My personal favorite of the available pitchers that are realistic for the Sox. Discuss. 

Great title.  Boras client.  Good luck, Rick.

Heck of a pitcher when healthy...unfortunately, he hasn't really been healthy for a full season...in like forever. Coming off a very strong campaign though and as close to a "full" season as it gets for Ryu.  

Let's discuss.

He has been in MLB since 2013 and has pitched over 150 innings 3x and over 180 innings 2x.

He is my preferred free agent pitcher as well. Injury prone certainly, but he's only had one mediocre season in his career. 

If you're going to be paying $20+ million a year I like his upside more than Bumgarner and Kuechel. He also seems like a guy you could sign for 3 or 4 years instead of 5.

1 minute ago, TomPickle said:

He is my preferred free agent pitcher as well. Injury prone certainly, but he's only had one mediocre season in his career. 

If you're going to be paying $20+ million a year I like his upside more than Bumgarner and Kuechel. He also seems like a guy you could sign for 3 or 4 years instead of 5.

3 or 4 years for a guy who has thrown as few innings as he has in his MLB career is pretty darn risky (vs. Bum who is a pretty good bet to throw innings). No guarantees as guys can get hurt, but I think Keuchel/Bum have shown a lot more of a track record to throw innings and be solid.  Are they likely to deteriorate, yes, but I think you can probably expect to get a couple 2-4 WAR seasons out of Keuchel/Bum and with Ryu you might get 1 6 WAR season and a couple 1-2 WAR season's with like 50 innings combined.  I like Ryu on a 1 yr deal with a big AAV (ideally with a 2nd year option) and I'd look at it as Ryu + another arm.  

10 minutes ago, BackDoorBreach said:

Let's discuss.

He has been in MLB since 2013 and has pitched over 150 innings 3x and over 180 innings 2x.

Same amount of innings for wheeler has thrown and we had a brinks trunk for him.

 

Do it hahn.

Edited December 10, 20196 yr by Buehrle>Wood

1 minute ago, Chisoxfn said:

3 or 4 years for a guy who has thrown as few innings as he has in his MLB career is pretty darn risky (vs. Bum who is a pretty good bet to throw innings). No guarantees as guys can get hurt, but I think Keuchel/Bum have shown a lot more of a track record to throw innings and be solid.  Are they likely to deteriorate, yes, but I think you can probably expect to get a couple 2-4 WAR seasons out of Keuchel/Bum and with Ryu you might get 1 6 WAR season and a couple 1-2 WAR season's with like 50 innings combined.  I like Ryu on a 1 yr deal with a big AAV (ideally with a 2nd year option) and I'd look at it as Ryu + another arm.  

The White Sox should 100% no doubt be signing at least two free agent pitchers. Ryu, a steady 4/5 type and a third possibly from the scrapheap pile that is being discussed in another thread would be my preference.

Just now, Buehrle>Wood said:

Same amount of innings for wheeler has thrown and we had a brinks trunk for him.

 

Do it hahn.

I think Wheeler had stacked together a better trend, but Ryu, if you get comfortable on the medicals, is a better pitcher than anyone not named Stras/Cole.  He's a bit older but he's been really really good when healthy.  I don't get everyone's hate on Bumgarner though.  Dude has a ton of innings, but he's still productive and while he's a fly ball pitcher and that doesn't bode well at the cell and he will likely regress. He is also just a physical beast who I could see just continually putting up 2-4 WAR type seasons year after year.  

Sign me up for a yes!

I actually like that he may only pitch 175 innings. Keep his arm fresh for late season and Rodon, Kopech and maybe even Dunning will be fighting for starts already. 

If Ryu can be had for a reasonable price the Sox would be a good fit. If he misses some time we have Rodon and probably Dunning as an insurance policy.

5 minutes ago, GermanSoxFan said:

If Ryu can be had for a reasonable price the Sox would be a good fit. If he misses some time we have Rodon and probably Dunning as an insurance policy.

Depth charts and steamer project 2020 Ryu for 2.9 WAR, considerable regression from his stellar 2019 season. Give the he injury history and age, I’m not sure he’s the sort of player we want to hand a 3-4 year expensive deal?

This is the guy I want.

The problem here is that AT LEAST 5-7 teams are thinking the EXACT same thing on Ryu because of the lesser commitment in years/dollars/proximity to playoffs, etc.  Obviously if Bumgarner went to, say, the Twins, that would eliminate one competitor, but it's still going to be a game of musical chairs with teams bidding up each remaining pitcher on the market of those top 3 remaining after Cole.

