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KBO’s NC Dinos Sign Erick Fedde

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The NC Dinos of the Korea Baseball Organization have signed former Nationals right-hander Erick Fedde to a one-year contract, per Jeeho Yoo of South Korea’s Yonhap News Agency (Twitter link). The Boras Corporation client will earn $1MM on the deal, in the form of an $800K salary and $200K signing bonus. That $1MM guarantee is the maximum amount that KBO clubs are able to commit to foreign players in their first year in the league.

Fedde, 30 in February, was the No. 18 overall pick by the Nationals back in 2014 and was long considered one of the sport’s top pitching prospects before making his Major League debut. A standout at UNLV, Fedde might have been selected even higher in the draft had he not required Tommy John surgery during his junior season. The Nats took him in the first round despite the health concerns, and Fedde breezed through the minors once healthy, regularly posting ERAs in the low-  to mid-3.00s before making his MLB debut in 2017.

Unfortunately, Fedde’s mostly healthy run through the minor leagues hasn’t carried over into the big leagues. He’s required 60-day IL stints for both flexor and shoulder troubles during a six-year big league career, in addition to shorter-term IL stints for shoulder inflammation and oblique injuries. He’s also struggled to miss bats in the big leagues, issued walks at an above-average clip and struggled to keep the ball in the yard.

In 454 1/3 innings at the MLB level, Fedde has a career 5.41 ERA with a 17.5% strikeout rate, 9.5% walk rate, 1.55 HR/9 and a 48.9% ground-ball rate. His sinker averaged 93.7 mph in 2017-18 and sat at 93.9 mph as recently as 2021, but this past season’s 92.5 mph average was a career-low mark.

Recent struggles notwithstanding, Fedde was once a high-profile pitching prospect who skated through the minor leagues and reached the Majors as a 24-year-old. He’s still yet to turn 30, so a strong run in the KBO could pave the way for Fedde to return to the Majors — perhaps even on a multi-year contract. Merrill Kelly, Chris Flexen and Josh Lindblom are just a few recent examples of pitchers reinventing themselves in the KBO and subsequently cashing in on a multi-year deal upon returning to pro ball in North America. Cardinals righty Miles Mikolas is the prominent overseas success story, though he found his success in a three-year stint in Japan rather than South Korea. Fedde will look to chart a similar path, and given his relative youth and former prospect status, he’ll be a particularly interesting case to follow with the Dinos in the upcoming season.

KBO’s Hanwha Eagles Sign Burch Smith

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The Hanwha Eagles of the KBO League have signed pitcher Burch Smith for the 2023 season, according to reports out of South Korea (hat tip to Dan Kurtz of MyKBO.net). Smith’s contract is worth up to $1MM, with the righty receiving a $100K signing bonus, $700K salary, and the opportunity to earn an additional $200K in incentives.

Initially drafted by the Padres in 2011, Smith would quickly debut for the team in 2013, albeit to a lackluster 6.44 ERA in 36 1/3 innings. He was traded to the Rays after the 2014 season and would soon undergo Tommy John surgery, missing the 2015 and 2016 seasons. He returned to the Majors in 2018 with the Royals, but once again pitched to an ineffective 6.92 ERA in 78 innings and was designated for assignment. Smith would go on to have short stints with the Brewers and Giants before latching on to a more permanent role with the Athletics during the 2021 season. Over parts of five MLB seasons, Smith holds a high 6.03 ERA in 191 innings with below-average strikeout and walk rates, 21.3% and 10.1%, respectively.

Smith transitioned overseas for the 2022 season, spending the year with the Saitama Seibu Lions of Japan’s NPB league. He was significantly more effective there, throwing 38 1/3 innings of 3.29 ERA baseball with a 23.7% strikeout rate and 9% walk rate.

Smith, who will be 33 years old in April, is now in line to play his second consecutive season overseas. There is little indication that the veteran reliever received any MLB interest prior to his contract with the Eagles. Instead, Smith will head to South Korea and earn significantly more than what he could have made from a potential minor league contract.

KBO’s Hanwha Eagles Re-Sign Felix Pena

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Right-hander Felix Pena is returning to the Hanwha Eagles of the Korea Baseball Organization on a one-year deal that’ll guarantee him $850K, tweets Jee-ho Yoo of South Korea’s Yonhap News Agency.

