‘I don’t think it’s an injury.’ Breathe, Blue Jays nation — it looks like Hyun-Jin Ryu is OK

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 25/04/2021 (1661 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

The Blue Jays had yet another injury scare on Sunday afternoon, but the good news is that this one appeared to come with a silver lining.

The man the Jays can ill afford to lose more than any other — veteran lefty Hyun-Jin Ryu — was forced to leave Sunday’s 1-0 victory over the Tampa Bay Rays in the fourth inning with a strained right glute. At first glance, the injury seemed serious. Upon further evaluation, it was deemed to be not that big of a deal.

Losing Ryu would have been a devastating blow no matter the circumstances, and it would have been even worse for a team that currently has nine players on the injured list. The positive is that Ryu believes it’s only a minor issue, and after the game he hesitated to even describe it as an injury.

The 34-year-old was removed midway through his fifth start of the year out of an abundance of caution. He plans to throw an abbreviated side session later this week and remains optimistic about being able to make his next start. Based on everything the Jays have dealt with so far this season, the news could have been much worse.

“I don’t think it’s an injury,” Ryu said through a translator, adding something felt loose around his glute area. “I guess I wasn’t as tense as I should have been. It’s nothing serious and it’s not really something that I felt before.”

Despite what Ryu said, he has dealt with glute issues before. In 2014, the former Cy Young candidate felt some discomfort in a similar area, and although Ryu was originally expected to miss just one start he eventually landed on the 15-day injured list and missed a couple weeks.

The hope this time is that Ryu will avoid the IL entirely. With a pair of off-days scheduled this week, the Jays can skip his next outing, or at least provide him with an extra couple days’ rest before his next appearance, without causing too many issues for the other pitchers.

That should come as welcome news for a team that was fearing the worst when Ryu initially went down. This is a guy who has been to the IL 10 times before and has dealt with everything from sore shoulders to wonky elbows. There’s a reason Ryu arrived in Toronto with the reputation of being injury prone.

“I cannot say what I was thinking,” Jays manager Charlie Montoyo said with a laugh, alluding to some not-safe-for-work comments that were running through his head when Ryu got hurt. “But after we took him out, right away they told us what it was. So, the (panic) didn’t last long. An inning later, somebody came out and said, ‘It’s not as bad as we thought.’ So that made me feel good right away.”

The Jays have been able to survive injuries to key players such as George Springer, Teoscar Hernandez and Nate Pearson so far this year. A prolonged absence from Ryu likely would prove to be more challenging to overcome than any of those because of what he means to the starting rotation and its lack of high-impact arms.

Even during the spring, long before injuries began wreaking havoc, Ryu was considered an integral piece. This was an organization that had depth in the rotation but not much upside. Ryu was the only starter the Jays had who seemed like a lock to post well-above-average numbers and give his team a chance to win every five days. Everyone else was a question mark.

A lot has changed since then, but that initial diagnosis still rings true. Robbie Ray and Steven Matz have emerged as viable options alongside Ryu, but neither one is as proven nor as consistent as the Jays’ ace. On top of that, much of the club’s starting depth has been eroded just a few weeks into the year.

The Jays are not only without the services of Pearson, but they’re also dealing with injuries to Thomas Hatch, Ross Stripling and T.J. Zeuch. Ryu, Ray and Matz are the only three in the rotation right now, with the fourth spot belonging to right-hander Trent Thornton in what amounts to a “bullpen day.”

Winnipeg Free Press | Newsletter

The Wrap

Weekday Evenings

Today’s must-read stories and a roundup of the day’s headlines, delivered every evening.

Sign up for The Wrap

Sign Up

I agree to the Terms and Conditions, Cookie and Privacy Policies, and CASL agreement.

Until one of those three returns, the only back-up starters the Jays can turn to are left-hander Anthony Kay and the forgotten Tanner Roark. Hatch still appears to be quite a long way from returning, while Pearson was up to 52 pitches in his last simulated game and Stripling has resumed throwing bullpens after dealing with an elbow issue.

In a couple more weeks, the Jays should have a lot more depth than they do right now, but this team would be searching for answers without Ryu even if everyone else was healthy. With an off-day on Monday and another scheduled for Thursday, there might be a path forward without removing him from the equation entirely.

“I’m just going to go as I normally would to prepare for a game,” said Ryu, who struck out five over 3 2/3 scoreless innings against Tampa Bay. “Just work out how I normally do in my routine. Obviously just going through what happened today, I might go on the mound and do a side session of 10 to 15 pitches to just doublecheck and make sure that I am OK. Starting tomorrow it’s just going to be a regular day again.”

The Jays believe they avoided a major setback, but after weeks of bad news they’ll keep their fingers crossed over the next 48 hours just in case. For as much as Ryu means to this team, he’s the one guy they need to stay healthy more than anyone else.

Gregor Chisholm is a Toronto-based baseball columnist for the Star. Follow him on Twitter: @GregorChisholm or reach him via email: gchisholm@thestar.ca