Hyun-Jin Ryu will now be done up in Blue Jay Blue.

Left-hander Hyun-Jin Ryu and the Toronto Blue Jays are in agreement on a four-year, $80 million contract, sources familiar with the deal told ESPN’s Jeff Passan.

A groin injury robbed Ryu of 15 weeks in 2018, but he stayed healthy throughout 2019 with the Los Angeles Dodgers and was among the best pitchers in the National League.

ESPN.com

Once again, a starting pitcher gets more than I would expect. I see Ryu as producing 8.4 WAR during the four years of his contract. At $9 million per WAR, that would be about $75.3 million. The Blue Jays are paying him about $9.6 million per WAR.

The Blue Jays overhauled this rotation with veterans, with Ryu leading Chase Anderson and Tanner Roark. These aren’t the type of pitchers one picks up when rebuilding. Ryu especially should be the type of pitcher a team adds when they are ready to win.

The Jays may expect that in the very near future their young offensive stars will generate so many runs that it doesn’t really matter who is pitching. In that case, veterans who can hold the fort are fine behind a true ace. They appear to be getting ready for a run in 2021, but they may surprise us this season.