Pena, 33 in February, landed with the Eagles midway through the 2022 season and immediately stepped into their rotation, finding success right out of the gate. He took the ball 13 times, logging a 3.72 ERA and 3.44 FIP with a 24.6% strikeout rate, a 10.2% walk rate and an enormous 70.9% ground-ball rate in 67 2/3 innings. Yoo notes that Pena’s season ended prematurely when a line-drive fractured his nose. Fortunately, it seems he escaped long-term injury.

That 70.9% ground-ball rate vastly outpaced any mark that Pena posted in his pro career in the U.S., although he’d seemingly made that an area of focus in recent seasons. Pena scrapped his four-seamer in favor of a sinker upon joining the Angels in 2018, and he’d turned in a 53.3% grounder rate in Triple-A with the Mets’ Triple-A affiliate this past summer before signing in South Korea.

A solid swingman with the Halos from 2018-20, Pena turned in a combined 215 2/3 innings of 4.34 ERA ball with a 23.6% strikeout rate, a 7.7% walk rate and a 43.4% grounder rate during that three-year run. He’s made 24 starts at the MLB level in addition to another 80 relief outings. He suffered an ACL tear with the 2019 Angels, rebounded with a solid 2020 effort and then posted disastrous results both in the Majors and in Triple-A during the 2021 season. A hamstring strain shelved him for the first six weeks that season, and he was clobbered for seven runs in just 1 2/3 frames upon returning. The Halos passed him through waivers and retained his rights, but he surrendered 61 innings in 68 1/3 Triple-A frames over the remainder of the year in Salt Lake.

With another solid KBO showing in 2023, it’s possible that Pena could put himself back on the big league radar, though he’d be a free agent in advance of his age-34 season, which isn’t ideal. If nothing else, another quality year there could open the door for a larger salary upon re-signing a third contract with the Eagles — or perhaps for a jump to Japan’s Nippon Professional Baseball. Regardless, the $850K guarantee on Pena’s deal with the Eagles is more than he’d have earned while spending the majority of the season in Triple-A on a minor league deal with an MLB club, so it’s easy to see why he preferred to return for a full season.

KBO’s Kiwoom Heroes Sign Addison Russell, Eric Jokisch

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The Kiwoom Heroes of the KBO League have signed shortstop Addison Russell and re-signed left-hander Eric Jokisch to contracts for the 2023 season, according to reports out of South Korea.  (Hat tip to Dan Kurtz of MyKBO.net).  Jokisch will receive $1.5MM, while Russell receives $700K.

This is Russell’s second KBO stint, after previously playing 65 games with the Heroes during the 2020 season.  Russell hit .254/.317/.336 over 271 plate appearances that year, and the Heroes didn’t renew Russell’s contract after the season was up.  Russell has spent the last two seasons posting big numbers with Acereros de Monclova of the Mexican League.

Once one of baseball’s top prospects, Russell spent five seasons with the Cubs (2015-19) and was an important part of the team’s 2016 World Series championship club.  However, in 2018, Russell was issued a 40-game suspension under the MLB-MLBPA Join Domestic Violence Policy, in the wake of the league’s investigation into accusations made by Russell’s ex-wife of physical and verbal abuse during their marriage.  The Cubs chose to tender Russell a contract following the 2018 season, but non-tendered the shortstop following the 2019 campaign.

Jokisch’s Major League resume consists of four games and 14 1/3 innings with the Cubs back in 2014, and he also pitched in the minors with the Marlins, Rangers, Diamondbacks, and Athletics over the course of his nine seasons in affiliated baseball.  The southpaw then signed with the Heroes prior to the 2019 season, and has become a staple for the Seoul-based club, posting a 2.72 ERA over 701 2/3 innings and 117 starts for the Heroes over the last four seasons.

Jokisch turns 34 in July, and with such a comfortable niche carved out for himself in the KBO League, it remains to be seen if he’ll ever explore a return to North American baseball.  There was some indication that MLB teams were interested in the lefty during the 2020-21 offseason, but he ended up returning to the Heroes.

KBO’s LG Twins Walk Away From Deal With Abraham Almonte

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TODAY: According to reports out of South Korea, the LG Twins have pulled out of the contract, due to an issue following Almonte’s physical.

DECEMBER 5: The LG Twins of the Korea Baseball Organization have announced a one-year contract with outfielder Abraham Almonte.  (Hat tip to reporter Sung Min Kim.)  Almonte will receive $400K in salary, a $100K signing bonus, and up to $300K in incentive bonuses.

