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Cardinals Release James Naile To Pursue KBO Opportunity

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The Cardinals announced they’ve transferred the contract of right-hander James Naile to the Kia Tigers of the Korea Baseball Organization. The move clears a spot on the 40-man roster, which now sits at 39.

This transaction is made with Naile’s consent. He’ll lock in a $550K guarantee — taking the form of a $200K signing bonus and a $350K salary — with an additional $150K available in incentives, reports Jeeho Yoo of Yonhap News (on X). The Kia Tigers are also paying the Cardinals a $250K release fee.

It’s a beneficial transaction for all involved. Naile, who turns 31 next month, secures the strongest contract of his career to date. Selected by the A’s in the 20th round of the 2015 draft, the 6’4″ hurler spent seven years in the Oakland farm system. He never got a big league call and landed with the Cards in minor league free agency over the 2021-22 offseason.

That resulted in a long-awaited MLB look for the UAB product. Naile was called up for seven relief outings in 2022. St. Louis ran him through outright waivers last offseason, keeping him in the organization in a non-roster capacity. They reselected his contract in early May and bounced him on and off the MLB roster throughout the summer. Naile made 10 more big league appearances but surrendered 19 runs in 15 1/3 innings.

With a 7.40 ERA in 24 1/3 career MLB frames, Naile wasn’t a lock to hold his spot on the 40-man into next season. Even if he kept his position on the 40-man, he might’ve spent most of next year on optional assignment to Triple-A Memphis. Spending the majority or entirety of the season in the minors would’ve been less profitable than the guarantee he inked to jump to the KBO.

In addition to the final security, Naile will likely get a rotation look in Korea. He has pitched in relief for the past four years but worked out of the rotation up through 2019. He pitched in a multi-inning bullpen capacity a season ago, logging 59 frames over 31 Triple-A appearances. Naile posted strong numbers in the minors, turning in a 3.66 ERA while striking out over 26% of batters faced. He kept the ball on the ground at a robust 53.2% clip, a trait he’s shown throughout his minor league career.

KBO teams are allowed to carry two foreign-born pitchers on their roster. They tend to use those players out of the rotation as a result. Naile joins former Pirate Wil Crowe as the Tigers foreign pitchers. Outfielder Socrates Brito is their position player. They’ll add a player with an impressive Triple-A résumé, while the Cardinals receive some cash for someone they might’ve placed on waivers eventually anyway. If Naile pitches well as a starter in the KBO, he could elevate his stock for major league clubs an offseason or two from now.

KBO’s Kiwoom Heroes Plan To Post Infielder Hye Seong Kim For MLB Teams Next Offseason

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For the second time in five years, the Kiwoom Heroes of the Korea Baseball Organization will post an infielder for MLB clubs. The Heroes announced this week that they’ll post second baseman/shortstop Hye Seong Kim for big league clubs following the 2024 campaign (English-language link via Jee-ho Yoo of South Korea’s Yonhap News Agency).

Kim (no relation to former Heroes infielder Ha-Seong Kim, who was his double-play partner in the KBO) will be 25 years old and have seven seasons of pro experience in the KBO, thus exempting him from amateur status under MLB’s international free agency rules. He’ll be able to sign a Major League contract of any length with any team, though he’ll still fall under the purview of the MLB/KBO posting system — meaning any team to sign him will need to pay a posting/release fee to the Heroes.

Kim doesn’t possess the power that many prominent KBO free agents have been able to market when seeking to jump to the Majors. However, he’s batted .300 or better in each of the past three seasons while continually whittling down his strikeout rate and improving his walk rate. Over the past three years, Kim is a .319/.380/.405 hitter — including a .335/.396/.446 slash in 2023. He’s connected on just 14 homers since 2021 but also touts 67 doubles, 16 triples and a hefty 105 steals in 119 tries (88.3% success rate). Kim walked at a 7% clip with a 25.2% strikeout rate as a rookie in 2018, but he walked at a 9.2% rate with just a 12.4% strikeout rate in 2023. That marked his third straight year with a strikeout rate of 15% or lower.

