‘A little more certainty!’

Ryu Hyun-jin (36, Toronto Blue Jays) will return to Major League Baseball (MLB) later than expected. MLB.com reported on Friday that “Hyun-jin Ryu will not pitch against the Los Angeles Angels this weekend. He will pitch in one simulation game.” The simulated game will be played in a similar atmosphere to the real thing. The hitters will be at a higher level than Triple-A. The initially planned July return is now unlikely.

Ryu underwent elbow ligament reconstruction surgery in June last year. He has been rehabbing ever since. The clock is starting to tick. After pitching out of the bullpen in May and live in June, he started pitching in real games at the beginning of this month. He started in the Rookie League and moved up to Single-A and Triple-A. In his most recent start on the 22nd against the Triple-A Buffalo Bisons, he threw 85 pitches in six innings. His stuff has matured as well. He upped his fastball to 90.8 miles per hour (about 146 kilometres per hour).

It looked like he was getting closer to a big league mound. Ryu joined the team ahead of a three-game series against the Los Angeles Dodgers starting on the 25th. “Toronto wants to see Ryu in person,” MLB.com reported. He could pitch as early as a three-game series against the Los Angeles Angels (29-31). Several local media outlets predicted that Ryu would start against the Angels on the 29th. Shohei Ohtani (29) is the likely starter in the Angels’ rotation. There was a lot of focus on the Korean-Japanese starting lineup.바카라사이트

Not that there was anything wrong with that. Ben Nicholson-Smith, Sportsnet’s major league pitching reporter, analysed why in his opinion. For starters, facing Ohtani in a comeback game could be a bit daunting. Moreover, Toronto has a hellish 17-game road trip ahead. It would be more effective for the rotation to use him then. Also, the MLB has a trade deadline on the 2nd of next month. It’s possible they’ll make a decision after that, as they’ll need to trim their 40-man roster for the return.