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Former Big Leaguers Playing Abroad: KBO Hitter Roundup

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It’s always fun to keep an eye on familiar players who’ve taken their talents across the pond. Now that the 2019 season is in the books, it seemed an opportune time to check in. Numerous former big leaguers are playing abroad, many of them thriving in Asia’s top leagues.

We’ve seen foreign stints help spur big league revivals from quite a few players. Eric Thames, Miles Mikolas, and Chris Martin are among those that played significant roles in the 2019 MLB campaign. Whether any of the players covered below will do so remains to be seen, but there’s certainly a path.

Let’s start with the Korea Baseball Organization, the top league in South Korea. Remember, teams in the KBO and other leagues face limits on the number of non-native players they can employ. That creates a lot of pressure to secure big production from those roster spots, and often spurs mid-season change. (Statistics courtesy of the always excellent MyKBO.)

The top performers …

  • Former Phillies slugger Darin Ruf marauded the KBO once again, though he wasn’t quite as awesome this year (.911 OPS, 22 home runs) as he was in 2018 (1.024 OPS, 33 home runs). After scoring with Ruf, the Samsung Lions went after Mac Williamson in a mid-season move. But Williamson failed to gain traction in his forty contests, hitting a tepid .273/.329/.409.
  • Several other hitters joined Ruf as repeat KBO participants and star-level performers. Outfielder Jamie Romak has also now completed three excellent campaigns with the SK Wyverns. Like Ruf, he took a step back this year (1.001 OPS to .878 OPS), likely reflecting a KBO baseball de-juicing effort.
  • After a brief but promising showing in 2018, Jerry Sands rewarded the Kiwoom Heroes for bringing him back by swatting 28 dingers and batting a robust .305/.400/.543 on the year. Jared Hoying wasn’t quite as productive, but turned in a solid sophomore campaign with the Hanwha Eagles (.284/.343/.460).
  • The KT Wiz continued to benefit from their 2017 find of outfielder Mel Rojas Jr., who never got a big-league call-up from the Pirates or Braves. He slashed a robust .322/.384/.530 with 24 homers in his third KBO season.

Several KBO newcomers found something in their new organizations …

  • Jose Miguel Fernandez took a difficult path to the majors and did not receive a lengthy opportunity at the game’s highest level, but displayed his intriguing blend of hitting ability with the Doosan Bears. Appearing in all 144 contests, Fernandez poked 15 long balls and slashed a hefty .344/.413/.483.
  • The KIA Tigers dropped former Cardinals flash-in-the-pan outfielder Jeremy Hazelbaker after just eleven contests. That may have been a quick leash, but they ended up making out well with Preston Tucker. The former MLB reserve outfielder ultimately slashed .311/.382/.479 with nine home runs.

Other KBO organizations are likely to go back to the drawing board after cycling through multiple players …

  • Another team changing horses in mid-stream was the LG Twins, who tired of former Phillies first bagger Tommy Joseph after he slashed .274/.335/.426 with nine long balls in 54 games. The club turned to another OBP-challenged slugger in the left-handed-hitting Carlos Peguero, who provided a bit more overall offense (.286/.333/.472) but no additional dingers (9) in his 57 appearances.
  • Former Padres infielder Carlos Asuaje struggled in 49 games with the Lotte Giants, slashing just .252/.358/.368. He was replaced by Jacob Wilson, a former Cards and Nats farmhand, but Wilson wasn’t much more effective (.251/.352/.433 with nine home runs). (Wilson and Rojas were the only two hitters to appear in the KBO this year without prior MLB experience.)
  • The NC Dinos opened the year with Christian Bethancourt behind the plate, but he didn’t do enough damage to hang onto his roster spot, with a .246/.311/.404 line in 53 games. That led to a mid-season change to former big league outfielder Jake Smolinski. Unfortunately, he managed only a .229/.301/.439 slash of his own.

KBO/NPB Signings: Sands, Brigham, Jokisch, Wilson, Kelly, Neal, Hoying

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Some updates on former big leaguers headed to play in Asia….

Latest News

  • The KBO’s Nexen Heroes have re-signed outfielder Jerry Sands and right-hander Jake Brigham, as per San Kang of Sports Dong-A on Twitter (hat tip to MyKBO.net’s Dan Kurtz).  Left-hander Eric Jokisch has also signed with the team.  According to a follow-up tweet from Kurtz, Brigham will earn $900K in salary and incentives, while Sands and Jokisch will each receive $500K from the Heroes.  Sands just joined the Heroes back in August, after 11 seasons in North America that saw him appear in 156 MLB games with the White Sox, Indians, Rays, and Dodgers.  Brigham will return to Nexen for the third straight season, after pitching in Japan with the Rakuten Golden Eagles in 2016.  Jokisch was an 11th-round pick for the Cubs in 2010 who has bounced around the minors since getting his only taste of Major League action (14 1/3 IP) with Chicago in 2014.  The southpaw has a 3.71 ERA, 7.1 K/9, and 2.53 K/BB rate over 1081 1/3 career innings in the minor leagues.