Prior to the 2023 World Baseball Classic, Kyle Glaser of Baseball America ranked Kim ninth among international prospects to watch in that year’s tournament. Glaser called Kim a plus defender at second who can handle shortstop on occasion, adding that he has strong pitch recognition skills, a “preternatural feel for contact” and an ability to catch up to good velocity. Kim has a Gold Glove at shortstop and two at second base. As one might expect for a player with Kim’s minimal home run totals, BA’s scouting report paints him as a line-drive hitter with a knack for finding the barrel but a lack of over-the-fence power.

While the lack of power will limit Kim’s appeal in MLB free agency, he’s at the very least a high-contact left-handed bat who can handle multiple positions and deliver value on the bases. At 24 years old (25 later this month), it’s not out of the question that Kim develops a bit more power this season, though his swing doesn’t appear geared for substantial power (as seen in this 35-minute compilation of highlights from Kim at the plate this past season). He’s listed at 5’10” and 170 pounds, so Kim certainly doesn’t have a prototypical slugging frame.

There’s a ways to go before Kim is legitimately on MLB radars in free agency next winter; it stands to reason that with a major injury and/or down season at the plate, he might not test the free-agent waters at all. Still, Kim made clear that his ultimate goal is to secure an opportunity to test himself in MLB. “Just challenging myself to make it to such a big stage means a lot to me,” he told reporters (via Yoo).

Lack of power notwithstanding, Kim could draw interest as a speed/contact-oriented second baseman next winter. Glaser tabbed him as a potential big league utilityman. His age will surely hold appeal, and Kim will likely be an affordable alternative to MLB free agents like Gleyber Torres, Jose Altuve and, coincidentally, his own former teammate and double-play partner (Ha-Seong Kim), who’ll become a free agent next winter when the mutual option on his contract with the Padres is inevitably declined (likely by the player). As a potential, if not likely entrant into next winter’s free-agent class, Kim’s production will be worth keeping an eye on during the 2024 KBO campaign.

KBO’s NC Dinos Sign Matt Davidson

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Matt Davidson has signed with the NC Dinos of the KBO League, reports Jeeho Yoo of Yonhap News. The infielder will have a salary of $560K, plus a $140K signing bonus and $300K of incentives.

Davidson, 33 in March, has received scattered MLB action, appearing in six seasons over the 2013 to 2022 timeframe. He played in 311 big league games over that decade-long stretch, suiting up for the Diamondbacks, White Sox, Reds and Athletics. He struck out in 34.3% of his plate appearances but also launched 54 home runs. The combined result was a .220/.290/.430 batting line and 93 wRC+.

His Triple-A track record has been much stronger, as he has hit .253/.335/.479 at that level over eight separate seasons, hitting 163 home runs in 3,236 plate appearances. That likely helped him secure a job in Japan last year, as he joined the Hiroshima Carp of Nippon Professional Baseball for the 2023 season. He hit 19 home runs in his 381 plate appearances for that club but his overall line of .210/.273/.425 suggests it was a power-only performance. He struck out in 31.5% of his trips to the plate last year while walking just 5.8% of the time.

Despite the strikeouts, Davidson’s power bat is clearly a threat and it has intrigued the Dinos. This will complete the club’s foreign player allotment, as KBO clubs are limited to three such slots. They previously signed pitchers Daniel Castano and Kyle Hart.

KBO’s KIA Tigers Sign Wil Crowe

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The Korea Baseball Organization’s KIA Tigers announced last night that they’ve agreed to terms with right-hander Wil Crowe on a one-year deal worth $800K guaranteed with incentives that could take the deal to $1MM (h/t to Dan Kurtz of MyKBO). Crowe spent the 2023 season with the Pirates but was outrighted off the club’s roster over the summer and released back in November.