The 33-year-old Almonte is a veteran of the last 10 Major League seasons, suiting up with seven different teams at the MLB level and also spending some time in the minors with the Brewers’ and Yankees’ farm systems.  Of Almonte’s 455 career games in the Show, 187 were played with Cleveland from 2015-17, and his next highest total was 70 games with the Padres over parts of three seasons.

Almonte consistently found work as a backup or part-time outfielder during his journeyman career, due more to his ability to play all three outfield positions than his bat.  While the switch-hitter has a few flashes at the plate, Almonte hit a modest .235/.302/.374 over 1363 Major League plate appearances.  He entered the 2022 season on a minor league deal with the Brewers, but didn’t reach the majors until after he was dealt to the Red Sox in July.

Heading overseas for the first time in his pro career, Almonte now joins the Twins.  Each KBO League team has up to three roster spots dedicated to non-Korean players, and international players can only sign for a $1MM maximum.  An international player’s first KBO contract can also be only one year in length.

Guillermo Heredia Signs With KBO’s SSG Landers

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The SSG Landers of the Korea Baseball Organization have announced that they have signed outfielder Guillermo Heredia (hat tip to Dan Kurtz of MyKBO.net). Heredia will earn $900K, with the possibility of earning an additional $100K in performance bonuses.

Heredia, who was projected to make $1.1MM in his final trip through the arbitration process, was non-tendered by the Braves in November. A veteran of parts of seven Major League seasons, Heredia joined Atlanta after the 2020 season, having been designated for assignment by the Mets, and would go on to win a World Series with the club.

Heredia appeared in 74 games (82 plate appearances) with the Braves during the 2022 season. However, he hit a poor .158/.220/.342 with a colossal 39% strikeout rate and below-average 7.3% walk rate. While never a major factor at the plate, with a career .231/.310/.346 line, 20% strikeout rate, and 8.3% walk rate, the right-handed hitter has a history of above-average fielding, having accrued at least five Outs Above Average (OAA) in five of his seven seasons. Nevertheless, during the 2022 season, Heredia earned 0 OAA while posting 1 Defensive Run Saved and a 0.8 Ultimate Zone Rating.

With the Braves hosting an outfield of three-time All-Star Ronald Acuna Jr., reigning Rookie of the Year Michael Harris, Eddie Rosario, and two-time All-Star Marcell Ozuna, Heredia was evidently deemed non-essential by the club. Instead, Heredia, who turns 32 years old in January, will make the transition overseas. He will earn a raise compared to a minor league salary and can explore a return to MLB if his time in South Korea proves fruitful.

KBO’s KT Wiz Re-Sign Anthony Alford, Wes Benjamin

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The KT Wiz of the Korea Baseball Organization announced that they have re-signed outfielder Anthony Alford and left-hander Wes Benjamin (hat tip to Dan Kurtz of MyKBO.net.) Alford will make $1.1MM while Benjamin will make $1.3MM.

Alford, 28, was a highly-touted prospect in the Blue Jays’ system given his five-tool potential but he struggled against major league pitching. He got 240 plate appearances with the Jays and Pirates spread across six seasons from 2017 to 2022, striking out in 37.9% of them and producing a tepid overall batting line of .209/.275/.368.

He signed with the Wiz in May of 2022 and flourished, getting into 80 games and hitting .286/.362/.509. He hit 14 home runs and stole five bases in that brief audition, showing enough potential for the club to effectively double his salary as he was paid $577K for 2022.

Benjamin, 29, also joined the Wiz in May, signing for $331K for what remained of the season at that time. He then made 17 starts for the Wiz the rest of the way with a 2.70 ERA over 96 2/3 innings. As a reward for that solid showing, the club has retained him with a big raise for 2023.

Both players are fairly young and could garner interest from MLB clubs down the road if they continue posting solid results in 2023. But for now, they will be looking to help their club in Korea for the next season while pocketing some decent earnings.

KBO’s NC Dinos Sign Jason Martin

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December 8: The club has announced the signing, as relayed by Kurtz. Martin will make a $720K salary and $180K signing bonus, with $100K in incentives also available.

December 4: The NC Dinos are working on completing a deal with outfielder Jason Martin, according to Dan Kurtz of MyKBO. This will be Martin’s first stint overseas after 10 seasons in affiliated North American baseball.

Martin, a former eight-round draft pick for the Astros, was traded to the Pirates as part of the 2018 Gerrit Cole trade that included Joe Musgrove, Michael Feliz, and Colin Moran. He made his major league debut during the 2019 season, getting into 20 games (40 plate appearances) with a weak .250/.325/.306 line, and would spend much of the season in Triple-A Indianapolis, where he hit a much more respectable .260/.312/.419 with 25 doubles.

