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Hyun Jin Ryu Diagnosed With Forearm Strain

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The MRI results came back for Blue Jays left-hander Hyun Jin Ryu, and the diagnosis is alarming. He has suffered a forearm strain and elbow inflammation, manager Charlie Montoyo told reporters (including Keegan Matheson of MLB.com).

Toronto didn’t provide much else on Ryu’s timetable. Montoyo said he’d be out “multiple weeks,” and he’s slated to undergo further testing to determine the severity of the issue. A forearm strain diagnosis is always alarming given how often that terminology is a precursor to Tommy John surgery, but there’s no indication that’s on the table at this time.

Ryu is no stranger to health concerns, having spent time on the injured list in every full season — excluding the shortened 2020 schedule — since 2013. He’s dealt with a litany of issues, but the most alarming was a combination of shoulder surgery and elbow tendinitis that cost him virtually all of the 2015-16 seasons. Ryu’s more recent injuries were mostly lower-half related, but he hit the IL earlier this year on account of forearm inflammation.

The 35-year-old returned from that bout of inflammation after a few weeks, but he made just four starts before again dealing with discomfort. Ryu suggested that his latest issue felt similar to the early-season problem, and the Jays placed him on the 15-day IL yesterday.

Ryu is in the third season of a four-year contract. He was exceptional in 2020, posting a 2.69 ERA with strong peripherals through 67 innings. While he made 31 starts and soaked up 167 frames last year, he wasn’t as effective on a rate basis. Ryu posted a 4.37 mark, continuing to demonstrate strong control and ground-ball numbers but watching his strikeout percentage fall from 26.2% to 20.4%. That rate has dropped to a well below-average 14.2% this season, while Ryu’s ERA has spiked to 5.33 over six outings.

It remains to be seen when Ryu might be able to reclaim his rotation spot in Toronto. In the interim, swingman Ross Stripling will step into the starting five alongside Alek Manoah, Kevin Gausman, José Berríos and Yusei Kikuchi. That’s still a strong group, particularly with Manoah and Gausman performing brilliantly. Stripling has started five of his 13 outings this season, posting a 4.22 ERA with an excellent 54.5% ground-ball percentage.

Blue Jays Place Hyun Jin Ryu On Injured List, Select Jeremy Beasley

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1:45pm: The Blue Jays announced that Ryu has been placed back on the 15-day injured list due to renewed inflammation in his left forearm. Right-hander Jeremy Beasley’s contract has been selected from Triple-A Buffalo in a corresponding move. He’ll take Ryu’s spot on the active roster (likely to fill a spot in the ’pen as Stripling slides into Ryu’s rotation spot).

Beasley, 26, allowed eight runs in 9 1/3 innings for the Jays in 2021, but he’s posted a 1.01 ERA with a 31.6% strikeout rate and an 8.1% walk rate in 26 2/3 innings at the Triple-A level so far in 2022.

11:06am: Blue Jays lefty Hyun Jin Ryu was slated to undergo an MRI this morning after he exited last night’s game with recurring forearm tightness, manager Charlie Montoyo told reporters (Twitter link via TSN’s Scott Mitchell). It doesn’t seem there’ll be an official update on Ryu today, as Montoyo now says that Ryu is still being evaluated (Twitter link via Shi Davidi of Sportsnet). It’s likely that Ross Stripling will take Ryu’s next turn in the rotation, however.

It’s the second forearm issue of the season for the 35-year-old Ryu, who has struggled to a 5.33 ERA through just six starts and 27 innings thus far in 2022. Ryu spent about a month on the injured list with what the team termed forearm inflammation, and a recurrence and subsequent round of imaging is an obvious cause for concern. Montoyo told Mitchell and others that Ryu appears to be dealing with “kind of the same thing he had last time,” which doesn’t instill much confidence.