Crowe, 29, was selected by the Nationals in the second round of the 2017 draft and made his debut with the club during the shortened 2020 campaign. The righty struggled during his cup of coffee in D.C. with a 11.88 ERA in 8 1/3 innings of work across three appearances. That would ultimately prove to be Crowe’s only appearances in a Nationals uniform, as the right-hander was shipped to Pittsburgh alongside fellow right-hander Eddy Yean on that offseason in a deal that netted the Nationals first baseman Josh Bell.

Upon joining the Pirates, Crowe was placed into the club’s rotation for the 2021 season. The assignment did not go well, as the right-hander posted a 5.48 ERA and 5.67 FIP in 116 2/3 innings of work across 26 appearances (25 starts). While he struck out a respectable 21.2% of batters faced in 2021, the right-hander struggled with his command and walked opposing hitters at a 10.9% clip. The struggles in the rotation prompted a shift to the bullpen in 2022, and Crowe found success in that role for much of the season.

Crowe posted a solid 3.12 ERA and 3.41 FIP in his first 51 appearances (66 1/3 frames) in 2022 as he strikeout and walk rates improved to 22.1% and 9.8%, respectively. Unfortunately, Crowe ran out of gas late in the year and struggled to a whopping 13.03 ERA over his final nine appearances, walking 11 and striking out just seven in 9 2/3 innings of work. The brutal finish to an otherwise solid season saw opposing hitters tee off against Crow to the tune of a .378/.500/.689 slash line as his ERA ballooned to 4.38 on the season. While he returned to the Pirates in 2023, the right-hander made just five appearances before being sidelined by shoulder discomfort and outrighted off the roster in July.

Going forward, the right-hander will get the opportunity to revitalize his career overseas. By joining the Tigers, Crowe will make more than the major league minimum while occupying one of three spots on the team the club can offer to foreign players. Outfielder Socrates Brito occupies another of those spots, while right-hander Thomas Pannone departed in favor of a minor league deal with the Cubs last month after spending the 2023 campaign with the Tigers overseas.

KBO’s Samsung Lions Sign Denyi Reyes

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The Samsung Lions of the Korea Baseball Organization have signed right-hander Denyi Reyes, per Jeeho Yoo of Yonhap News. The deal is for $800K, including $200K of incentives.

Reyes, 27, has been a fringy major leaguer for the past few years. He was able to toss 7 2/3 innings for the Orioles in 2022 and 19 2/3 innings for the Mets in 2023. He has a combined 6.26 earned run average in that small sample of 27 1/3 frames. He was outrighted by the Mets at the beginning of the offseason and elected free agency.

A few years ago, he was a notable starting pitching prospect with the Red Sox. In 2018, he tossed 155 2/3 innings in the minors with a 1.97 ERA, split between Single-A and High-A. In 2019, he moved up to Double-A and threw 151 1/3 innings. His ERA jumped to 4.16 but he was still just 22 years old at the time.

The pandemic wiped out the minor leagues in 2020 and Reyes’s results have been on the tepid side since then. As mentioned, his small sample of major league work hasn’t been amazing and he also has a 6.30 ERA at the Triple-A level.

The Lions and Reyes will be hoping that a change of scenery can get him back on track. He will also lock in a salary figure higher than if he stayed in North America, where he likely would have been limited to minor league deals. If things go well overseas, Reyes is young enough that he could perhaps return to North America in a year or two, a path taken by players like Erick Fedde, Josh Lindblom, Merrill Kelly and others.

KBO teams are allowed a maximum of three foreign players and this will be the Lions’ third, as they already signed infielder David MacKinnon and right-hander Connor Seabold. As pointed out by Yoo, this means the Lions won’t be re-signing David Buchanan, who has spent the past four years pitching for the Lions with a 3.02 ERA in that time.

