Former Blue Jays ace has called it a career, retiring after World Baseball Classic

After a decade in the majors and nine years playing professionally in in the Korean Baseball Organization, former Toronto Blue Jays ace Hyun-Jin Ryu has decided to hang up the cleats. The 38-year-old of Incheon, South Korea suited up for his national team at the 2026 World Baseball Classic and following the teams' elimination in the quarterfinals, Ryu says he has thrown his last professional pitch.

Ryu last pitched in the majors during the 2023 campaign for the Blue Jays before heading back to South Korea, and played with the Hanwa Eagles over the past two seasons.

Ryu retires as South Korea exits World Baseball Classic

Ryu debuted with the Eagles as a 19-year-old in 2006. The left-handed hurler impressed out of the gate, pitching to a 2.23 ERA that season in 30 games (28 starts). He threw 201.2 innings with 204 strikeouts, a 1.046 WHIP.

He continued to pitch well over the next few seasons and got a chance to showcase his stuff on the world stage when he pitched for Korea at the 2009 WBC. In five games, two starts, he struck out seven batters in seven innings and gave up just two earned runs as Korea finished as the runner ups in that years tournament, losing in the finals to Japan.

Four years later, Ryu made his major league debut as a 26-year-old for the Los Angeles Dodgers. He proved right away that his stuff would play in North America, as he went 192 innings that season with 154 strikeouts, a 119 ERA+, 1.203 WHIP and finished fourth in NL Rookie of the Year voting. Ryu spent six seasons with LA, accumulating a 13.9 bWAR with a 2.98 ERA in 740 innings pitched. He made one All-Star team, in 2019, when he led the league with a 2.32 ERA and finished second in Cy Young award voting going into free agency.

Ahead of the 2020 campaign, Ryu signed a four year deal with the Blue Jays as a 33-year-old veteran. It was one of the first major signings for the Blue Jays who were, at that time, starting to shed the "rebuilding" label. Unfortunately, that season was cut short by the COVID-19 pandemic, and then the following year, the Blue Jays didn't get to play at home in Toronto until much later in the season when restrictions were finally lifted.

In 2022, with the Blue Jays looking to play a full season at home for the first time since 2019, Ryu only lasted six games before he hit the IL and underwent Tommy John surgery. He was back with the Blue Jays at the end of 2023, starting 11 games down the stretch and helping them solidify a Wild Card spot in that years postseason. All told, Ryu produced a 5.1 bWAR in four years with Toronto, with a 3.97 ERA.

Despite the retirement, perhaps Ryu still has something to contribute to the Blue Jays. He was teammates with one of the newest Blue Jays' pitchers, Cody Ponce, while Ponce played for the Eagles in the KBO last season. Ponce spoke about Ryu on a recent Spring Training game broadcast and said that Ryu was ,"like a big brother to me."

If Ponce can replicated some of the success that Ryu had during his MLB tenure, then it will be a great signing by the Blue Jays to have picked up Ponce just this past offseason. Ryu now gets to head off into the sunset and enjoy time with his family, knowing he left a legacy in two different baseball leagues.