Should Ryu require another absence, the Jays are at least stocked to withstand the loss. Offseason signee Kevin Gausman and Alek Manoah have pitched with top-of-the-rotation results, while newcomer Yusei Kikuchi has been solid of late in the middle of the group. Last year’s marquee deadline pickup, Jose Berrios, has struggled through his first full season in Toronto despite his status as one of the AL’s most consistent performers in recent seasons. Stripling has pitched well in a swingman role and gives the Jays a better “sixth starter” option than most clubs currently have. Meanwhile, former top prospect Nate Pearson has embarked on a rehab assignment after a lengthy bout with mononucleosis.

Ryu is in the third season of a four-year, $80MM contract. His debut campaign in Toronto was nothing short of outstanding, as he started 12 games and pitched to a 2.69 ERA during the shortened 2020 season — good for a third-place finish in American League Cy Young voting. He was durable but less productive in 2021, taking the ball 31 times and notching a 4.37 ERA with a diminished strikeout rate over the life of 169 frames.

Blue Jays Activate Hyun Jin Ryu, Danny Jansen

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The Blue Jays announced a series of roster moves today, with lefty Hyun Jin Ryu and catcher Danny Jansen being activated from the injured list. In corresponding moves, catcher Tyler Heineman and righty Trent Thornton have been optioned to Triple-A Buffalo.

Ryu was only able to make two starts this year before elbow inflammation landed him on the IL. Both of them were poor outings, with Ryu allowing at least five earned runs in each. The Jays are surely hoping that Ryu can bounce back so that those results can be chalked up to the injury. In 169 innings last year, Ryu had a 4.37 ERA, with a diminished 20.4% strikeout rate but strong walk rate of 5.3%. His return to the rotation should bump Ross Stripling back into a long relief role in the bullpen, a role that Thornton had been filling in the interim.

Jansen’s season got off to a great start before an oblique injury put him on the shelf. In a tiny sample of three games, Jansen hit a couple of home runs and was slashing .571/.625/1.571 to start the season. Last year, he hit .223/.299/.473, wRC+ of 105 in 70 games. With Heineman’s option and Jansen’s activation, the club is still rolling with a three-catcher setup, as Jansen joins Alejandro Kirk and Zack Collins on the roster.

Blue Jays Notes: Ryu, Hernandez, Borucki

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The Blue Jays currently have seven players on the injured list and Kaitlyn McGrath of The Athletic provides updates on each of them. (Twitter links) Hyun Jin Ryu will make a rehab start for the Triple-A Buffalo Bisons this Saturday as he begins to work his way back to the mound. He was only able to make two starts this year before elbow inflammation landed him on the injured list.

The rotation has fared well in his absence, with Kevin Gausman, Alek Manoah and Jose Berrios providing excellent innings at the front end. Berrios had a disastrous start in the season opener where he allowed four earned runs and only recorded a single out. However, he’s been able to correct course since then, recording a 2.66 ERA over his next four appearances. Manoah’s ERA is sitting at 1.44 on the year while Gausman’s is at 2.27, the latter not allowing a walk yet in 31 2/3 innings.

Ross Stripling has also carried himself well so far this year, putting up an ERA of 3.79, starting the year as the bullpen’s long man and then stepping up to take over Ryu’s starts in recent weeks. Yusei Kikuchi has been the weakest link so far, with a 5.52 ERA in four starts, including an alarming 18.1% walk rate. Ryu began his Blue Jays tenure with an excellent showing in 2020, logging a 2.69 ERA and 26.2% strikeout rate in the shortened campaign. He couldn’t quite sustain that into 2021, though, with his ERA swelling to 4.37 and his strikeout rate dimming to 20.4%.

Also going on a rehab assignment is outfielder Teoscar Hernandez, who landed on the IL after just six games this year due to an oblique strain. Somewhat overshadowed in the hype surrounding youngsters like Vladimir Guerrero Jr. and Bo Bichette, Hernandez has somewhat quietly emerged as an excellent hitter over the past few years. Since the start of the 2020 campaign, he’s hit .295/.347/.538, with his 136 wRC+ in that time ranking him 15th among qualified hitters, just ahead of guys like Matt Olson and Mookie Betts. His absence has opened up more playing time for Bradley Zimmer, who’s slashing .067/.125/.167 on the year. The return of Teoscar will unquestionably give a boost to the lineup.