Padres Sign Woo-Suk Go To Two-Year Deal

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The Padres announced the signing of reliever Woo-Suk Go to a two-year contract with a mutual option covering the 2026 season. He is reportedly guaranteed $4.5MM. Go will make $1.75MM this year and $2.25MM in 2025. There’s a $500K buyout on the option, which is valued at $3MM. San Diego will also owe a $900K posting fee to the LG Twins of the Korea Baseball Organization. The Friars still have five vacancies on the 40-man roster.

The contract also contains a number of performance bonuses. Go would receive an additional $100K if he reaches 70 appearances next season. He can unlock up to $400K in bonuses for 2025 as well: $100K apiece at 40, 45, 55 and 60 games. His 2025 salary could jump by as much as $500K if he reaches 45 games finished next season. Unless the mutual option is exercised, Go will return to free agency two years from now. While he’ll still be well shy of six years of MLB service, most major league deals for players from a foreign professional league include a clause that sends the player back to free agency once the contract expires.

Go, a 25-year-old righty, has pitched parts of seven seasons in the KBO. He has worked as a pure reliever throughout that time, operating as the LG Twins closer for the past five years. After struggling during his first two seasons as a teenager, Go has been a solid bullpen arm for a half-decade.

He has rattled off four seasons with a sub-4.00 ERA, including three campaigns allowing fewer than 2.20 earned runs per nine. Go surpassed 30 saves in each of 2019, ’21 and ’22. He has fanned more than 26% of batters faced in each of the last five years, topping the 30% mark in the last two seasons.

While Go has consistently shown the ability to miss bats, he hasn’t always been around the strike zone. He has walked more than 10% of opposing hitters in four of his seven seasons. Go issued free passes to an alarming 11.6% of batters faced last year, contributing to a 3.68 ERA that made for more of a solid than exceptional platform showing.

Public scouting reports have generally pegged Go as a likely middle reliever at the big league level. Eric Longenhagen of FanGraphs writes that Go leans primarily on a mid-90s fastball and low-90s cutter while occasionally mixing in a curveball. That’s an intriguing arsenal, but the fringy control could make him a risk in higher-leverage spots.

The Twins made Go available via the posting system on December 4. That opened a 30-day period for him to sign with a major league club. (Unlike Japan’s Nippon Professional Baseball, whose posting windows last 45 days, there’s a 30-day opening for South Korean players). That was concluding this afternoon. If Go hadn’t signed with an MLB team by 4:00 pm CST, he’d have remained with the Twins for another season.

San Diego has been one of the sport’s most aggressive teams in targeting players making the jump from Asian professional leagues. They recently signed lefty Yuki Matsui to a five-year, $28MM pact as he came over from NPB. San Diego has added Ha-Seong Kim from the KBO and the likes of Nick Martinez and Robert Suarez from NPB in previous offseasons.

With Josh Hader, Martinez and Luis García hitting free agency, the Padres have Matsui and Suarez as their top two leverage relievers. Go joins that mix alongside righty Enyel De Los Santos, whom San Diego acquired from the Guardians in exchange for Scott Barlow this winter. Go is reportedly in the mix for the ninth inning.

Under the MLB-KBO posting agreement, the release fee is proportional to the size of the contract. For players guaranteed $25MM or less, it is calculated as 20% of the contract value. The $900K fee brings San Diego’s total outlay for Go to $5.4MM.

The deal’s $2.25MM average annual value brings San Diego’s projected luxury tax number to roughly $212MM, according to Roster Resource. That’s $25MM shy of next year’s lowest threshold. Their actual payroll sits in the $156MM range. Even in an offseason defined by budgetary limitations, adding Go shouldn’t have much of an impact on San Diego’s ability to continue bolstering the roster. The Padres still need one or two outfield acquisitions and would benefit from a back-of-the-rotation starter.

Jon Heyman of the New York Post first reported that Go and the Padres were nearing an agreement. The Post’s Joel Sherman reported the sides had agreed to a two-year, $4.5MM guarantee. Dennis Lin of The Athletic was first to report the 2026 mutual option and the specific salary breakdown. The Associated Press reported the bonuses and escalators.

