What should the LA Angels offer Hyun-Jin Ryu?

As the LA Angels begin to run low on pitching options, their sights are likely set on free agent Hyun-Jin Ryu, but what should Billy Eppler and Co. offer the stud southpaw?

After signing Anthony Rendon in response to Gerrit Cole spurning the LA Angels, the front office still has more than enough money to find options for their rotation. Rendon even made that easier for this offseason, reportedly taking roughly $10 million less than he’s owed annually.

That makes it very possible for the Halos to target Ryu and more in free agency. However, as far as I’m concerned, Ryu is the perfect fit for the Angels and they should make their interest very, very well-known to Ryu and his agent, Scott Boras.

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While their rotation likely needs more than just Ryu, the rest of Billy Eppler and the entire front office’s offseason needs to start with signing the 2019 Cy Young runner-up. Once they can pencil him into the rotation every week, then they should see how much more they need. So that leaves the question, how much should the Angels offer Hyun-Jin Ryu?

There’s a few different ways the Angels could attack this. The number that seems to be floating around as of now is a four-year, $80 million deal. Giving a 32-year a deal taking him deep into his 30’s, especially one who has durability questions, seems like a wild offer. However, given the state of the starting pitching market and the Angels’ need, that number sounds fine. It’s also worth noting the six-man rotation could potentially help Ryu’s durability and keep him effective throughout the length of the contract.

Another option could be a two-year deal with a much higher AAV. Maybe an average salary around $27 million on a short deal could offset the long-term security Ryu likely desires. However, if the southpaw can have two seasons similar to his last two, he’ll have no problem finding another contract on the free agency market even if he would be 34 at the time.

What’s more likely to happen is the four (or even five) year deal for around $20 million. The deciding factor for where Ryu plays could be if a team decides to extend the contract to five years. While the AAV going up is something I’m comfortable with, that extra year could wind up hurting the Angels an awful lot if they’re the team to offer it.