Reliever Ryan Borucki is also making his way back, as he is set to throw live batting practice soon. The southpaw began the season on the injured list with a hamstring strain, before returning to the club and making a pair of scoreless appearances. However, he then went back on the IL with a blister. After transitioning from the rotation to the bullpen, Borucki seemed to emerge as a weapon in 2020. In 16 2/3 innings on the shortened season, he logged a 2.70 ERA with a 28.8% strikeout rate, though with a concerning 16.4% walk rate. He reduced that to 11.2% in 2021 but also saw his strikeouts dip to 21.4% and his ERA jump to 4.94. Now out of options, the 28-year-old will have to produce to hold onto his spot on the team. Rosters were just shrunk today, going from 28 to 26, along with a 14-pitcher limit that lasts until May 29, with the limit squeezing to 13 after that.

Blue Jays Notes: Second Base, Hernandez, Jansen, Ryu, Pearson

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A good portion of the Blue Jays’ offseason was focused on finding infield help, both to replace the departing Marcus Semien and perhaps to create an avenue for Cavan Biggio to move back from third base to second base. Defensive metrics weren’t particularly fond of Biggio’s work at third base, but he has generally solid marks in more than 1000 innings at second.

The Jays indeed found a left-side upgrade in the form of Matt Chapman, who’ll not only serve as a defensive improvement over Biggio at third base but will also help to offset shortstop Bo Bichette’s below-average range. Chapman’s addition looked to move Biggio back to second base, at least as the larger half of a platoon with Santiago Espinal, but as Sportsnet’s Arden Zwelling writes, it’s Espinal who looks to have seized the full-time job at the position.

Espinal, 27, is hitting .268/.333/.464 (128 wRC+) and, as importantly, has already posted sizable plus marks in Defensive Runs Saved (3) and Outs Above Average (3) through just 135 innings at second base. It’s still just 63 plate appearances, but Espinal has solid walk (7.9%, slightly below average) and strikeout (22.2%, slightly better than average) rates thus far in addition to a huge 48.8% hard-hit rate to begin the season.

Espinal’s play alone would likely have boosted the size of his role, but Biggio’s placement on the Covid-related injured list yesterday could further open the door, at least in the short-term, for Espinal to continue impressing. The Jays didn’t announce that Biggio had tested positive, though GM Ross Atkins told reporters that he’s been exhibiting potential symptoms (Twitter link via TSN’s Scott Mitchell).

Atkins also provided some updates on a pair of injured Jays, noting that slugging right fielder Teoscar Hernandez, who’s on the injured list with an oblique strain, could progress to live batting practice within a few days’ time. Hernandez was placed on the injured list back on April 14, and the Jays have felt his absence. Offseason acquisitions Raimel Tapia and Bradley Zimmer have been pressed into larger roles, but neither has produced at the plate. Tapia is hitting .236/.232/.327 in 58 plate appearances, while Zimmer is just 2-for-22 with one walk and 10 punchouts. Both Tapia and Zimmer have connected on a home run, but that doesn’t offset their general dearth of production.

Catcher Danny Jansen, per Atkins, is behind Hernandez and isn’t yet ready to swing a bat. Jansen homered twice in eight plate appearances before going down with an oblique strain of his own back on April 11. In his stead, the Jays have gotten a solid OBP out of Alejandro Kirk and a massive .306/.324/.611 output in 37 plate appearances from trade pickup Zack Collins. While Collins’ 35.7% strikeout rate portends a good bit of regression, he’s been productive enough for now that Toronto has even given him five starts at designated hitter.

On the pitching side of things, lefty Hyun Jin Ryu is slated for a live bullpen session this week that’ll determine his next steps (Twitter link from Sportsnet’s Shi Davidi). He’s currently dealing with a forearm injury. Righty Nate Pearson, currently out with a bout of mononucleosis, is slated to throw to hitters this weekend and could go on a rehab assignment next week. Atkins noted that Pearson may be ticketed for a “bulky” role, suggesting a multi-inning relief assignment once he’s back on the roster (link via MLB.com’s Keegan Matheson).

