International Notes: Huff, Kim

While it’s been slow on the free-agent front in the North America, plenty of recognizable names have been landing deals overseas in Japan and Korea. A couple of notes on the international market as the holiday season is in full swing…

• Lefty David Huff has agreed to a one-year, $1.3MM deal with the Yakult Swallows in Japan’s Nippon Professional Baseball, according to the Japan Times. The 33-year-old last suited up in the Majors for the 2016 Angels but spent parts of eight seasons in the bigs, posting a 5.17 ERA with 5.4 K/9, 3.0 BB/9 and a 38.8 percent ground-ball rate in 393 1/3 innings, spending time as both a starter and a reliever. Since his last big league appearance, Huff has been thriving with the LG Twins of the Korea Baseball Organization, pitching to a 2.66 ERA with 6.5 K/9 against 1.0 BB/9 in 199 1/3 innings in an extremely hitter-friendly setting.
• Though Hyun Soo Kim recently signed a four-year contract to return to the KBO (worth a total of $10.7MM), the 29-year-old said at his introductory press conference with the LG Twins that he’s not totally closed off to taking another shot at the Majors if the opportunity presents itself (link via Jee-ho Yoo of the Yonhap News Agency). Kim also spoke highly of his time in the Majors and the amount that he learned playing in parts of two seasons with the Orioles and Phillies. “[T]he biggest lesson is that I realized the importance of routines,” said Kim. “I thought I had built a solid routine myself, but it was nothing compared to what the big leaguers were doing. I thought players who stuck to their routines were always able to get out of their slumps quickly.” Yoo also “marveled” at the manner in which big league players took care of their bodies, Yoo writes, and offered a candid assessment of his time in the Majors. While he attributes many of his struggles to a lack of regular playing time, he takes responsibility for his lack of at-bats. “I didn’t play well when I did have my opportunity,” said Kim. “So it’s on me.”