SK Wyverns of the Korea Baseball Organization announced the signings of right-handers Wilmer Font and Artie Lewicki to one-year contracts. (Hat tip to Jeeho Yoo of the Yonhap News Agency.) Font’s deal will pay him $1MM, while Lewicki will earn $750K and can potentially land another $100K in incentives.
Font chose free agency after being outrighted off the Blue Jays’ 40-man roster at the end of the season. The 30-year-old had a rough time over 16 1/3 innings in 2020, posting a 9.92 ERA and nine walks over that limited sample size. Font has a 5.54 ERA in 144 2/3 innings since the start of the 2018 season, though some inconsistency was perhaps inevitable since Font suited up for five different organizations in 2018-19.
Over his various stops and in various usages as a reliever and starter, Font displayed some quality at times, such as a 3.66 ERA, 12.1 K/9, and 4.82 K/BB rate over 39 1/3 innings with the Jays in 2019. While he has started 22 of his 96 career Major League games, most of Font’s “starts” in recent years have been as an opener, though it is possible the Wyverns could deploy him as a traditional starter in 2021.
Reports from last weekend suggested that Lewicki was closing in on a deal with SK Wyverns, and the 28-year-old will now head overseas after being released by the Diamondbacks. Lewicki posted a 5.14 ERA over 49 innings with the Tigers in 2017-18 before missing all of 2019 due to Tommy John surgery. The D’Backs claimed him off waivers after the 2018 season and he returned to the mound to toss 3 1/3 frames of work for Arizona during the 2020 season.
In other SK Wyverns news, the team also announced that first baseman Jamie Romak has been re-signed to a one-year, $1.15MM deal. Romak has excelled in his four seasons with the Wyverns, hitting .283/.383/.553 with 135 homers in 2199 plate appearances since joining the Incheon-based team in 2017. A veteran of 18 seasons in pro ball, Romak’s career includes a one-season stint in Japan, 14 years in the minor leagues with seven different organizations, and 27 MLB games for the Dodgers and Diamondbacks in 2014-15.
Wilmer Font is fantastic! Just ask any Blue Jays fan who was forced to endure his pitching for multiple years,,, oh wait.
Yet another cool sticker for Wilmer Font’s luggage. The man gets around. On a side note, the Wyverns is a fantastically original team nickname.
There used to be a team called the Unicorns in the KBO
Font should be able to thrive in the KBO. He’s got stuff and he was very good as a starting pitcher in the PCL back in 2017.