Still just 25 years old, Pearson isn’t far removed from ranking as the top-ranked right-handed pitching prospect in the game. The former first-rounder has electric stuff, evidenced by a fastball that averaged 97.7 mph in last year’s tiny sample of 15 big league innings. However, he’s been limited by elbow and groin injuries since making his 2020 debut, and Pearson also underwent offseason surgery to repair a sports hernia.

With just 45 2/3 innings between Triple-A and the Majors combined last season, plus 18 innings in 2020 (and some work at the Jays’ alternate training site), Pearson likely wouldn’t be relied upon to work a traditional starter’s slate of innings anyhow. The hope for the long term is surely that he’s able to eventually realize his top-of-the-rotation potential, but a hybrid role seems more prudent at this time, given the limited workloads in recent seasons. Pearson could yet make some starts this season, but with Ryu, Jose Berrios, Kevin Gausman, Alek Manoah, Yusei Kikuchi and swingman Ross Stripling all on the big league roster, plus Anthony Kay and Thomas Hatch in Triple-A but on the 40-man roster, the Jays have the depth to more strategically build Pearson up for 2023 and beyond.

Blue Jays Place Hyun Jin Ryu On 10-Day IL, Reinstate Ryan Borucki

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The Blue Jays announced that they have placed Hyun Jin Ryu on the 10-day injured list with left forearm inflammation. Left-hander Ryan Borucki, who started the year on the IL with a hamstring strain, will swap places with Ryu and take his roster spot.

Ryu started yesterday’s game for the Jays but managed only 53 pitches with diminished velocity, an indication that something was likely amiss. No timeline has been given for Ryu’s absence, but any arm injury for a pitcher is concerning. The southpaw had just begun the third season of the four-year deal he signed to join the Blue Jays prior to the 2020 campaign. At the time, the club was coming off a few lousy seasons, but had seen the debuts of prospects Vladimir Guerrero Jr., Bo Bichette and Cavan Biggio, heralding the beginning of a new competitive window.

Ryu was coming off an elite 2019 season with the Dodgers that saw him throw 182 2/3 innings of 2.32 ERA ball. However, there were reasons for concern, as he’d struggled to stay on the mound over the previous four seasons. He stayed healthy in the shortened 2020 season, making 12 starts with a 2.69 ERA, helping the Jays reach the expanded postseason. Last year, he made two brief trips to the IL and managed to log 169 innings, though his ERA ticked up to 4.37 and his strikeout rate fell to 20.4%, his lowest such rate in years.

Although he may have been passed by the likes of Jose Berrios, Kevin Gausman and Alek Manoah, Ryu was still pencilled as a regular member of the Jays’ rotation. With him now being shelved for an undetermined amount of time, Ross Stripling will step into his spot, per Ben Nicholson-Smith of Sportsnet. Stripling made a spot start on Friday and threw four scoreless innings against the Athletics, throwing 62 pitches in the process.

As for Borucki, he will add a fresh arm to the team’s bullpen. After switching from starting to relieving in 2020, the lefty had an excellent showing in the 2020 campaign. He threw 16 2/3 innings with a 2.70 ERA, 28.8% strikeout rate, though a concerning 16.4% walk rate. In 2021, he got the walks down to 11.2%, but also saw his strikeout rate fall to 21.4% and ERA jump up to 4.94. The 28-year-old is out of options and will need to stick on the roster or else lose his spot. The current 28-man rosters will shrink to 26 after May 1st.

Blue Jays Place Hyun Jin Ryu On 10-Day Injured List

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The Blue Jays have placed left-hander Hyun Jin Ryu on the 10-day injured list due to neck tightness.  The placement is retroactive to September 18.  Left-hander  Tayler Saucedo has been called up to take Ryu’s roster spot.

