▲ Ryu Hyun-jin of the Toronto Blue Jays (L) waves at his fans alongside his daughter and his wife, former sports announcer Bae Ji-hyun, at Incheon International Airport in Incheon, 40 kilometers west of Seoul, before departing for the United States on March, 14, 2022, for major league spring training. (Yonhap)
▲ Ryu Hyun-jin of the Toronto Blue Jays (R), with his daughter and his wife, former sports announcer Bae Ji-hyun, prepares to board a U.S.-bound flight at Incheon International Airport in Incheon, 40 kilometers west of Seoul, on March, 14, 2022, for major league spring training. (Yonhap)
▲ Ryu Hyun-jin of the Toronto Blue Jays (C) takes a group photo with members of the Hanwha Eagles at Hanwha Life Eagles Park in Daejeon, some 160 kilometers south of Seoul, on March 11, 2022, in this photo provided by the Eagles. (PHOTO NOT FOR SALE) (Yonhap)
▲ In this file photo, Ryu Hyun-jin of the Toronto Blue Jays (L) chats with his former Los Angeles Dodgers teammate and current Kiwoom Heroes outfielder Yasiel Puig before a scrimmage between the Heroes and the Hanwha Eagles at Hanwha Life Eagles Park in Daejeon, some 160 kilometers south of Seoul, on March 4, 2022. (Yonhap)

MLB-player

Blue Jays' Ryu Hyun-jin leaves S. Korea for spring training in Florida

By Yoo Jee-ho

SEOUL, March 14 (Yonhap) -- With work stoppage in Major League Baseball (MLB) finally over after nearly 100 days, Toronto Blue Jays' South Korean pitcher Ryu Hyun-jin is on his way to spring training.

Ryu left home Monday afternoon to join his Blue Jays teammates at training camp in Dunedin, Florida. Ryu had been working out in South Korea since returning home after the end of the 2021 season last fall. The start of this year's spring training was delayed by about a month due to a labor dispute between MLB club owners and the players' association. After spending a few weeks at the start of the year throwing on his own, Ryu has been training with his former Korea Baseball Organization (KBO) club, Hanwha Eagles, since the start of February.

The Eagles had given Ryu the green light to continue to use their home facilities through March, as long as the lockout dragged on. But then the MLB club owners and the union agreed to terms on a new collective bargaining agreement Thursday (U.S. time).

Ryu bid farewell to his old Eagles teammates later Friday, and his agency here settled on Ryu's flight scheduled that same afternoon.

Some Blue Jays players have already reported to camp. Toronto's first preseason game will be Friday against the Baltimore Orioles.

The start of the regular season has been pushed back by about a week. The Blue Jays will open their season at home against the Texas Rangers on April 8.

Ryu, who turns 34 later this month, is entering Year 3 of his four-year contract worth $80 million. He is coming off perhaps his worst full season as a major league starter in 2021, when he was 14-10 with a 4.37 ERA in 169 innings over 31 starts

Though Ryu tied his career high in wins and starts, he also posted his worst ERA in a full season. He struck out about two fewer batters per nine innings than he had in 2020, when he finished third in the American League Cy Young Award voting.

Ryu was particularly knocked around hard in the second half last year. He had an 8-5 record with a 3.56 ERA in 17 starts before the All-Star break, but a 6-5 mark and a 5.50 ERA in 14 starts the rest of the season.

Ryu was Toronto's Opening Day starter in both 2020 and 2021, but he is mostly regarded as the team's No. 4 starter this year, behind the newly-acquired Kevin Gausman and a pair of returning pitchers, Jose Berrios and Alek Manoah. And soon after the lockout ended, the Blue Jays signed former All-Star Yusei Kikuchi, giving their rotation a second left-hander in addition to Ryu.

Ryu has previously said his goal every season is to make at least 30 starts and put up a sub-3.00 ERA.

The Blue Jays went 91-71 last year, finishing one game out of a wild card spot.

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