The Rangers announced tonight that they’ve requested release waivers on left-hander Eric Surkamp and will sell his contract rights to the Hanwha Eagles of the Korea Baseball Organization. Texas had claimed Surkamp off waivers from the division-rival Athletics in late June. The move opens a spot on the Rangers’ 40-man roster.
Surkamp, 28, has a 3.56 ERA and a strong 274-to-82 K/BB ratio over the life of 293 1/3 innings at the Triple-A level but has never been able to transfer that success to the Majors. He’s seen big league time with the Giants, White Sox, Dodgers and A’s but struggled to a 6.68 ERA in 95 2/3 innings of work. He’ll look to follow the path of many other former big leaguers that have struggled to establish themselves in MLB but enjoyed success pitching overseas. The terms of his deal with the Eagles, of course, we not included in this announcement, but it’s fair to expect that he’ll earn a good bit more pitching in the KBO than he would have made pitching in the minors with the Rangers organization. The Rangers, in turn, will receive some degree of financial compensation from the Eagles in exchange for parting with Surkamp.
The deal has already been made, Erik Surkamp just passed his physical… And was signed on a one-year deal worth an estimated 521 million Won (450,000 USD), which also includes added performance incentives. (Source: link to sports.khan.co.kr