The Samsung Lions of the Korea Baseball Organization announced that they’ve re-signed first baseman Lewin Diaz and right-hander Ariel Jurado to one-year contracts for the 2026 season (link via Jee-ho Yoo of the Yonhap News Agency). Diaz is guaranteed $1.5MM. Jurado is guaranteed $1.6MM. Both players can earn an additional $100K worth of incentives.
It’s a nice birthday present for Diaz, who turned 29 just a few days ago. Once a top prospect within the Twins and Marlins organizations, he wound up bouncing to the Pirates, Orioles, Braves and Nationals organizations before eventually heading overseas. Diaz has appeared in parts of three big league seasons but tallied only 343 plate appearances with a .181/.227/.340 batting line in that time.
Though he never hit in the majors, Diaz carries a solid .258/.340/.479 batting line in parts of three Triple-A seasons. He was very popular on the waiver wire in during the tail end of his run in North America, being claimed off waivers or traded following a DFA five times in the 2022-23 offseason. That’s due in part to his solid Triple-A production and former prospect status, but more so because even amid his MLB struggles at the plate, Diaz remained an elite defensive first baseman. Scouting reports have pegged him as a 70- or even 80-grade defender at the position.
He took that plus glove with him to Daegu, South Korea midway through the 2024 season, and in 2025 Diaz finally unlocked the plus raw power that’s been missing in game settings throughout his pro career in North America. The 6’2″ lefty-swinging slugger absolutely erupted in the KBO, pummeling opposing pitchers with a .314/.381/.644 batting line (165 wRC+) and 50 round-trippers this past season. Diaz walked in 9.6% of his plate appearances and fanned at only a 15.9% rate. His 158 (!!) runs batted in broke the single-season KBO record, and Diaz took home the KBO equivalent of a Gold Glove for his defense at first base.
Diaz will play all of next season at age 29. If he can replicate that mammoth production and continue playing his typical brand of plus-plus defense, a return to the majors in 2027 is possible. Obviously, the KBO is a hitter-friendly setting, but Diaz went above and beyond level of offensive output that most successful MLB-to-KBO transitions enjoy.
As for Jurado, he’ll return for what’s now a fourth season with the KBO and his second with the Lions. The former Rangers top prospect has started 30 games in each of the past three seasons — two with the Kiwoom Heroes and one with the Lions — and pitched to a sterling 2.87 ERA in 571 1/3 innings. He’s fanned a below-average 19.7% of his opponents but also logged a tiny 4.7% walk rate in his three KBO campaigns. Last year’s 197 1/3 innings and 2.60 earned run average were personal bests, and those 197 1/3 frames led all KBO pitchers.
Like Diaz, it’s plausible that Jurado could eventually set his sights on a return to Major League Baseball. He pitched 177 innings with Texas in 2018-19 and four innings with the Mets in 2020, but his short time in the majors was a struggle. In 181 frames, he was tagged for a 5.97 ERA.
Even with those struggles a fourth straight year of this type of production would presumably garner some interest. Jurado isn’t an especially hard thrower and doesn’t miss many bats, so perhaps offers from MLB clubs would be too light to persuade him to uproot himself and move across the globe once again. If he prefers to keep pitching in South Korea, he won’t exactly be hurting for cash. He’s cleared $5MM in earnings overseas with this new contract and won’t even turn 30 until January. He’ll have plenty of opportunity to continue taking home seven-figure salaries in the KBO as long as he continues pitching effectively.
Lewin Diaz had crazy numbers, surprised he is not coming over to the MLB. The Rockies would be a great fit.
Díaz had absolutely wild home/road splits last year. 34 of those 50 homers at home and a BA 80 points higher.
I always wondered playing for the Lions do the players get a free Samsung Phone?
I know they can afford to buy one but a free fold wouldn’t be a bad perk.
I think they do (at least sometimes). A few years ago they were doing some kind of goofy home run celebration with phone gestures after Samsung gave them all new phones.
Lower level players in KBO only make like $30-40k so it could be a legitimately good perk for some.
Kinda surprised Diaz didn’t come back over to the states after the season he had last year. I have no doubt that he got plenty of interest from mlb teams, but I guess nothing that was more than what he could get in Korea
Noooooooooooo!
If I had the choice between being the best player in the league or a split contract on a team that views me as depth, I’d probably also choose the former.
It does seem like a light contract, all things considered.
Agree on your first point, you see a lot of AAA neer do wells and former stars (disgraced or not) in the Mexican league too and I have to admit looking at the clips it looks like a fun ride for them. No worries, just play and soak up the adulation which wouldn’t be coming at you in places like Columbus or Albuquerque.
But one point six for the KBO is good money. No complaints.
I meant it more in the sense that a $550k/$2.5MM split contract seemed achievable for Diaz in this first base market. Maybe even a straight $2.5MM guarantee if the market shook out the right way.
There are a lot of teams looking for 1B/DH types. While supply seems high at the moment, when the dust clears, there are going to be a few clubs leaning into uncertainty and praying. Diaz could have made for a nice hedge, particularly to those clubs with an iffy RHH primary 1B.
Like, say your club settles for Rhys Hoskins. That’s probably fine. It won’t cost much, maybe $10MM. But, for another 25% you can double your chances for a good outcome by adding Diaz.
In any case, it’s moot now.
I get what yer saying, no right answers here, all just conjecture. But Diaz is pushing 30 and he’s been down the path, he knows what and who he’s up against. I guess he decided it’s time to bank some certain cash. I look at the FA market for position players and both the upper end of 1B/DH — Josh Naylor, Polar Bear, Schwarber, Cody, Murakami, Okamoto — and the middle to lower end — O’Hearn, Arraez, Rhys Hoskins, Ozuna, Nat Lowe, Josh Bell, Santana, Winker, Ty France — and add all the emerging talent to it, I think he made the right choice. For now anyway.
Matt Davidson had 2 big years in Korea Home run wise(he was hurt in parts of 2025)
I do not think Diaz or Davidson can bring that back to MLB.
Davidson had his shots in MLB, and has a hard time getting contact, I.am sure both enjoy the salary in Korea, but I doubt if the 2 of them will ever reach the majors again.