Jays GM Ross Atkins told reporters (including The Athletic’s Kaitlyn McGrath) that Ryu woke up with a sore neck yesterday, a day after an abbreviated start against the Twins.  The team is hoping the injury is minor enough that Ryu will miss only one start, and make a quick return to a Toronto club that is battling to return to the postseason.

While Ryu will be missed in the Blue Jays rotation, a brief reset might have been in order given the southpaw’s struggles over his last two starts.  Ryu threw six scoreless innings against the Yankees on September 6 but left that game with some minor forearm soreness.  Both Ryu and the team felt he was well enough to keep pitching, though Ryu has since allowed 12 earned runs over 4 1/3 innings in rough outings against the Orioles and Twins.

Ryu had a minimal 10-day IL stint due to a glute strain earlier this season, but has otherwise been pretty healthy over his two seasons in Toronto, which is no small feat for a pitcher who battled multiple injuries earlier in his career with the Dodgers.  Ryu’s 159 2/3 innings pitched in 2021 is the third-highest total of his eight MLB seasons, though there has been some indication that the grind of the longer season could be getting to the 34-year-old, even prior to his forearm issue.  Ryu has an 8.10 ERA over his last 36 2/3 innings, as opposed to a 3.22 ERA in his first 123 frames.

Atkins said that Ross Stripling is a candidate to take Ryu’s next turn in the rotation, which falls Wednesday against the Rays.  Since Toronto doesn’t play on September 27, Ryu would line up to return for a September 28 start against the Yankees if he is able to be activated from the IL when first eligible.

In the interim, the Blue Jays will have to get by without one of their top starters, though the Jays rotation has become a quiet strength.  Led by Cy Young Award candidate Robbie Ray and bolstered by the likes of Ryu, Steven Matz, trade deadline pickup Jose Berrios, and star rookie Alek Manoah, Toronto ranks eighth in baseball in starter ERA.  Stripling has a 4.69 ERA over 86 1/3 IP as a starting pitcher this year, as he has continued to be plagued by hard contact and problems with allowing home runs.

Blue Jays Activate George Springer, Place Hyun Jin Ryu On 10-Day IL

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Center fielder George Springer will make his long-awaited Blue Jays debut Wednesday against the Nationals, the team announced. Springer will serve as Toronto’s designated hitter and bat in the leadoff spot. In other moves, the Blue Jays placed left-hander Hyun Jin Ryu on the 10-day injured list with a right glute strain, optioned first baseman/DH Rowdy Tellez to its alternate site and recalled lefty Travis Bergen.

The Blue Jays signed Springer to the offseason’s richest free-agent guarantee, a six-year, $150MM pact, but have not gotten a single at-bat from the ex-Astros standout this year. Springer suffered an oblique strain during the spring, and just when it appeared he would return, he went down with a quad strain. The three-time All-Star didn’t recover from the latter injury as quickly as expected, so the club has spent the month relying on Randal Grichuk and Jonathan Davis in center.

Grichuk has hit a more-than-respectable .289/.345/.500 with four home runs in 84 plate appearances, thus helping the Springer-less Jays stay afloat in the early going with an even 11-11 record. Springer has enjoyed a much better career than Grichuk, though, having slashed .270/.361/.491 hitter with 174 homers over 3,587 PA. The 31-year-old is also above average in the outfield, where he has posted 26 Defensive Runs Saved and a 10.4 Ultimate Zone Rating since entering the league in 2014.

Springer’s activation spells bad news for Tellez, who has gotten off to a poor start this year with a .183/.222/.267 line and one homer in 63 trips to the plate. Those numbers are a far cry from Tellez’s output in 2020, when it appeared the 26-year-old broke out with a .283/.346/.540 showing and slugged eight HRs over 127 PA.

The Springer addition is a welcome one for Toronto’s offense, but the Ryu loss is a tough blow for its pitching staff. Ryu’s IL placement is retroactive to April 26, but he’ll still miss at least one start. The Jays’ ace exited his latest start this past Sunday after throwing 3 2/3 scoreless innings against the Rays, and has recorded a 2.60 ERA on the season over 27 2/3 frames. Ryu, Ross Stripling, T.J. Zeuch and Nate Pearson represent starting options on the IL for the club, which will somehow have to battle through those absences and cobble together a rotation.