KBO’s Hanwha Eagles Re-Sign Ricardo Sanchez

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The Hanwha Eagles of the Korea Baseball Organization re-signed lefty Ricardo Sánchez yesterday, the team announced (h/t to Jee-ho Yoo of Yonhap News). He’ll receive a $100K signing bonus and a $500K salary, while the contract contains another $150K in incentives.

Sánchez signed with the Eagles in April, landing a $400K contract to spend the bulk of the 2023 campaign there. The 5’10” hurler had a decent debut in Korea. He pitched to a 3.79 ERA through 126 innings. Sánchez’s 18.3% strikeout rate was modest, even in the context of a high-contact KBO environment. He showed good control, though, keeping his walk rate around 5%.

Before signing with the Eagles, Sánchez had been in Triple-A with the White Sox. He only made three appearances for the Sox’s top affiliate, leaving him without much time to put together a case for a big league call. His MLB experience consists of three relief appearances for the Cardinals in 2020. Sánchez has also spent minor league time with the Angels, Braves, Mariners, Phillies and Tigers since entering the professional ranks in 2014.

The Eagles have filled their allotted three spots for foreign-born players to open next season. They also re-signed pitcher Félix Peña while brining in former Cubs minor leaguer Yonathan Perlaza (who has never played in the majors) last month.

KBO League’s LG Twins Re-Sign Deok Ju Ham

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Left-hander Deok Ju Ham is staying in the Korea Baseball Organization, as Jeeho Yoo of Yonhap News (X link) reports that Ham has re-signed with the LG Twins for a four-year deal worth close to $2.9MM, including incentives.

Ham emerged as a possibility for Major League teams last month, when MLB tendered a status check on the southpaw with the KBO League.  This procedural move essentially indicates some level of interest in a Korean player from a big league team, though obviously no deal was worked out and Ham opted to stay with the Twins.  It could be that he preferred the security of a four-year contract over what might’ve been just a one-year flier from a Major League team for less money, or perhaps even a non-guaranteed sum.  Yoo notes that the status check “came as a surprise,” though it isn’t clear if this was surprising to Ham, the Twins, or maybe both parties.

Since Ham has 11 seasons of experience in the KBO League, he was a full free agent, and would’ve available to be signed by a big league team without an additional posting fee going to the Twins.  Despite that long track record in South Korea, Ham is still a few weeks shy of his 29th birthday, and might be poised for bigger things now that he has seemingly moved past the injuries that limited him to 33 2/3 innings in 2021-22.  Ham bounced back strongly to post a 1.62 ERA over 55 2/3 relief innings for the Twins in 2023, helping the Seoul-based franchise capture the third Korean Series title in franchise history.

Ham has a 3.50 ERA over 501 2/3 innings in his KBO career, comprised of eight seasons with the Doosan Bears and the last three seasons with the Twins.  Working mostly as a reliever, Ham has dabbled in rotation work by starting 33 of his 397 career games, but has generally found more success out of the bullpen.  Ham isn’t a high velocity pitcher and his 23.94% strikeout rate is solid but unspectacular, and he has been bothered by control problems at various points in his career.

The four-year contract closes the door on Ham’s chances of coming to the big leagues in the near future, barring a trade or some kind of further agreement between the lefty and the Twins.  He’ll be 33 at the end of the deal and could still perhaps be a candidate to jump to MLB in 2028, though for now, Ham will focus his efforts on bringing the Twins another championship.

KBO’s Kiwoom Heroes Re-Sign Ariel Jurado

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The Korea Baseball Organization’s Kiwoom Heroes have reached a new deal with right-hander Ariel Jurado, Jeeho Yoo of the Yonhap News reports (via X).  Jurado will earn $1.2MM in salary on his new one-year contract, and another $100K worth of incentive bonuses are also available.

