Are you watching the Dodgers? QS+, 3G ERA 1.96 in 3 years, once as Kershaw successor and now as BOS ace
Apr 22, 2025
|
|
Ryu Hyun-jin (Hanwha Eagles) continued his growth by forming a rotation together when he stayed at the LA Dodgers, and finally stood as an ace as he ranked fourth in the NL Cy Young Award in 2021. He started 33 games that year and pitched 207 ⅔ innings, recording 16 wins and 4 losses with a 2.47 ERA and 212 strikeouts. At that time, it was even evaluated that he secured $200 million in ransom with three seasons left until the FA.
However, a sudden elbow injury blocked him. Tossed 12 games through early June 2022 and was placed on the injured list (IL). He had a knife in his right elbow in August of that year. It is the first time in seven years that he has received Tommy John Surgery again since 2015 when he was a minor league player.
I spent 2023 fully rehabilitating, but it wasn't smooth. Two years after the injury, he returned in May 2024. However, his physical condition was not normal. There was a huge gap for two years. After pitching jaggedly, he went back to rehabilitation with a hip injury in June.
Two months later, he returned and threw eight more games and managed to regain his normal condition. The Dodgers included him on the postseason roster. The performance was better than expected. In particular, he became a winning pitcher with two hits and no runs in five innings in Game 3 of the World Series against the New York Yankees, and in Game 5, he took the mound in the bottom of the ninth inning with a 7-6 lead and made a save with two strikeouts.
|
In the end, he accepted the Boston Red Sox's offer. The conditions were a $21.05 million annual salary (unfortunately, QO) in 2025, a $3 million buyout in 2026, and a $25 million annual salary mutual option. In other words, he wanted to throw well this year with a healthy body and aim for the FA again.
It's about Walker Buehler.
|
The four-seam fastball speed of 30 throws was up to 94.5 miles and an average of 93.7 miles, and he used six pitches evenly, including cutter, sweeper, sinker, knuckle curve and changeup. Compared to the Dodgers, which averaged 95 to 96 miles, the ball speed has decreased, but signs of successful comeback are clearly revealed in control and game management ability.
In the top of the first inning, he got consecutive hits from the leaders Nick Maiton and Andrew Benintendi and gave up a point by dealing with subsequent hits, but after that, he was close to perfect. He gave up a double in the second inning, but he struck out all three outswingers. In the third inning, he gave up consecutive walks to Maiton and Benintendi, who allowed consecutive hits in the first inning, and concentrated on the first and second bases with no outs, but put the subsequent three batters to bed.
The team turned the tables and handed over the fourth inning with a 4-1 lead, and in the fifth inning, Benintendi was treated as a double play with one out and a runner on the first base. Buehler, who allowed one hit and no run in the sixth inning, finished the task with three outs in the seventh inning.
Boston won 4-2 with Buehler's good pitching and won for the fifth time in the last six games. 13 wins and 11 losses in the season.
Buehler is 3-1 with a 4.23 ERA, 27 ⅔ innings and 26 strikeouts in five games of the season. Buehler, who was unstable with an 8.68 ERA in the first two games of the season, has stabilized with an 1.96 ERA in the last three games.
The Dodgers, who abandoned him, are complaining of injuries one after another these days. Tyler Glasnow's body is frail, and Bobby Miller is down to the minor leagues again. Shohei Ohtani's return to the mound has no promise, and Rocky Sasaki is still adjusting.
Born in July 1994, Buehler could tap the FA market again later this year. Considering his age, it is his last chance to hit the jackpot.
This article was translated by Naver AI translator.