Martin was hitless in 11 plate appearances during 2020, before he was outrighted off Pittsburgh’s 40-man roster at the end of the season. He latched on with Texas on a minor league deal, eventually joining the major league team. Once again, despite promising results in Triple-A (.248/.388/.543), Martin struggled against major league pitching, hitting .208/.248/.354 in 154 plate appearances. Martin elected free agency after the 2021 season, joining the Dodgers on a minor league contract, but did not see time with the major league club during the 2022 season. He finished the 2022 season slashing a strong .285/.374/.564 with 32 homers and 25 doubles in 129 games.

Martin, who turned 27 in September, will head abroad looking to shake the Quad-A moniker that he has cultivated over the past few seasons. He will likely earn a raise compared to his minor league salary and can explore a return to MLB if his time in South Korea proves fruitful.

KBO’s Samsung Lions Re-Sign Three Players

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The Samsung Lions of the Korea Baseball Organization announced last night they’ve re-signed all three of their foreign-born players (h/t to Dan Kurtz of MyKBO.net). Right-handers David Buchanan and Albert Suarez and outfielder José Pirela all inked new deals for the 2023 campaign.

All three players have prior MLB experience. Buchanan made 35 starts for the Phillies from 2014-15, posting a 5.01 ERA. He spent three seasons in Japan and has now played three years in South Korea, working to a 3.45 ERA or lower each year. Buchanan provided the Lions 160 frames of 3.04 ERA ball this past season. Joel Sherman of the New York Post tweeted last night the 33-year-old righty was drawing some attention from MLB teams but decided to return to Daegu for a fourth season. He’ll make $1.6MM, according to the team announcement.

Suarez played for the Giants in 2016-17. He posted a 4.51 ERA in 115 2/3 innings for San Francisco. By 2019, he’d made the jump to Asia. Like Buchanan, he first went to Japan. After three seasons in Nippon Professional Baseball, he signed with the Lions in 2022. His first season in the KBO was a resounding success, as he posted a 2.49 ERA over 173 2/3 innings while starting 29 of 30 outings. The Venezuelan-born righty will return for a second season on a $1.3MM salary.

Pirela, who’ll make $1.7MM, is the highest-paid of the trio. He also started in NPB before making the move to South Korea for the 2021 campaign. The right-handed hitter has played two seasons for the Lions, combining for an excellent .314/.384/.528 line in over 1200 plate appearances. That includes a massive .342/.411/.565 showing in 141 games this past season. A Venezuela native, the 33-year-old Pirela played in 302 MLB games between 2014-19. He suited up with the Yankees, Padres and Phillies and hit .257/.308/.392 in the majors.

KBO League’s SSG Landers Re-Sign Shin-Soo Choo

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Longtime Major League outfielder Shin-Soo Choo has re-signed for a third season with the KBO League’s SSG Landers, according to reports out of South Korea (hat tip to MyKBO.net’s Dan Kurtz).  Choo will receive 1.7 billion won, or roughly $1.32MM in U.S. dollars.  This represents a significant pay cut from Choo’s 2.7 billion won/$2.3MM salary in 2022, but the two sides agreed to the deal to help the Landers stay under the KBO’s new salary cap.

Choo (who turned 40 in July) will be entering his 23rd season in pro baseball.  Signing an amateur deal with the Mariners as an 18-year-old Choo had never actually played in the KBO League until he joined SSG Landers in the 2020-21 offseason.  Even at his increased age, Choo has still been productive in his home country, hitting .261/.397/.441 with 37 home runs over 1074 plate appearances and 248 games with the Landers since the start of the 2021 season.  This run in the KBO was highlighted by the Landers’ triumphant 2022 campaign, which saw the club post a league-best 88-52 record in the regular season and then capture its fifth Korean Series title.

Over 16 seasons of Major League ball, Choo was usually a very productive hitter, posting a .275/.377/.447 slash line over 7157 career PA in the Show with Seattle, Cleveland, Cincinnati, and Texas.  Choo’s defensive struggles limited his overall value, though he still posted 34 fWAR over his MLB tenure, and his career 123 wRC+ was solidly above average.  There was some speculation last winter that Choo might be considering a return to the majors, but no such news publicly surfaced this winter, and Choo will now return to the Landers in search of another championship.

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