Josh Lindblom, Seth Frankoff Re-Sign With Korea’s Doosan Bears

The Doosan Bears of the Korea Baseball Organization have announced new deals with right-handers Josh Lindblom and Seth Frankoff. H/t to Dan Kurtz of MyKBO.net (Twitter link).

Both hurlers will receive notable paydays for their 2018 efforts. Lindblom is slated to receive a $1.7MM salary, along with a $70K signing bonus, while Frankoff will earn $1.1MM after a $50K bonus of his own for putting his name on the dotted line.

These deals represent the latest reminder that there’s a thriving market for players who don’t quite manage to establish themselves in the majors. While roster rules limit the number of slots that KBO organizations can utilize on foreign-born players, those that are available can offer financial and playing-time opportunities that are quite appealing. And, of course, we’ve seen quite a few players ultimately make their way back stateside after impressing in Korea. Most recently, Merrill Kelly landed a two-year deal with the Diamondbacks.

Lindblom owns a 4.10 ERA in 147 career MLB innings, but has only made four big-league appearances since the end of the 2014 campaign. The former second-round pick, who’s now 31 years of age, spent half of the 2017 season in Korea and returned there for the ’18 campaign. He ended up spinning 168 2/3 frames of 2.88 ERA ball, with a healthy 157:38 K/BB ratio.

As for the 30-year-old Frankoff, he has just one big-league appearance under his belt. He proved a quality asset for the Bears in 2018, though, earning himself a nice payday. Frankoff worked to a 3.74 ERA in 149 1/3 innings, with 134 strikeouts against 55 walks.

Those stats were all the more impressive in the KBO’s high-scoring offensive environment. Lindblom led all league starters in ERA, in fact, with Frankoff also landing high atop the leaderboard. (Visit the MyKBO stats page to revisit some other familiar names.)