Andrew Suarez Close To Joining KBO’s LG Twins
The LG Twins of the Korea Baseball Organization are close to signing left-hander Andrew Suarez to a one-year contract, according to Daniel Kim of ESPN and DKTV (Twitter link). It’ll be a $600K pact, Jeeho Yoo of Yonhap News tweets. The deal would have to be tied into a purchase of Suarez’s rights from the Giants, as Suarez is still controlled by the San Francisco club.
Suarez was a second-round pick for the Giants in the 2015 and seemed to be emerging as a rotation candidate during a 2018 rookie season that saw him post a 4.49 ERA, 2.89 K/BB rate, and 7.3 K/9 over 160 1/3 innings. That debut was followed up, however, with only 32 2/3 frames of big league work in 2019 (at a 5.79 ERA), as well as some unimpressive numbers at Triple-A, albeit in the very hitter-friendly Pacific Coast League. This past season, Suarez made several trips back and forth from the Giants’ alternate training site to the active roster, posting a 3.72 ERA over 9 2/3 innings of relief work, but with more walks (six) than strikeouts (five).
Since Suarez is out of minor league options and seemed to becoming an afterthought in San Francisco, it isn’t surprising that he and his representatives explored opportunities elsewhere. Pitching in the KBO League would allow the left-hander to both earn more money than he would have as a pre-arbitration player in the big leagues, and also presumably give him a chance to start games and re-build his value. Suarez only turned 28 last September, so there is plenty of time for a potential future return to North American baseball.
KBO’s KT Wiz Re-Sign William Cuevas
10:01PM: The Wiz have announced the deal, with Cuevas’ 2021 salary breaking down as $750K in guaranteed money and $250K in incentives. The 2022 option is also a mutual/vesting option.
5:35PM: Right-hander William Cuevas is re-signing with the KT Wiz of the Korea Baseball Organization, reports Enrique Rojas of ESPN (Twitter link). His 2021 base salary will check in at $1MM, with additional money available via incentives. The pact also contains a 2022 player option worth $1.7MM, Rojas adds.
Cuevas has spent the past two seasons as an innings eater for the Wiz. He’s tossed 342 frames of 3.84 ERA ball over 57 starts. Along the way, the 30-year-old has amassed 6.45 K/9 against 2.87 BB/9. Cuevas’ run prevention numbers were better in 2019 than they were in 2020, although his strikeout and walk rates were fairly consistent year over year.
Prior to going to South Korea, Cuevas pitched in parts of three MLB seasons with the Red Sox and Tigers. He only managed an 8.06 ERA/5.71 FIP across 22 1/3 innings in that time. He was generally a reliable depth option in the high minors, though, posting Triple-A numbers similar to his KBO performance.
Minor Transactions: 12/11/20
The latest minor moves from around the game…
- The Kiwoom Heroes of the Korea Baseball Organization announced that they have signed right-hander Josh A. Smith, Dan Kurtz of MyKBO.net relays. Smith will earn a $500K salary and could receive another $100K in incentives. The 33-year-old Smith spent last season in Miami, where he was teammates with fellow reliever Josh D. Smith, and struggled to a 6.84 ERA/4.67 FIP with 6.15 K/9 and 3.76 BB/9 in 26 1/3 innings. The Marlins outrighted him at the end of October. Smith has appeared in the majors with four different teams since his 2015 debut and logged a 5.60 ERA/5.27 FIP across 184 2/3 innings.
- The Reds have signed lefty Jesse Biddle and righty R.J. Alaniz to minor league contracts with invitations to big league camp, Mark Sheldon of MLB.com tweets. The club previously outrighted Biddle and non-tendered Alaniz. Biddle garnered extensive MLB experience with the Braves, Mariners and Rangers from 2018-19, but after offering subpar production in the second of those seasons, he had to settle for a minors pact with the Reds last winter. The 29-year-old did make it back to the majors in 2020, though he only made one appearance. Alaniz, also 29, made his big league debut in 2019, throwing 15 2/3 innings of 16-earned run ball between Seattle and Cincinnati. He didn’t return to the bigs last season.
