The Los Angeles Dodgers completed negotiations on a contract with Korean pitcher Hyun-Jin Ryu on Sunday just minutes before the deadline with the foreign star passed. Ryu will make $36 million over six years on the contract, with innings pitched incentives potentially boosting the contract to a total value of $42 million over the six years. Ryu can also opt out of the deal after the fifth year.
The Dodgers won the bidding for Ryu last month with a posting offer of $25.7 million. Regardless of whether or not the team signed Ryu, that money would be gone from the Dodgers' coffers, so it was clearly in the team's best interests to sign the 25-year old.
Ryu will likely serve as a starter with the Dodgers as opposed to a reliever, which was initially rumored when Los Angeles won the bidding. Adding Ryu to the trio of Clayton Kershaw, newly-signed ace Zack Greinke, and veteran Josh Beckett is definitely a good thing for the Dodgers, who all of a sudden have some pitching depth with Chad Billingsley, Chris Capuano, and Aaron Harang all battling for a rotation spot, though Billingsley might require Tommy John surgery that would sideline him for all of the 2013 season.