Jurado’s debut season in the KBO League was a success, as he posted a 2.65 ERA over 183 2/3 innings.  Though he struck out only 19.3% of batters, Jurado (who turns 28 next month) had a solid 5.4% walk rate and a staggering 65.5% groundball rate.  The righty allowed only seven homers last season, a noteworthy feat in the hitter-friendly KBO.

Jurado’s performance was one of the few highlights of a tough season for the Heroes, who followed up a Korean Series appearance in 2022 with a last-place finish in 2023.  It isn’t surprising that the team was eager to retain Jurado as it tries to get back on track, and Jurado cashed in with a substantial raise on his $850K salary from last season.  Another nice showing in the KBO League could get Jurado some more attention from MLB clubs, though his grounder-heavy approach doesn’t have as much traditional appeal to scouts as a more strikeout-reliant pitcher.

A veteran of three MLB seasons, Jurado tossed 181 innings for the Rangers and Mets in 2018-20, with all but a single one of those frames coming in a Texas uniform.  Jurado posted a 5.97 ERA while working mostly as a swingman, and he started 27 of his 45 Major League appearances.  He missed all of 2021 recovering from Tommy John surgery, and then posted a 3.30 ERA over 57 1/3 frames in the Twins’ minor league system in 2022 without getting another call up to the majors.

KBO’s Samsung Lions Sign Connor Seabold

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The Samsung Lions of the Korea Baseball Organization announced Friday that they’ve signed former Red Sox and Rockies right-hander Connor Seabold. The Beverly Hills Sports Council client will be guaranteed $900K with another $100K available to him via incentives, per Jee-ho Yoo of South Korea’s Yonhap News Agency.

Seabold, 27, was a third-round pick of the Phillies back in 2017 and has twice been traded — first to the Red Sox as part of the deal bringing Brandon Workman and Heath Hembree to Philadelphia, and second to the Rockies last winter in exchange for cash. Colorado released Seabold on the day of the Rule 5 draft, opening a spot to make a selection in the process.

Earlier in his professional tenure, Seabold ranked among the top pitching prospects in both the Phillies and Red Sox systems, but elbow and forearm injuries shortened his 2021 and 2022 seasons. Seabold came to the Rockies with a solid track record in the upper minors, but his lone season with the Rox proved nightmarish both in Colorado and with their Triple-A affiliate in Albuquerque.

Seabold started 13 games and made another 14 relief appearances with Colorado this past season but was tagged for a gruesome 7.52 ERA in the process. He posted a sharp 6.9% walk rate but struggled with a well below-average 16.4% strikeout rate and a sky-high 1.96 HR/9. Seabold’s status as a pronounced fly-ball pitcher did him no favors at Coors Field, and he allowed hard contact a fair bit more often than the average big league pitcher (40.5%). Things didn’t go any better in Triple-A, where Seabold posted a 7.47 ERA in 31 2/3 frames.

As recently as 2022, Seabold tossed 86 2/3 innings of 3.32 ERA ball with Triple-A Worcester in the Sox’ system, striking out 24.7% of his opponents against an excellent 5.3% walk rate. The Lions will be hoping for something closer to that form, and if he’s able to replicate that performance, Seabold would likely position himself to be re-signed on a potential seven-figure guarantee. Given that he’s only heading into his age-28 season, Seabold is certainly young enough that an eventual return to MLB could be in the cards.

Oftentimes that requires multiple strong seasons in the KBO or NPB, although right-hander Erick Fedde, who’s three years older than Seabold, just parlayed one dominant KBO season (wherein he was named league MVP and won the KBO’s Cy Young equivalent) into a two-year, $15MM deal with the White Sox. That’s an ideal scenario for any player headed to Japan or Korea, and Seabold has enough prospect pedigree that if he can reinvent himself (perhaps with the help of a new pitch, as Fedde did), a similar path feels plausible.

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