The latest on players inking contracts with Nippon Professional Baseball or the Korea Baseball Organization…
- NPB’s Hanshin Tigers announced earlier this week that right-hander Aaron Wilkerson has been signed. Wilkerson is a veteran of three Major League seasons, posting a 6.88 ERA over 35 1/3 innings with the Brewers from 2017-19. He didn’t see any action in 2020, and after signing a minor league deal with the Dodgers last May, posted a 3.86 ERA and some very impressive strikeout (27.9%) and walk (5.4%) rates over 112 innings with Triple-A Oklahoma City. This performance didn’t get Wilkerson another look at the Show, however, and the 32-year-old will now explore this new opportunity in Japan. Wilkerson came close to signing abroad last winter, as he had a deal in place with the Chinese Professional Baseball League’s Rakuten Monkeys before ultimately opting out of the contract.
- Right-hander Albert Suarez is making the jump from Japan to South Korea, as he has signed with the KBO League’s Samsung Lions. The one-year deal will pay Suarez $700K in salary, a $100K signing bonus, and another $200K is available in contract incentives. Suarez’s MLB resume consists of 115 2/3 innings of 4.51 ball with the Giants in 2016-17, but he has pitched considerably better since joining NPB’s Yakult Swallows prior to the 2019 season. Over Suarez’s three seasons with the Swallows, he posted a 3.00 ERA over 162 innings, culminating in his role in helping the Tokyo-based team capture the Japan Series this past season.
Looks like the Samsung Lions is hoping for another successful transition for a player coming from NPB to the KBO. After all, it worked with David Buchanan and Jose Pirela last year.
Wilkerson is an interesting story being he has a solid track record and wouldn’t be a free agent until 2028 in a season when he will be turning 39
I’m sure that’s gotta be on the table during these talks. If the guy suddenly had mlb success he would never get paid like a star
I’ll bet even bigger names make the jump with the state of mlb right now. I understand many foreign leagues have a cap on how many international players can be rostered, but I really wouldn’t be surprised if a name or 2 from the top 50 list goes over just to get paid
Guys like McCutchen could make the jump
I am surprised by the Suarez move, he wins an NPB series and then he leaves to go to South Korea and the Samsung Lions..