 

Dodgers/Angels/Yankees (2/3 that miss out on Cole)

Minnesota

Texas Rangers

Cincinnati Reds

StL Cardinals

SD Padres (supposedly favors the West Coast, proximity to Korea, larger stadium although much more homer-friendly last year)

 

Plus, those teams are more more comfortable (in general) dealing with Boras.  The only advantage we have here is the possible relationship between Grandal and Ryu...or that he would be the first high-profile Korean player ever to play for the White Sox.

 

6 minutes ago, steveno89 said:

Depth charts and steamer project 2020 Ryu for 2.9 WAR, considerable regression from his stellar 2019 season. Give the he injury history and age, I’m not sure he’s the sort of player we want to hand a 3-4 year expensive deal?

And that's why Wheeler is such a huge loss.  Nobody had the plausible upside of being a 4+ fWAR guy in the AL, other than Zack and the top 2 in Cole/Stras.   He was going to be their Jon Lester in the overall scheme of things, comparing Sox to Cubs rebuilds.

Of course, Lester when he was acquired was at least one tier/level above Wheeler.   Perception.

42 minutes ago, Buehrle>Wood said:

Same amount of innings for wheeler has thrown and we had a brinks trunk for him.

 

Do it hahn.

Yeah if you're willing to offer a guy 5 years at 25 mill a year, offer the same salary for 3 years.

Fantastic thread title Ronald. Well done!

Quite simply - the Sox need to sign Ryu.  He's the best bet remaining.  Give him 4 years if you have to - you can't tell me 4/$84M isn't the high offer right now.  At that point, you sign a Walker, Wood, Porcello, or Lindbloom caliber for the other spot, and pitching is looking soooo much better.    

5 minutes ago, SoxAce said:

Fantastic thread title Ronald. Well done!

Thanks!

Thanks for the jinx. Now our very own Ken who arrived today will get whopped again. 

7 hours ago, Chisoxfn said:

I think Wheeler had stacked together a better trend, but Ryu, if you get comfortable on the medicals, is a better pitcher than anyone not named Stras/Cole.  He's a bit older but he's been really really good when healthy.  I don't get everyone's hate on Bumgarner though.  Dude has a ton of innings, but he's still productive and while he's a fly ball pitcher and that doesn't bode well at the cell and he will likely regress. He is also just a physical beast who I could see just continually putting up 2-4 WAR type seasons year after year.  

I agree with this.  I think Ryu is the third best pitcher available this offseason and is the Sox next best option after Wheeler.  Age, recent injury history, and future projections all favor Wheeler but Ryu has been a better pitcher when healthy.  He was runner up for Cy Young in 2019 and if he stayed healthy he would have won it.  He had an era below 2 for the majority of the season.

7 hours ago, Chisoxfn said:

I think Wheeler had stacked together a better trend, but Ryu, if you get comfortable on the medicals, is a better pitcher than anyone not named Stras/Cole.  He's a bit older but he's been really really good when healthy.  I don't get everyone's hate on Bumgarner though.  Dude has a ton of innings, but he's still productive and while he's a fly ball pitcher and that doesn't bode well at the cell and he will likely regress. He is also just a physical beast who I could see just continually putting up 2-4 WAR type seasons year after year.  

I love Bumgarner's demeanor.  He's a winner and a proven leader.  He's also been known to be a great mentor to young pitchers.  All things the White Sox need unfortunately none of them have anything to do with his ability to throw a baseball.  He's been an amazing pitcher but just hasn't been the same player since that dirt bike accident that resulted in a shoulder injury in 2017.  The last time he was anywhere close to winning a Cy Young was before that injury.  He did pitch over 200 innings in 2019, the first time he had gone over 130 innings since 2016, but his home and away splits were concerning as he had a 5.29 era on the road.  He's a fly ball pitcher who's always had a big park at Oracle to work with.  His overall era in 2019 was 3.90 and I don't think this number would get any better at GR.  

Edited December 10, 20196 yr by Good Guys

9 hours ago, Chisoxfn said:

I think Wheeler had stacked together a better trend, but Ryu, if you get comfortable on the medicals, is a better pitcher than anyone not named Stras/Cole.  He's a bit older but he's been really really good when healthy.  I don't get everyone's hate on Bumgarner though.  Dude has a ton of innings, but he's still productive and while he's a fly ball pitcher and that doesn't bode well at the cell and he will likely regress. He is also just a physical beast who I could see just continually putting up 2-4 WAR type seasons year after year.  

Part of the hate is Bumgarner suffers from OWGS (Old White Guy Syndrome ). You know that disease where everyone thinks you're a no fun, old school, chaw chewin' ,deer huntin' redneck responsible for all the worlds ills.

I’m in because of the reference LOL! So not really following baseball but I hear Ryu is a really good ground ball pitcher and gave up less HRs than Cole and Strasburg? That correct?