Earlier Today

  • The LG Twins of the Korea Baseball Organization have announced the re-signing of right-hander Tyler Wilson and the signing of fellow righty Casey Kelly (Twitter links via Dan Kurtz of MyKBO.net and Sung Min Kim of The Athletic and River Ave Blues).  The 29-year-old Wilson, whose new contract is worth $1.5MM, thrived during his first season in the hitter-friendly KBO in 2018. Across 26 starts and 170 innings, Wilson pitched to a 3.07 ERA with 7.92 K/9 and 1.89 BB/9. Before immigrating to Korea, Wilson saw action with the Orioles from 2015-17. While Wilson was only a 10th-round pick (2011), Kelly entered the pro ranks as a first-rounder of the Red Sox in 2008 and regularly ranked among the game’s 100 best prospects during the ensuing few years. Boston dealt him to San Diego in a 2011 blockbuster which also featured Adrian Gonzalez and Anthony Rizzo, but Kelly never broke out with the Padres, thanks in part to 2013 Tommy John surgery. Kelly ended up accruing a mere 40 1/3 innings with the Padres in parts of two seasons (2012 and ’15), and later combined for another 45 1/3 between the Braves (2016) and Giants (2018). Although Kelly generated decent results last year in San Francisco, where he registered a 3.04 ERA/4.22 FIP with 6.08 K/9 and 1.9 BB/9 in 23 innings, the team outrighted him in late October. He’ll earn $1MM with his Korean club.
  • The Seibu Lions of Nippon Professional Baseball in Japan have added righty Zach Neal, per Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic. Neal amassed 70 innings as an Oakland Athletic in 2016, his rookie year, but only combined for 15 2/3 with them and the Dodgers from 2017-18. The 30-year-old racked up more trades (two) than MLB innings (one) in 2018, when L.A. dealt Neal to the Reds in April and re-acquired him in a July swap that also netted the Dodgers breakout reliever Dylan Floro. In 85 2/3 MLB innings, Neal has logged a 4.94 ERA/4.84 FIP with minuscule strikeout and walk rates (3.89 K/9, .74 BB/9) and a solid groundball percentage (50.3).
  • The Hanwha Eagles of the KBO have re-signed outfielder Jared Hoying for $1.4MM, Kurtz tweets. Hoying, 29, slashed .306/.373/.573 with 30 home runs in 590 plate appearances last year, his first with the Eagles. The lefty-swinger has spent most of his pro career with the Rangers, who selected him in the 10th round of the 2010 draft. Hoying collected 126 PAs with the Rangers from 2016-17 and batted .220/.262/.288 with one homer.

Nexen Heroes Sign Jerry Sands, Release Michael Choice

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The Korea Baseball Organization’s Nexen Heroes have announced that they have signed former MLB outfielder Jerry Sands (h/t Dan Kurtz of MyKBO.net, on Twitter). He’ll take the roster spot of fellow outfielder Michael Choice, another prior big leaguer, who was released.

Sands, 30, has seen action in five MLB seasons, producing a composite .238/.303/.367 batting line. He had spent the past two seasons with the Giants organization. In 371 plate appearances at the Double-A and Triple-A levels in 2018, Sands carries a .269/.361/.505 slash with 16 long balls.

As for Choice, a 28-year-old former first-round draft pick, he has struggled through three hundred career MLB plate appearances (.188/.253/.320) but turned in a big 2017 effort after moving to Nexen last year. Unfortunately, he hasn’t matched that productivity thus far in the present season, as he’s carrying a .258/.339/.458 batting line with 17 home runs.

Choice’s stat line may look fairly robust at first glance, but it’s not all that impressive for the notoriously hitter-friendly KBO. The standards are especially high for foreign players, as each team is capped at three apiece. There are quite a few significant performers listed on MyKBO’s foreign-player leaderboard. As Kurtz notes, today’s transaction occurs just before the mid-August deadline for KBO players to add foreign players to their roster who are eligible for postseason play.

