Blue Jays: Regrettable or not the Hyun-Jin Ryu signing was necessary

Regardless of how the Hyun-Jin Ryu signing plays out over the next four years, it was a necessary evil and one that the Toronto Blue Jays brain trust should be commended for doing.

Buster Olney of ESPN authored a piece yesterday claiming that the Blue Jays signing of Hyun-Jin Ryu has a solid chance of becoming regrettable before it is all said and done. Olney did, however, applaud the team for not sitting idle and at least being proactive in their efforts to right the ship.

I realize that Ryu is 33 years of age and has battled an assortment of injuries over the course of his five seasons in Los Angeles. I also have sat front and centre while the Blue Jays have failed to land any worthy free agents year in and year out focussing rather on reclamation projects and buy-low candidates.

Ross Atkins and company set their sights on Ryu early-on in the offseason and prospered landing the Korean native. The $20 million price tag is fair market value for a talent of Ryu’s ilk and maybe it took the fourth year to get it done but so be it. The Blue Jays also had to go an extra year to land Russell Martin and he was from this country.

More from Toronto Blue Jays News

• Matt Chapman has been exactly what the Blue Jays needed
• Blue Jays: The goalposts are moving in the right direction
• Single-A Dunedin Blue Jays advance to the Championship Series
• Blue Jays: Comparisons for Alek Manoah’s Second Season
• Blue Jays: Adam Cimber, the unlikely decision King

Atkins saw a need after witnessing 21 different pitchers start games for his club last season. So it doesn’t matter how the Ryu deal plays out, it was a calculated risk worth taking as there are no surefire things in life, not even the Gerrit Cole signing is guaranteed.

There is now hope once again north of the border and a fanbase anticipating further moves as this team just took a giant step closer to competing in the always competitive American League East.

This signing was not regrettable but more of a necessity and a risk definitely worth taking. We will see how it all shakes out, but for now, “In Ryu we trust.”