Blue Jays ace Hyun Jin Ryu hits the 10-day injured list with neck tightness

After a dominant 2020 campaign with the Blue Jays, Hyun Jin Ryu has faced all sorts of struggles especially as of this past month.

The underlying factor for his play on the mound may have just been released as the star pitcher was just placed on the 10-day injured list for neck tightness a few hours ago. Left-hander Tayler Saucedo has been called back up from Buffalo to the big leagues in a corresponding move.

Signing with the Blue Jays prior to the 2020 season for 4 years and $80 million, Ryu was a force on the mound last season, earning a 2.69 ERA through 12 outings and 67.0 innings of work that saw him rack up 72 strikeouts, a 1.21 WHIP, and earned him enough votes to finish third in Cy Young voting within the American League.

Blue Jays ace Hyun Jin Ryu has just been placed on the 10-day injured list with a neck strain that should only keep the southpaw out for one start.

The 2021 season has not been kind to the southpaw, as he has gone on two separate slumps over the course of the season, with his most recent performance starting to bring into question what the club should do with the left-hander if the team does make the playoffs.

Over his last seven starts, Ryu has thrown to a 7.09 ERA with 26 earned runs allowed over 33.0 innings while striking out 30 batters compared to nine walks. So far on the season, Ryu is sporting a 4.34 ERA through 29 starts and has pitched 159.2 innings.

It is not known whether Ryu was battling this injury for some time, although he did report that he woke up with the pain after his latest start. It would make sense for some of his most recent lines if he was trying to battle through the injury:

Sep/11/21 vs Baltimore: 2.1 innings; 7 earned runs; 2 HR allowed; 1 walk; 4 strikeouts

Sep/17/21 vs Minnesota: 2.0 innings; 5 earned runs; 2 HR allowed; 1 walk; 2 strikeouts

It looks like the front office is hoping the Blue Jays pitcher will miss only one start in the rotation and should be ready to go towards the end of the season and potentially in the playoffs if the club hangs on to a Wild Card spot.

Hopefully, the neck strain is what was causing Ryu to struggle in his last two appearances and the 2020 version pops back when he returns to the mound in the somewhat near future.