Rangers bid on Korean pitcher Hyun-Jin Ryu

The Texas Rangers placed a bid on South Korean left-handed pitcher Hyun-Jin Ryu on Friday. Ryu spent the past season with the Hanwha Eagles, and he went 9-9 with a 2.66 ERA, striking out 210 over 182.2 innings. There is a waiting period of four business days for Hanwha to accept the Rangers' offer.

If the Rangers win the bid, they will then have a 30-day period to come to an agreement with Ryu for a contract with his agent Scott Boras. There has been no comment at this time from Rangers general manger Jon Daniel.

Ryu has multiple pitches to use, starting with his fastball, which has been clocked between 90 and 95 mph, an average curveball, slider and a change up. Major League scouts are saying that his change up is his best pitch, and is a legitimate out-pitch at the MLB level.

Ryu has played at a high level of competition. When he pitched at the 2008 Olympics, he went 2-0 with a 1.04 ERA, and was the gold medal-winning pitcher for South Korea. He also pitched for South Korea at the 2009 World Baseball Classic.