Giants Sign Jerry Sands To Minors Deal

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The Giants have signed outfielder Jerry Sands to a minor league contract, Mike Ashmore of MyCentralJersey.com reports.  Sands had been playing for the independent Somerset Patriots, and the 29-year-old will now head to the Giants’ Double-A affiliate.

Sands has only a .670 OPS over 464 plate appearances with the Dodgers, Rays, Indians and White Sox during his big league career, though the right-handed hitter has produced a very solid .285/.335/.477 slash line against lefty pitching.  Much of Sands’ experience comes in the corner outfield slots and he has a handful of games at first base, so he brings a bit of defensive versatility.

Sands is the latest veteran outfielder signed by the Giants as the team tries to fix an already-thin outfield that has been further hampered by several injuries.  San Francisco has added the likes of Melvin Upton Jr., Drew Stubbs and Justin Ruggiano on minors deals, with little impact (Upton underwent wrist surgery and Ruggiano was recently designated for assignment).  Hunter Pence’ imminent return from the DL will be a big help for the Giants, but with left field still a question mark, there is certainly opportunity for Sands to return to the majors.

Minor MLB Transactions: 2/13/17

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Here are the latest minor moves from around the game:

  • Outfielder Jerry Sands has signed on with the indy ball Somerset Patriots, per a club announcement. While plenty of former big leaguers land in the independent leagues — with a fair number making it back — it’s quite a surprise to see Sands take that route at this stage of his career. The 29-year-old Sands has seen action in five MLB campaigns, including last year with the White Sox, compiling a pedestrian .238/.303/.367 batting line in less than 500 total plate appearances. But he has handled lefties at a productive .285/.335/.477 clip in the majors and has been rather productive during his six seasons of action at Triple-A (.266/.351/.478). Sands did fall well shy of that mark during his time at the highest level of the minors in 2016, though, which may explain why he failed to attract a strong enough opportunity to land with an affiliated club.
  • The Rangers have announced the signing of Adam Loewen to a minor-league deal, which includes an invitation to MLB camp. Loewen, 32, switched from pitching to hitting and then back again. He appeared briefly in the majors in each of the last two seasons, with the Phillies and then the Diamondbacks, though the results were rather forgettable. Loewen did post a 3.91 ERA over forty relief appearances at Triple-A in 2016, though he averaged 6.1 walks to go with 10.6 strikeouts per nine.
  • Also joining the Rangers on a minors pact is fellow southpaw Bobby LaFromboise, per Jeff Wilson of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram (via Twitter). He won’t receive an invite, though, so he’ll have to earn his way into the MLB picture with a strong showing. LaFromboise, 30, has appeared in parts of three MLB seasons, compiling a 3.63 ERA with 23 strikeouts against just five walks in his 22 1/3 total innings. Despite entering camp last year with a shot at making the Phillies’ roster, LaFromboise fell apart early at Triple-A and was released over the summer. Over his 16 2/3 innings, the lefty allowed 11 earned runs (and 17 total runs) on 29 hits over 16 2/3 innings, striking out just eight batters while allowing nine free passes. That stat line was uncharacteristic for a pitcher who had typically performed quite well in the upper minors, but perhaps the long layoff will afford him a chance to return to form.

Minor MLB Transactions: 6/17/2016

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Here are the day’s minor moves:

  • The White Sox outrighted first baseman/outfielder Jerry Sands after he cleared waivers, Collen Kane of the Chicago Tribune tweets. Recently designated, Sands will provide some depth for Chicago at Triple-A — assuming, at least, that he accepts the assignment. (He has previously been outrighted, so could instead elect free agency.) The 28-year-old has seen sporadic MLB time over the past several seasons. In 58 plate appearances with the White Sox this year, he scuffled to a .236/.276/.291 batting line.
  • Likewise, the Blue Jays outrighted their own recent designee, southpaw Scott Diamond, per SB Nation’s Chris Cotillo (via Twitter). The 29-year-old only saw one game with the big club in his first MLB action since 2013.  He had been pitching well at Triple-A, carrying a 3.16 ERA with 4.5 K/9 and 1.7 BB/9 over 12 starts.
  • The Red Sox have signed first baseman Cody Decker, per Matt Eddy of Baseball America (via Twitter). Decker is still looking for his first major league hit after a brief stint last year with the Padres — he did, at least, record an RBI — but he’s got little to prove as a Triple-A hitter. In nearly 1,500 plate appearances at the highest level of the minors, the 29-year-old owns a .255/.333/.501 batting line with 74 home runs.
  • Recently released by the Cubs, righty Alex Sanabia is now set to join Mexico’s Tijuana Toros, Cotillo tweets. Sanabia has seen 138 2/3 innings of MLB action, all with the Marlins and none coming since 2013. Sanabia had allowed 39 earned runs in 55 1/3 innings at Triple-A for the Cubs on the year.

