When former Dodgers general manager Ned Colletti signed South Korean left-hander Hyun-jin Ryu to a six-year/$36 million contract on December 9, 2012, it raised a few of eyebrows. It’s not that this was an outrageous amount of money for a guy who, at the time, was considered to be the best pitcher in the Korean Baseball Organization (KBO) as a member of the Hanwha Eagles, it’s that this was in addition to the $25.7 million posting fee that the Dodgers had to pay just to be able to negotiate with the then 25-year-old Incheon, South Korea native, thus making the deal worth a total of $61.7 million for a guy who had zero MLB (or MiLB) experience.

What made the Ryu signing even more unusual – or at least unexpected – is that it came exactly one day prior to the Dodgers signing veteran right-hander Zack Greinke to a six-year/$146 million contract. Over the course of 24 hours, Colletti had spent a total of $207.7 million of Guggenheim Baseball Management Groups’s money.

While most Dodger fans – and the entire baseball world, for that matter – were focused on Greinke’s largest contract in MLB history for a starting pitcher (for all of one week), they paid little attention to the fact that Greinke’s contract included an opt-out clause after the 2015 season which, of course, the eccentric right-hander exercised, choosing instead to sign with the division-rival Arizona Diamondback.

Well guess what? Hyun-jin Ryu also has an opt-out clause in his Scott Boras-crafted contract.

Who knew, right? Sure enough, there it is in black and white:

The truth of the matter is that Ryu, like fellow Dodgers left-hander Scott Kazmir (who also has an opt-out clause this season) would be absolutely foolish to exercise their respective opt-out clauses.

Why, you ask?

To be brutally honest, it is highly unlikely that any other team would be willing to pay Kazmir more than the $16 million he is guaranteed from the Dodgers for both the 2017 and 2018 seasons and Ryu more than the $7 million he is guaranteed from the Dodgers in 2018.

…or would they?

For Kazmir probably not, but for Ryu it’s a bit more uncertain. It all depends on the type of season that Ryu has with the Dodgers in 2017; and make no mistake about it, he is going to be given every opportunity to have a good (and hopefully healthy) 2017 season with the Dodgers.

“Just checking in on [Ryu] today it sounds like the arrow is pointing up,” said Dodgers president of baseball operations Andrew Friedman during last Monday’s season wrap-up press conference at Dodger Stadium. “He’s been working extremely hard the last couple weeks and so just really kind of getting into the next couple months and continuing that rehab process, and getting into a throwing program, all of those various things that we’re on top of and he is committed to doing, and wants to get back out there every fifth day and help us win games.”

As every Dodger fan knows, Ryu underwent season-ending shoulder surgery on May 21, 2015 to repair a torn labrum – a condition that the Dodgers knew about when they signed him in 2012. And though it was hoped (and even guaranteed by Ryu) that he would be ready for spring training 2016, he was not and began the season on the disabled list. After a lengthy recovery period and several minor league rehab starts, the rock star-like left-hander finally returned to the Dodger Stadium mound on July 7, 2016 against the San Diego Padres.

It did not end well.

Ryu lasted only 4.2 innings during which he allowed six runs on eight hits (including a home run) while striking out four and walking two. He made a total of 89 pitches of which 55 were strikes. He ultimately landed back on the disabled list and on September 28 underwent left elbow debridement surgery that ended his 2016 season after making only that one start. When you break it down, Ryu was paid $78,652 for each of his 89 pitches that day.

Ryu made his only start of the 2016 season for the Dodgers on July 7.
(Photo credit – Jill Weisleder)

To be fair, Ryu worked extremely hard during his recovery and rehab from both surgeries and at one point it was even being tossed around that he might make it back in time to make the Dodgers postseason roster which, of course, did not happen. That being said, the now 29-year-old lefty continues to work hard and hopes to be ready when pitchers and catchers report for spring training 2017 in February.

Is Friedman surprised at how long Ryu’s recovery has taken?

“I think it’s one of those things that anytime a player has surgery you have an expected time that they’re back but each case is so different,” Friedman said. “Some guys come back ahead of schedule, some take a little bit longer. We focus more in on ‘Is a guy working hard? Is he putting himself in the best possible position to come back as quickly as he can?’ That’s what we are assessing. And Ryu did everything he could to get back and try and help this team.”

The caveat to all of this is that Ryu would have to pitch 401.1 innings in 2017 to reach his 750-inning opt-out minimum. To do that he would need to make a minimum of 44 starts and that absolutely positively will never happen.

But as we all know, baseball waits for no one and the Dodgers have built quite an impressive stable of young starting pitchers during Ryu’s absence. And while he may be given every opportunity to try to make the Dodgers Opening Day rotation on April 3, 2017, he most definitely will have his work cut out for him.

…opt-out clause notwithstanding.