Casey Kelly Re-Signs With KBO’s LG Twins
Former Boston Red Sox prospect Casey Kelly has re-signed with the LG Twins of the KBO, per Dan Kurtz of MyKBO.net (via Twitter). Kelly returns to LG’s rotation for $1.4MM. The contract amount had previously been reported to be a little higher, though the bigger news is that the deal now appears to be official.
Kelly was a consensus top prospect after being a first round pick of the Red Sox in 2008. Baseball America ranked him as baseball’s #24-ranked prospect prior to 2010. Around that time, he was included as a key piece of the trade (along with Anthony Rizzo) that brought Adrian Gonzalez from the Padres to the Red Sox. With the Padres, Kelly continued to rank among the best prospects in the game, appearing at #31, #76, and #45 in three subsequent seasons.
The Florida native debuted in 2012 with six starts, but Tommy John surgery early in 2013 wiped out his season. He didn’t return to the Majors until 2015, eventually seeing spot appearances for the Braves and finally the Giants in 2018. In total, he logged 85 2/3 innings spread across four seasons from 2012 to 2018 with a 5.46 ERA/4.43 FIP.
The former top prospect has found new life in the KBO, where he’s posted a 2.93 ERA in 353 2/3 innings across two seasons in the Twins’ rotation. Kelly helped the LG Twins to the playoffs this year, going 15-7 in 28 starts with a 3.32 ERA, 7.0 K/9 against 2.1 BB/9. Kelly led Twins’ starters in starts, wins, innings, WHIP, strikeouts, and walk rate. Kelly went seven innings with two earned runs, three hits, one walk, and 10 strikeouts in a playoff start against the Kiwoon Heroes. The Twins won that game in 13 innings, advancing to the next round where they’d be swept by the Doosan Bears.
The 31-year-old is definitely a candidate to keep an eye on, should he desire to return stateside after this season. Miles Mikolas, Merrill Kelly, Pierce Johnson, Eric Thames, and others have set a trend of establishing themselves abroad after meandering or false-started development years in the States. Matter of fact, in the Twins’ final game of the season, they were shut out over six innings by Chris Flexen, the most recent player to return stateside after a successful stint overseas.
If Flexen shines with the Mariners and Kelly posts another strong campaign in the KBO, he could return to an intrigued marketplace, should that be his desire. Keep an eye on Kelly, as he could become an interesting name to add to next year’s crop of free agent starters.
NC Dinos Post Sung-Bum Na
The NC Dinos have officially posted slugger Sung-Bum Na, MLB Network’s Jon Heyman tweets. Thus begins a thirty-day period during which big league teams can attempt to work out an agreement with the Korean star.
Na’s posting was already well-publicized, but it took a week for everything to be finalized. He is represented by super-agent Scott Boras. Any club that inks Na will also owe a transfer fee to the Dinos.
It remains to be seen just how interested MLB clubs will be in obtaining Na’s services. There’s little doubt he’s a monster in Korea’s top league, but questions remain whether he can thrive at the plate against the best pitching in the world.
Na, 31, would surely have been a more appealing target had he not suffered a catastrophic knee injury in 2019. That not only prevented him from attempting the transition one season sooner, but left him with a somewhat less compelling defensive and baserunning skill profile.
Mariners, Chris Flexen Agree To Two-Year Deal
The Mariners have agreed to a deal with right-hander Chris Flexen, reports Mike Mayer of MetsMerized (Twitter link). The New York Post’s Ken Davidoff hears the same, adding that Flexen will be guaranteed $4.75MM over two years on the pact. The pact also includes a pair of options for 2023, per Davidoff. There’s a $4MM club option and, if Flexen throws 150 innings in 2022 or 300 frames from 2021-22, an $8MM vesting option. The O’Connell Sports Management client could also make an additional $1MM in performance bonuses, and he’ll earn $250K if he’s traded. The Mariners won’t be able to send Flexen to the minors without his consent, Davidoff adds.
