodgers eating most of his remaining contract.

    We all love JT, but he’s aging and regularly injured. Move him to 1st and sign Rendon. Muncy is an offensive force and has turned into a passable 2nd baseman. I still don’t think Lux is ready and his numbers showed that, so give him a full year at AAA.

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