The Toronto Blue Jays, who virtually parted ways with ‘Korean Monster’ Ryu Hyun-jin (37), recruited a fastball right-handed pitcher from Cuba.
He showed his will to strengthen the mound by investing a considerable amount of money.
American media, including Reuters, reported on the 18th (Korean time) that Toronto signed a four-year contract with Yariel Rodriguez for a total of $32 million (about 43 billion won).
Yariel Rodriguez is a right-hander born in 1997. He started his professional career by joining Japan Professional Baseball (NPB) Chunichi Dragons in 2020.
By 2022, he had only appeared in 79 games out of the bullpen, recording a record of 10 wins, 10 losses, and an ERA of 3.03.
In particular, in the 2022 season, he pitched 54⅔ innings and earned an ERA of 1.15, making him known as the top setup man in Japanese professional baseball.
The power of fastballs in the low to mid-150km range is evaluated as sufficient to be effective in the major leagues.
Yariel Rodriguez participated on behalf of his home country, Cuba, in the World Baseball Classic (WBC) in March last year,
but caused controversy by not returning to his team even after the tournament ended.
Junichi eventually had no choice but to officially terminate the contract with Yariel Rodriguez in October 2023.
Now free, Rodriguez has donned a Toronto uniform and is set to make his major league debut.
Rodriguez has pitched exclusively from the bullpen throughout his professional career and is expected to naturally take on a middle relief pitching position in Toronto.
Although he will have a gap in practice in 2023, he is expected to pass the medical test with ease as he has not had any major injuries. 바카라사이트닷컴
Toronto achieved not bad results in the 2023 regular season with 89 wins, 73 losses, and a winning percentage of 0.549.
They succeeded in boarding the last train for fall baseball by finishing 3rd in the American League’s Eastern Division and 3rd in the Wild Card.
Ryu Hyun-jin also contributed to Toronto’s advancement to the postseason. Ryu Hyun-jin underwent elbow ligament joint surgery
(Tommy John surgery) in 2022, underwent rehabilitation for a year, and returned to the major league mound in August of last year.
He began his resurgence by achieving decent results with 3 wins, 3 losses, and an ERA of 3.46 in 11 games and 52 innings.