Braves Have Reportedly 'Checked in' on Hyun-Jin Ryu
By Karl Rasmussen
The Atlanta Braves are among the teams itching to add to their starting rotation this offseason. With the top two prizes, Gerrit Cole and Stephen Strasburg, both off the market, the Braves are shifting their focus toward the next tier of available hurlers.
One player they've reportedly checked in on is former Dodgers' star Hyun-Jin Ryu, according to Jon Heyman.
Braves are thought to have checked in on Hyun-Jin Ryu. Uncertain level of interest. Also on Ryu: dodgers, jays, twins
— Jon Heyman (@JonHeyman) December 12, 2019
Ryu is coming off the best season of his career, having paced the National League with his 2.32 ERA while boasting a 14-5 record and 163 strikeouts across 182.2 innings of work.
The 32-year-old has struggled to stay healthy throughout his career, with last year's 29 starts being the most he's made since his first season in the bigs back in 2013.
Source: #STLCards showing interest in free agent Hyun-Jin Ryu. @MLBNetwork @MLB
— Jon Morosi (@jonmorosi) December 12, 2019
Across five seasons (excluding 2016 in which he made one appearance for 4.2 innings), Ryu has never recorded an ERA north of 3.77 and his BB/9 over the past two seasons has been well below 2.0.
The Braves will face a lot of competition in their pursuit of the southpaw, as Ryu has drawn interest from a variety of teams in recent days.