Flexen, 26, was an up-and-down depth piece with the Mets from 2017-19 before signing with the Korea Baseball Organization’s Doosan Bears last winter. While Flexen – a former 14th-round pick – could only muster an 8.07 ERA and a 6.92 FIP in 68 innings as a Met, the right-hander put together a dominant season in South Korea, logging a 3.01 ERA/2.74 FIP with 10.2 K/9 against 2.3 BB/9 in 116 2/3 innings as a member of the Bears’ staff.
Flexen was exclusively a starter for the Bears, though most of his work in the majors so far (16 of 27 appearances) has come out of the bullpen. It’s unclear which role he’ll take for the Mariners, who have Marco Gonzales, Justus Sheffield and Yusei Kikuchi as locks to start next year. Justin Dunn, Nick Margevicius, Ljay Newsome and the just-acquired Robert Dugger represent other 40-man options. General manager Jerry Dipoto said at the outset of the season that he was targeting relief help, so if Flexen doesn’t win a spot in the M’s starting staff, he could be a factor out of their bullpen.
KBO Signings: Tucker, Buchanan
As MLB fans wait for free agency to pick up stateside, former big leaguers continue to hammer out deals with teams in Japan’s Nippon Professional Baseball and the Korea Baseball Organization. We’ll track the latest KBO and NPB re-signings here:
- The Kia Tigers have re-signed outfielder Preston Tucker to a one-year deal worth $1.05MM guaranteed, tweets Jee-ho Yoo of South Korea’s Yonhap News Agency. It’s a $200K raise for Tucker, who has appeared in parts of three MLB seasons, after he gave the Tigers an outstanding .306/.398/.557 slash and 32 home runs in his second season there in 2020. Yoo adds that Tucker has been getting some offseason work in at first base, which could allow the Tigers to use him at multiple positions next year. Tucker is still just 30 years old, so if he continues to mash in the KBO, a return bid to the Majors remains possible. For now, he’ll receive the first seven-figure salary of his career.
- Yoo also tweets that righty David Buchanan has re-upped with the Samsung Lions for a $1MM guarantee and up to $500K worth of performance incentives. Buchanan, 31, had a solid three-year run in Japan before moving to the KBO for the first time in 2020. The former Phillies right-hander gave the Lions 27 starts and 174 2/3 innings of 3.45 ERA ball with averages of 6.2 strikeouts, 2.6 walks and 0.8 home runs allowed per nine innings pitched. Buchanan never found his footing in the big leagues, but with this latest contract he’ll have topped $5MM in earnings between NPB and the KBO. And as we’ve seen numerous times in recent offseasons, consistent success in Japan and/or South Korea can always serve as a gateway back to the Majors.
Kiwoom Heroes Officially Post Ha-Seong Kim
Dec. 7: Kim has now been formally posted and can begin negotiating with MLB teams, tweets Jon Morosi of MLB.com.
Dec. 1: Shortstop Ha-Seong Kim has yet to be officially made available to Major League teams due to a minor delay in medical paperwork, Jeeho Yoo of the Yonhap News Agency writes. According to Kiwoom Heroes general manager Chi-Hyun Kim, Major League Baseball requested more medical documentation “that we didn’t think would be necessary. Kim Ha-seong went for tests at three different hospitals on Monday and we sent those results to the KBO today.”
It’s been clear that Kim will be posted for months now. The issue isn’t expected to keep the star shortstop off the market for much longer, and he could be officially posted as early as Wednesday or Thursday. Once Kim is posted, MLB clubs will have a 30-day window for contract negotiations.
Given how many other notable shortstops are available either in free agency (i.e. Marcus Semien, Didi Gregorius, Andrelton Simmons) or trades (Francisco Lindor, and potentially Javier Baez or Trevor Story) this offseason, it’s possible this delay in Kim’s availability could somewhat hold up the rest of the shortstop market. Kim is the more intriguing members of the 2020-21 free agent class, as he is just 25 years old but already has six seasons of excellent numbers under his belt in the KBO League.
