Report: Blue Jays unlikely to sign Ryu; Twins, Angels, Dodgers favored

It appears as though Hyun-Jin Ryu is unlikely to head north of the border.

While the Toronto Blue Jays are said to be in serious pursuit of the free-agent left-hander, the team is viewed as a dark horse to land him, according to Gregor Chisholm of the Toronto Star.

With Toronto trailing, Ryu's market is starting to become clearer. The Los Angeles Angels, Los Angeles Dodgers (his team since 2013), and Minnesota Twins are considered his most likely destinations, according to Chisholm.

The top starting pitcher left in free agency, Ryu's deal is expected to be at minimum an $80-million, four-year contract, Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic reported Monday. The average annual value of his deal is also expected to surpass the $17-million AAV that Madison Bumgarner recently received from the Arizona Diamondbacks.

Those numbers appear to be too high for the Blue Jays, and that's why they're now on the periphery of the Ryu sweepstakes, Chisholm reports.

Starting pitching remains a major position of need for all four teams that are linked to Ryu.

Toronto made smaller upgrades by trading for Chase Anderson and agreeing to deals with Tanner Roark and Japanese star Shun Yamaguchi, while the Twins brought back Michael Pineda and Jake Odorizzi. The two Los Angeles teams are still hunting, however, as both the Angels and Dodgers struck out in their pursuits of Gerrit Cole and Stephen Strasburg.

Ryu was runner-up for this year's NL Cy Young after posting an MLB-leading 2.32 ERA with a 1.01 WHIP, 163 strikeouts, and 24 walks in 182 2/3 innings for the Dodgers.

The 32-year-old was ineligible to receive a qualifying offer this winter, and thus is not tied to draft-pick compensation.