Los Angeles Dodgers: Ranking linked free agents by likelihood

2. Hyun-Jin Ryu

This might come as a surprise, but I actually think there is a fairly decent chance that the Los Angeles Dodgers re-sign Hyun-Jin Ryu this offseason. When the season came to a close, it appeared as if Ryu was long gone from L.A. However, Ryu now legitimately makes sense for a team that doesn’t need pitching but will take another elite-level arm.

The reasons against bringing Ryu back are his age (33 in 2020) and his injury history, both of which the Dodgers know a lot about. After a career-year in which Ryu finished second in Cy Young voting, the common consensus was that some team that was overly desperate for pitching would overpay Ryu.

However, it has since emerged that Ryu is only looking for a three or four-year deal, which opens Pandora’s Box for the Dodgers. Not only that, but the only real threat thus far to sign Ryu is the Texas Rangers, although there will be more teams in the bidding.

The Dodgers have given us reason to believe that they would be willing to re-sign Ryu to a three or four-year deal that pays him $20-25 million annually. The same front office re-signed and older Rich Hill to a three-year, $48 million deal that is now off the books amidst his blister and health concerns.

Maybe they learned from that contract and shy away from Ryu. Either way, I think the Dodgers set a hard price point for Ryu that he ends up taking due to a mixture of the market value, his familiarity in Los Angeles and the fact that the Dodgers are contenders.