September 22, 2019; Los Angeles, CA, USA; Los Angeles Dodgers starting pitcher Hyun-Jin Ryu (99) throws against the Colorado Rockies during the second inning at Dodger Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Gary A. Vasquez-USA TODAY Sports

The New York Yankees are poised for a dominant 2024 MLB season. Their pitching staff has nearly as much muscle as their batting order, but that doesn’t mean that Yankees management has to stop pursuing more enhancements to the roster.

With the way injuries ripped through the roster in 2023 and stripped valuable contributors like Carlos Rodon Jr. and Nestor Cortes Jr. of critical time on the mound, having another arm that can produce at a steady level will be huge for the team next year.

Yankees could take a chance on veteran flamethrower Hyun-Jin Ryu for roster depth

In comes Hyun-Jin Ryu to the fold. The star free agent is seeking an MLB home and the Bronx could very well be a place for him to settle.

The Athletic’s Jim Bowden tapped the Yankees as a place Ryu could land to help the team in more areas than one, saying:

“Ryu appears to be healthy but will have to accept a one-year deal because of the injury risk. He would be wise to sign with a non-contending team that could trade him at the deadline if he pitches in the first half like he did at the end of 2023,” Bowden began, before making the case for him joining an elite team.

“Or maybe a contending team that has multiple starters who are high injury risks, have age concerns, or are trending downward could tap him for rotation depth; the (New York Yankees), (Milwaukee Brewers), or (St. Louis Cardinals) might fit in that vein.”

Ryu bounced back from Tommy John surgery in the 2023 campaign and returned to form, putting away 38 hitters in 52 innings pitched with a 3.46 ERA and a .271 SO/W on the year.

Ryu will be a sound investment for the Yankees on several fronts

The 36-year-old right-hander looks like he still has juice left in the tank and if he were to squad up with the Yankees and slide in as their No. 4 option behind Cortes Jr., Rodon Jr., and reigning AL Cy Young award winner Gerrit Cole, he’d be as good a fourth man as there is in baseball today.

Coming off of a four-year, $80 million contract which saw him take home the final $20 million in 2023, Ryu will now come at a far lower price considering the timing with which His Tommy John surgery came and the risk that comes at his advanced age.