Ryu Hyun-jin to stay in US but agent Boras "will pitch in MLB next year"
"K-pop craze to hit MLB with half the teams inquiring"
Ryu Hyun-jin, 36, has been granted free agency by Major League Baseball (MLB), increasing the likelihood that he will be on a big league mound next year. Ryu's agent, Scott Boras, 71, predicted that he will stay in the MLB.
Boras attended the MLB owners' meetings on Sept. 9 (KST) and spoke to reporters about Ryu's future.
"When asked about Ryu's future, Boras said there was a lot of interest from big league teams and that he would be pitching in the MLB next year, not in Korea," Ben Nicholson-Smith of Canadian sports outlet Sportsnet reported on social media.
After undergoing season-ending left elbow ligament reconstruction surgery in June last year, Ryu returned to the big league mound in August and went 3-3 with a 3.46 ERA in 11 games.
The four-year, $80 million contract he signed with Toronto ahead of the 2020 season ended after this season. In his four years in Toronto, he went 24-15 with a 3.97 ERA in 60 games.
Locally, MLB teams are expected to offer the proven starter a short-term deal.
Jim Bowden, a former MLB general manager and columnist, recently ranked Ryu 35th in free agency and projected him to sign a one-year, $8 million contract with an option.
If Ryu, who came to the U.S. through the posting system, chooses to return to Korea, he will have to return to his hometown team, the Hanwha Eagles.
Lee Jung-hoo, 25, is also a client of Boras, who is trying to make it to MLB this winter through the posting system.
"Roughly half the teams in the league have already inquired about Lee," Boras told SNY, a local New York sports outlet.
"We brought Masataka Yoshida (Boston Red Sox) to the MLB, and his hitting skills are very good," he said. "His hitting skills can work, and he has a combination of defense and power. There's also a premium for his defense in the middle infield."
Boras is confident in Lee's success. "I think he's going to bring the K-pop craze to MLB," he said. 19guide03