White Sox Designate Jerry Sands For Assignment

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The White Sox have designated first baseman/outfielder Jerry Sands for assignment, per a club announcement. The DFA of Sands clears a spot on the 25-man roster for James Shields to be officially added. Beyond that, the Sox have also optioned outfielder Jason Coats to Triple-A Charlotte and reinstated Melky Cabrera from the family emergency leave list.

Sands, 28, has batted .236/.276/.291 through 58 plate appearances with the ChiSox this season and has struggled versus left-handed pitching despite a strong track record when holding the platoon advantage. The right-handed slugger owns a lifetime .285/.335/.477 line against southpaws but has just a .522 OPS this season, albeit in a limited sample of 20 plate appearances. With the exception of the 2013 season, Sands has spent time in the Majors each year dating back to 2011. He’s a career .238/.306/.367 hitter in 464 trips to the plate at the Major League level and has been a thorn in the side of Triple-A pitchers, against whom he’s mashed at a .268/.357/.492 clip over the life of 439 games.

Sands is no stranger to DFA limbo, as this is the fourth time he’s been designated for assignment since the beginning of the 2015 season. (Cleveland designated him on three occasions before he was ultimately claimed off waivers by the Sox.) Chicago will have 10 days to trade, outright or release Sands, though even if he clears outright waivers, he’d have the option of rejecting the assignment in favor of free agency, as is the right of any player that has been previously outrighted.

White Sox Claim Jerry Sands

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The White Sox have claimed outfielder Jerry Sands off waivers from the Indians, Chicago announced.

The 28-year-old failed to seize an opportunity with Cleveland last year, slashing just .236/.286/.390 in 133 plate appearances on the year. But he has dominated upper-minors pitching and showed legitimate pop with a .268/.357/.492 slash over parts of five seasons at the Triple-A level.

Indians Acquire Dan Otero, Designate Jerry Sands

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The Indians have acquired righty Dan Otero from the Phillies for cash considerations, Philadelphia announced. Outfielder/first baseman Jerry Sands was designated for assignment to clear roster space, the Indians announced.

Otero was claimed off waivers from the Athletics earlier in the winter. But he was designated for assignment when the Phillies needed 40-man spots to facilitate the incoming players in the Ken Giles trade.

The 30-year-old scuffled to a 6.75 ERA in 46 2/3 innings last year after posting outstanding run prevention numbers in each of the prior two campaigns. But there were some indications of bad luck, and Cleveland will see if the soft-tossing, needle-threading Otero can return to his standing as an understated but high-performing reliever.

As for Sands, 28, the 2015 season represented his most extended major league look since his rookie year of 2011. The slugger hit only .236/.286/.390 in his 133 plate appearances, though he continued to compile impressive numbers in the upper minors.

Minor Moves: Santos, Solano, Sands, Hester

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Here are today’s minor moves from around the game.

  • Reliever Sergio Santos has cleared waivers and will elect free agency, Dylan Hernandez of the Los Angeles Times tweets. The Dodgers designated Santos for late last month after the former White Sox closer struck out 15 batters and walked seven while allowing seven runs in 13 1/3 innings this season.
  • The Marlins have announced that they’ve outrighted catcher Jhonatan Solano to Triple-A New Orleans. The designated him for assignment yesterday. The 29-year-old has a career .184/.222/.301 line in 108 career plate appearances with the Nationals and Marlins, hitting a somewhat better .241/.286/.346 in about two seasons’ worth of plate appearances at the Triple-A level.
  • The Indians have announced that outfielder Jerry Sands has cleared waivers and accepted an outright assignment to Triple-A Columbus. Last week, the Indians designated Sands for assignment for the second time this season. The 27-year-old Sands has hit 9-for-27 with a home run and two doubles for the Indians this year. Perhaps more representative is his .257/.385/.473 at Triple-A, a line consistent with the strong minor-league performances he’s posted throughout much of his career.
  • The Phillies have released catcher John Hester, MLBTR’s Steve Adams tweets, noting that Hester had surgery on his meniscus this spring but is now healthy. The 31-year-old has played in ten minor-league games this season. He spent 2014 with Triple-A Salt Lake in the Angels organization, batting .261/.338/.411. He has a career .216/.294/.351 line in 232 big-league plate appearances spread over four seasons with the Diamondbacks and Angels.

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