KBO League’s Samsung Lions Sign Matt Manning

The Samsung Lions of the Korea Baseball Organization announced the signing of right-hander Matt Manning to a one-year, $1MM contract.  Manning was outrighted off the Phillies roster in September, and he elected minor league free agency earlier this month.

Manning was once one of baseball’s top pitching prospects, and he was a fixture of top-100 prospect rankings in the years following his selection as the ninth overall pick of the 2016 draft.  He posted solid numbers on his way up the Tigers’ minor league ladder until his MLB debut in June 2021, but the strikeout ability Manning displayed in the minors didn’t translate to his work in the Show.  Over 254 innings and 50 starts with Detroit from 2021-24, Manning posted a 4.43 ERA, 7.8% walk rate, and only a 16.4% strikeout rate.

Some injuries hampered Manning during this time, but the Tigers eventually decided to move on entirely from the right-hander.  Manning spent the entire 2025 season in the minors, first with Triple-A Toledo and then with the Phillies’ Double-A affiliate in Reading after the Tigers designated Manning for assignment and traded him to Philadelphia just before the trade deadline.

Manning turns 28 in January, so between his relative youth and his past pedigree as a top prospect, it is a little surprising that he didn’t draw interest from any MLB teams on a minor league contract.  The fact that Manning inked his deal with the Lions relatively early in the offseason, however, perhaps suggests that he wasn’t interested in waiting perhaps several more weeks to land a non-guaranteed deal, and then going through the grind of another season in the minor leagues.  Manning is also now out of minor league options, so even if he did make a big league roster, he might’ve been facing more DFAs and outrights, plus potential moves to other teams on waiver claims or trades.

Rather than ride this carousel, Manning will get a $1MM payday from the Lions.  The KBO League is generally a hitter-friendly league, yet the lesser level of competition might help Manning get his career on track.  There have been several instances of pitchers who have used stints in the KBO to rework their pitching repertoire, post some strong numbers, and get back onto the radar of big league teams, so chances are we haven’t seen the last of Manning in a Major League organization.