Though some Major League teams may view Kim as a second or third baseman (or as a super-utility type who can play all over the infield), Kim’s potential as an everyday shortstop makes him particularly valuable. The Blue Jays and Rangers are two of the teams reported to have interest in Kim thus far, which is indicative of how both contenders and non-contenders can view Kim as a long-term answer.
In addition to the contract itself, the team that signs Kim will also have to pay a transfer fee to the Kiwoom Heroes. The Heroes’ transfer fee will be 20 percent of the contract’s first $25MM in value, 17.5 percent of the next $25MM, and 15 percent of anything beyond the $50MM threshold.
Ryon Healy Signs With KBO’s Hanwha Eagles
Corner infielder Ryon Healy is signing with the Hanwha Eagles of the Korea Baseball Organization, the team announced (via Jeeho Yoo of Yonhap). It’s a one-year deal that guarantees him $800K and offers an additional $200K in incentives.
The 28-year-old Healy has logged big league time in each of the past five years. Most of his playing time came between 2017-18, when he was a regular with the Athletics and Mariners, respectively. Healy signed a one-year deal with the Brewers last offseason after being cut loose by Seattle, but he spent most of the year at their alternate training site. Healy only played in four regular season games for Milwaukee; he got one more start against the Dodgers in the Wild Card playoff round. The Brewers outrighted him off the 40-man roster after the season, and Healy again became a free agent.
All told, Healy has managed a .261/.298/.450 slash line (101 wRC+) with 69 home runs in 1606 MLB plate appearances. While he broke into the league as a third baseman, Healy has rated rather poorly defensively at both corner infield spots. Between his subpar defense and on-base deficiencies, he’s seen his big league playing time dwindle in recent years.
However, Healy has shown decent pop over his MLB time, with a career .190 isolated power (slugging minus batting average). Unlike many power-oriented bats, he’s not overly prone to punchouts, with generally average strikeout and whiff rates. Indeed, the Eagles pointed to Healy’s decent batted ball data and contact rates as reasons for pursuing him, Yoo notes in a follow-up tweet.
Dan Straily To Re-Sign With KBO’s Lotte Giants
Right-hander Dan Straily is returning for a second season with the Lotte Giants of the Korea Baseball Organization, reports Evan Petzold of the Detroit Free Press. Straily received some interest from teams around the Majors, but the Apex Baseball client will instead return to the KBO on another one-year deal. The pact is worth $1.2MM and includes $500K in incentives, Craig Mish of Sportsgrid tweets.
In 31 starts with the Giants in his debut KBO campaign, Straily totaled 194 frames and pitched to a 2.50 ERA and 2.97 FIP with 9.5 strikeouts, 2.4 walks and 0.46 home runs allowed per nine innings pitched. That showing garnered some interest from the Reds, Angels and Giants, among others. Based on the fact that he’s returning to the KBO, it’s possible that Straily didn’t receive a guaranteed offer, so he’ll instead re-up and take home a raise over last year’s $1MM salary.
It’s possible that Straily could have eventually found a big league deal had he waited out the Major League free-agent market, but that would’ve been a slow-going process with so many clubs still uncertain about their 2021 budgets and with many new entrants expected to hit the market thanks to today’s non-tender deadline. KBO clubs tend to get their business done much earlier in their offseason than most MLB organizations, so Straily looks to be opting for the guaranteed payday already in hand. Another strong season in 2021 would only strengthen his case for a big league return next winter.
Straily’s last big league action was disastrous, as he allowed 52 earned runs in just 47 2/3 frames for the Orioles back in 2019. However, he was a quality mid-rotation piece the three years prior, totaling 495 1/3 innings of 4.03 ERA ball with 7.8 K/9 against 3.4 BB/9 in 495 1/3 innings between the Reds and the Marlins.