Hyun Jin Ryu will officially make his 2023 season debut on Tuesday with the Toronto Blue Jays against the Baltimore Orioles.
The 36-year-old was among a series of four roster moves made ahead of first pitch as the left-hander was activated from the 60-day IL. To create room on the 40-man roster, the club recalled infielder Otto Lopez – who’s been sidelined with a left oblique strain – from triple-A Buffalo and placed him on the 60-day IL.
Bowden Francis, after tossing two scoreless innings of relief on Monday, has been returned to the Bisons, clearing space on the 26-man roster for Ryu. With Bo Bichette out of the lineup due to a right knee injury, and only 12 position players on the roster after Jordan Luplow was designated for assignment, veteran infielder Ernie Clement is back up from Buffalo.
Ryu, who underwent Tommy John surgery over 13 months ago, made four rehab starts – two at triple-A Buffalo, one at single-A Dunedin and the other in the Flordia Complex League – pitching to a 2.00 ERA with 16 strikeouts over 18.0 innings. He punched out five while surrendering a pair of solo home runs in his final outing with the Bisons on July 21.
The veteran lefty rejoined the team in Los Angeles last week ahead of their three-game series versus the Dodgers. While he didn’t appear on that road trip, he threw a successful bullpen session at Dodger Stadium before being cleared to make his big-league return on Tuesday.
Last season, Ryu struggled to a 5.67 ERA with a 1.67 HR/9 – the second-highest of his MLB career – across 27.0 innings in six starts. He can become a free agent this winter.
