The Toronto Blue Jays will be without the services of LHP Hyun Jin Ryu for the remainder of the season after it was announced he would be undergoing Tommy John surgery on Tuesday.
The 35 year old will require either a full or partial repair of his UCL (ulnar collateral ligament) after an MRI revealed structural damage to his throwing arm. Ryu landed on the IL with what was thought to be merely inflammation following a June 1st outing vs. the White Sox.
After speaking with Dr. Neal El Attrache, the veteran lefty and the Blue Jays opted for surgery rather than attempting to rehab his ailing arm.
“We were hopeful that there was the potential of a conservative route and weighed the pros and cons of that and ultimately decided that it was best to move forward with the procedure,” Atkins said during his media availability Tuesday.
Ryu had previously already missed a month of action with a similar injury this season, and now in his mid 30’s, the club believes this is the best course of action to remedy the issue once and for all.
With the South Korean hurler sidelined for the foreseeable future, Ross Stripling is expected to take his spot in the rotation moving forward. Ryu will enter the final year of his 4yr/$80M contract with the Jays in 2023.
“He’s a very tough individual and has perspective but he’s extremely disappointed that he won’t be part of this (lineup) for the near term,” Atkins said.
Ryu was 2-0 with a 5.67 ERA, 1.33 WHIP, and had 16Ks in 27IP thus far in 2022.
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