Aiming to play ‘autumn baseball’, Toronto Blue Jays general manager Ross Atkins has revealed his plans to focus on bolstering the team’s batting order before the trade deadline on 1 August if Hyun-jin Ryu makes a successful return to the big leagues.
Atkins told the Toronto Star on Monday that if Hyun-jin Ryu can return to the starting rotation and reliever Chad Green, who also underwent Tommy John surgery on his elbow ligament last year, can join the bullpen, the Blue Jays front office will be able to focus on other needs ahead of the August 1 trade deadline.
“We have a very strong belief in their track record, their playoff experience, their overall experience as very good players,” Atkins said in an interview from the team’s home dugout at Rogers Centre in Toronto, Canada, “so we’re certainly optimistic that they’ll be available as options, but we also have to have a plan in place in case somebody does something unexpected or underperforms or gets injured.”
Ryu, who underwent surgery in June last year, continued to work on getting back into shape at Rogers Centre.
He pitched five innings of one-run ball in a Triple-A game on the 15th. He threw 65 pitches, struck out five and walked none. Ryu will make one more Triple-A appearance on the 21st (22nd KST). He will throw 85 pitches in five to six innings.
Atkins said that if Ryu continues to pitch well, he could move him right into the starting rotation and use a six-man rotation with Kevin Gausman, Chris Bassett, Jose Berrios, Yusei Kikuchi and Alec Manoa from late July to mid-August.카지노사이트
He said, “There are reasons to consider (a six-man rotation). “There are a lot of variables, but if we can use (Ryu) as an option, it would be a good thing, because we’re playing 17 games in a row with no days off, so I think we should consider (a six-man rotation),” he said.
Green, who underwent elbow ligament reconstruction surgery in May last year, is scheduled to make a rehab start on the 22nd and could join Ryu in the bullpen sooner rather than later, Atkins said.
Once the two pitchers return successfully, the team plans to focus on bolstering the batting order.
Toronto currently sits in third place in the American League (AL) East with a record of 53 wins and 43 losses. They are tied for second place in the AL Wild Card standings (three), giving them some hope for autumn baseball.