The LG Twins of the Korea Baseball Organization have signed right-handed pitcher Adam Plutko (h/t to Sung Min Kim). Plutko will receive a base salary of $500K, with a further $300K available in incentives.
Plutko was selected by Cleveland in the 11th round of the 2013 draft and quickly became a well-regarded prospect. For four straight years, from 2014 to 2017, he was considered one of the organization’s top 30 prospects by Baseball America, topping out at #14 in 2016. The reports on him as a prospect noted that his lack of elite stuff could be counteracted by his command and intelligent deployment of his arsenal.
Plutko saw sporadic big league action in his first few seasons, oscillating between the majors and minors, as well as bouncing from the rotation to the bullpen. His longest MLB stretch came in 2019, as he threw 109 1/3 innings with an ERA of 4.86 in 21 games, 20 of them starts. From 2016 to 2020, he logged 217 1/3 total innings with an ERA of 5.05. Those early prospect evaluations about his control proved correct, as evidenced by his 6.3% walk rate. However, he only managed a meager strikeout rate of 16.9%.
Prior to the 2021 season, he was acquired by the Orioles for cash considerations. Baltimore largely used him out of the bullpen, as he appeared in 38 games but just one start. He threw 56 1/3 innings, his walk rate jumping up to 10.6% and his ERA ending up at 6.71. He was designated for assignment in mid-August, clearing waivers and accepting an assignment to the minors. He appeared in 10 Triple-A games before electing free agency at the end of the season.
Plutko, 30, likely would have had to settle for a minor league deal if he stayed in North America. By going to Korea instead, he gets some certainty about his job situation for 2022, with the possibility to earn some extra money as well.
Plutko puttered out here. Good luck in Korea!
I could definitely see Plutko carving out a nice career there, similar to Dustin Nippert.
I could see him sucking there too. ⚾️
It’s KBO offseason to dominate now.
He’s moving further out in the system but maybe that’s the way he planned it.
Fun stat. If you go to fangraphs all time career leaderboard, and set the minimum career innings to 200, and sort by highest HR per 9, you get only 3 pitchers above 2.0 per 9. They are
David Hess, 2.61
Adam Plutko, 2.17
Asher Wojciehowski, 2.00
And all of them have experience with the Orioles.
Plutko is probably going to get lit up in the KBO too.
Cleveland legend
MISSED IT BY THAT [ = ] MUCH !!
According to informed sources, The Marlins were in on Adam Plutko right up until he signed the deal to join the Twins.. The Marlins made a “strong” offer, but not one that matched the Twins’ financial commitment. The Marlins weren’t the only team to be outbid.
The Minnesota Twins had also been linked to Plutko.