Dave Bush has opted out of his contract with the Phillies and will pursue an opportunity in Korea, Phillies Triple-A manager Ryne Sandberg confirmed to reporters, including CSNPhilly's Jim Salisbury (Twitter link). Dan Kurtz of MyKBO.net informs MLBTR that Bush will be replacing former big leaguer Aquilino Lopez on the roster of the SK Wyverns.
Bush, 32, signed a minor league deal with the Phillies this offseason and has spent the year pitching for Triple-A Lehigh Valley. The right-hander has pitched to a 3.16 ERA, 5.3 K/9 and 1.1 BB/9 in 62 2/3 innings of work for the IronPigs. He last saw Major League action as a member of the Rangers in 2011 when he posted a 5.79 ERA in 37 1/3 innings. Bush is represented by Turner Gary Sports.
I wanted to see, and thought he had earned, him get a couple starts to see if he could manage the 5th spot in the rotation. Unfortunately the timing was just off as Worley was able to comeback to pitch today and Kendrick has recently(somehow) pitched pretty good.
Dave Bush and Aquilino Lopez were teammates on the 2004 Blue Jays.
I’m not sure which part surprises me more, that Dave Bush voluntarily agreed to go to Korea, or that Aquilino Lopez was still pitching somewhere.
the guy pitched decent in Triple A. I don’t understand why he didn’t try and sign with another MLB team