Injury Notes: Jays, Fried, Astros, Freeland

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A few health updates from around the game…

  • Center fielder George Springer’s Blue Jays debut is on hold yet again. As of Sunday, manager Charlie Montoyo was optimistic Springer would debut tonight, but that wasn’t the case. Springer is “not ready yet,” Montoyo said (Twitter links via Ben Nicholson-Smith of Sportsnet), though he did take batting practice and run the bases on Tuesday. Montoyo added that “[Springer] feels great except the running.” The former Astro has been trying to work back since suffering a right quad strain three weeks ago. In better news for the Blue Jays, ace Hyun Jin Ryu is recovering well from the right glute strain he incurred Sunday and shouldn’t miss a start, Nicholson-Smith relays.
  • The Braves are “likely” to activate left-hander Max Fried from the 10-day injured list next Tuesday or Wednesday, Mark Bowman of MLB.com tweets. If true, it’ll go down as roughly a three-week stay on the IL for Fried, who suffered a right hamstring strain during his most recent start on April 13. Once he returns, the 2020 NL Cy Young contender will try to rebound from a ghastly three-start, 11-inning stretch in which hitters victimized him for 15 runs (14 earned) on 23 hits and five walks.
  • Tuesday brought some positive and negative health-related developments for the Astros’ pitching staff. The good news: Southpaw Framber Valdez is making tremendous progress from a left ring finger injury and could rejoin their rotation sometime in June, Jake Kaplan of The Athletic relays. Valdez turned in a stellar performance in 2020, but he hasn’t gotten a chance to follow up on it this year. As for the bad news, righty reliever Pedro Baez has halted his throwing program on account of lingering shoulder soreness. The Astros transferred Baez from the 10-day injured list to the 60-day IL on Monday, meaning he won’t make his first appearance with the club until June 9 at the earliest. Houston signed the former Dodger to a two-year, $12.5MM guarantee over the winter.
  • Rockies lefty Kyle Freeland said Tuesday that he will “absolutely” pitch in the majors this season, per Patrick Saunders of the Denver Post (Twitter links). Freeland, a little over a month removed from suffering a strained pitching shoulder, had an “outstanding” bullpen session on Tuesday and could throw a sim game next week, according to manager Bud Black. However, there’s still no clear timetable for a potential 2021 debut for Freeland, who finished third on the Rockies in innings (70 2/3) and recorded a 4.33 ERA/4.95 SIERA with a 51.5 percent groundball rate last season.

Hyun Jin Ryu Leaves Game With Right Glute Strain

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Blue Jays starter Hyun Jin Ryu left today’s game because of a minor right glute strain, the team announced. Toronto took the contest 1-0 from the Rays, but a potential Ryu injury looms larger for the Jays’ future. Their ace threw 3 2/3 scoreless before his departure today allowing three hits, one walk, zero runs, while striking out five. After the game, Ryu appeared confident that he would be ready to make his next start, per Gregor Chisholm of the Toronto Star (via Twitter).

Before today’s game, Ryu had done his part with a 3.00 ERA/3.22 FIP in four starts covering 24 innings. His 48.6 groundball rate is down a touch from his norm, but within range for a small sample. His strikeouts were down just a little as well to a 21.9 percent strikeout rate, while he had been particularly stingy with free passes (2.1 percent walk rate).

Ryu might be the most irreplaceable arm on a Toronto roster that’s dealt with its fair share of injuries, especially on the pitching side. Closer Kirby Yates, of course, was lost for the year, while both Julian Merryweather and Jordan Romano – two potential replacements late in games – have also spent time on the injured list. In the rotation, highly-touted prospect Nate Pearson has yet to make his season debut, and he’s been joined on the IL by Ross Stripling and T.J. Zeuch. Somewhat surprisingly, the Blue Jays have been kept afloat by Steven Matz, who is 4-0 in four starts with a 2.31 ERA/3.22 FIP.

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