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Odrisamer Despaigne

Recapping The KBO League’s International Player Signings

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With the lockout slowing MLB-related transactions to a crawl of minor league deals, transactions involving Korean Baseball Organization teams have taken more of a spotlight on MLBTR’s pages since the start of December.  These moves have included the signings of several names familiar to North American baseball fans, as the KBO League’s clubs have looked to address their allocated three roster spots for non-Korean players.  International-born players can only sign contracts worth a maximum of $1MM in total salary, and players new to the KBO League can sign only one-year pacts.

Though the Doosan Bears have one signing that still isn’t yet official, the other 29 slots have been filled.  It is still possible this list could be adjusted in the coming weeks due to a number of factors — injuries, players returning to North America (for personal reasons or a deal with an MLB team), issues related to the pandemic, or teams just changing their minds after seeing the players in training camp.  Here is the rundown of this winter’s international signings for the 10 KBO League franchises….

Doosan Bears
Jose Miguel Fernandez (deal not yet finalized), Ariel Miranda, Robert Stock

NC Dinos
Nick Martini, Wes Parsons, Drew Rucinski

Hanwha Eagles
Ryan Carpenter, Nick Kingham, Mike Tauchman

Lotte Giants
Charlie Barnes, DJ Peters, Glenn Sparkman

Kiwoom Heroes
Tyler Eppler, Eric Jokisch, Yasiel Puig

SSG Landers
Kevin Cron, Wilmer Font, Ivan Nova

Samsung Lions
David Buchanan, Jose Pirela, Albert Suarez

Kia Tigers
Socrates Brito, Sean Nolin, Ronnie Williams

LG Twins
Casey Kelly, Adam Plutko, Rio Ruiz

KT Wiz
William Cuevas, Odrisamer Despaigne, Henry Ramos

KBO’s KT Wiz Re-Sign Odrisamer Despaigne, William Cuevas

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The KT Wiz of the Korea Baseball Organization announced they’ve re-signed pitchers Odrisamer Despaigne and William Cuevas. Despaigne signed a one-year deal worth $1.1MM that comes with an additional $250K in possible incentives; Cuevas inked a one-year, $1MM guarantee with $100K available in incentives (h/t to Jeeho Yoo of Yonhap). Despaigne is represented by Charisse Dash of QC Sports.

This will be Despaigne’s third season with the Wiz, as he originally joined the franchise in advance of the 2020 campaign. He posted a 4.33 ERA across 207 2/3 innings that season, then re-upped on another deal last winter. The Cuba native pitched 188 2/3 frames in 2021, working to a 3.39 ERA with a 20.1% strikeout percentage and a 9.5% walk rate. That reliable production over a heavy workload impressed the Suwon-based club’s front office enough to bring him back for another year.

Despaigne, who turns 35 in April, is better known in the U.S. for his time in the big leagues, which spanned 2014-19. The bulk of that work came over his first two seasons, as Despaigne started 34 of 50 appearances with the Padres from 2014-15. His rookie campaign featured 96 1/3 frames with a 3.36 ERA and a very strong 52.1% ground-ball rate, but Despaigne couldn’t build off that solid debut showing. After two seasons in San Diego, the right-hander bounced between the Orioles, Marlins, Angels and White Sox. He’s made 109 MLB appearances (including 50 starts) and owns a 5.11 ERA over 363 major league innings.

Cuevas is back for a fourth year with the Wiz. The Venezuela native has been a capable rotation arm, tossing 140+ innings with an ERA around 4.00 in each of his first three years. That includes a 3.91 mark over 140 1/3 frames this past season, a year that saw Cuevas punch out 24% of opponents against an 8.9% walk rate. Before making the jump to South Korea, the 31-year-old spent time with the Red Sox and Tigers. He made 13 MLB appearances between 2016-18, working 22 1/3 innings of 8.06 ERA ball.

International Transactions: 12/16/20

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The latest on some familiar names signing outside of North America….

  • Right-hander Odrisamer Despaigne has signed on for another year with the KT Wiz of the KBO League, the team announced.  Despaigne will receive $800K in guaranteed money ($500K salary, $300K signing bonus) for the one-year contract, with another $300K available in incentives.  After pitching 363 innings for five MLB teams between 2014-19, Despaigne signed with the Wiz last offseason and posted a 4.33 ERA, 2.24 K/BB rate, and 6.6 K/9 over 207 2/3 innings in his first year of KBO action.
  • Jose Pirela is also headed to South Korea, as the Samsung Lions announced that Pirela has signed a one-year deal.  Pirela will receive a $100K signing bonus and $500K in salary, plus up to $200K in incentives.  Pirela spent 2020 with the Hiroshima Carp of Nippon Professional Baseball, hitting .266/.312/.411 with 11 home runs over 337 plate appearances.  Pirela was deployed almost exclusively as an outfielder with the Carp, though the bulk of his Major League experience came as a second baseman over parts of six seasons from 2014-19.  The bulk of Pirela’s MLB career came as a Padre, as he hit .265/.320/.405 over 817 PA and 229 games in San Diego over the 2017-18 campaigns.  (Hat tip to MyKBO’s Dan Kurtz for both the Pirela and Despaigne items).

Which Former MLB Players Are Getting Ready To Play In The KBO?

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The Korea Baseball Organization is set to open its regular season on May 5, without fans in attendance, and is already in the midst of its second preseason training camp. There have been reported talks to bring KBO games to a North American audience, although at this point there’s no deal in place to allow MLB fans to tune in broad-reaching, accessible fashion.

Still, as baseball-starved fans hope for some ability to monitor those games, it seems worth a rundown of which former big leaguers will be suiting up in the KBO for fans around the world to follow — even if it’s in box scores and highlight clips only. Here’s a look at some names you might recognize in the 10-team league (with a hefty tip of the cap to the indispensable MyKBO.net and MyKBOstats.com)…

Doosan Bears (2019 record: 88-55-1)

  • Jose Miguel Fernandez, 1B/DH: The 32-year-old Fernandez was a notable signing out of Cuba by the Dodgers but never got a look with his original club. He latched on with the 2018 Angels and appeared in 36 games before heading to the KBO, where he posted a massive .344/.409/.483 slash even in a year that saw a leaguewide decrease in offense.
  • Raul Alcantara, RHP: Alcantara, 27, pitched with the Athletics in 2016-17. He notched a 4.01 ERA in 172 2/3 with the KT Wiz in Korea last season before inking a deal with the Bears this past winter.
  • Chris Flexen, RHP: Flexen struggled with the Mets from 2017-19 before signing up for his first overseas stint this past season. He had some success with the Mets’ Triple-A club and averaged a strikeout per inning at that level.

SK Wyverns (88-55-1)

  • Nick Kingham, RHP: The longtime Pirates top prospect never put it together in 131 2/3 big league innings, but he’s still just 28 years old. He’ll be an interesting name to monitor with regard to a future return.
  • Ricardo Pinto, RHP: The 26-year-old spent time with the Phillies, Rays and Giants organizations but struggled in limited MLB time.
  • Jamie Romak, 1B: The 33-year-old Romak only has 39 MLB plate appearances on his track record, but he’s become a consistent offensive force in the KBO, hitting .283/.376/.544 in three seasons with the Wyverns.

Kiwoom Heroes (86-57-1)

  • ByungHo Park, 1B: Park’s big free-agent deal with the Minnesota Twins didn’t pan out, but he’s posted an OPS north of 1.000 since returning to the Heroes two seasons ago.
  • Taylor Motter, INF/OF: The versatile 30-year-old didn’t hit much in 141 MLB games between the Rays, Mariners and Twins. He’ll hope for an overseas breakout in 2020.
  • Jake Brigham, RHP: Brigham, 32, only got a brief look with the 2015 Braves, but he’s entering his fourth KBO season — his second with the Heroes. In a total of 501 1/3 KBO innings, he’s posted a 3.72 ERA with 7.2 K/9 against 2.2 BB/9.
  • Eric Jokisch, LHP: An encouraging 2014 stint with the Cubs (three runs in 14 1/3 innings) never led to another MLB look for Jokisch, who bounced around the Triple-A circuit before turning in an impressive 3.13 ERA and 141-to-39 K/BB ratio in 181 1/3 frames in last year’s KBO debut.

LG Twins (79-64-1)

  • Hyun-Soo Kim, OF: The former Oriole and Phillie returned to the KBO after a two-year MLB stint in 2016-17, signing a four-year, $10.7MM deal with LG. The “Hitting Machine,” as he was nicknamed in the KBO, posted an OPS north of 1.000 in his return and has largely picked up where he left off.
  • Casey Kelly, RHP: The one-time star Red Sox prospect is now 30 years old and fresh off a 2.55 ERA, 6.3 K/9 and 2.0 BB/9 through 180 1/3 innings in his first KBO season.
  • Tyler Wilson, RHP: Wilson, also 30, floundered through 145 innings with the Orioles before finding himself with the LG Twins, for whom he’s tossed 355 innings with a 2.99 ERA, 7.3 K/9 and 2.0 BB/9.
  • Roberto Ramos, 1B: One of the few players on this list who never appeared in the Majors, the 25-year-old Ramos is a former Rockies prospect who signed on for his first season of Asian ball after hitting .309/.400/.580 in Triple-A last year.

NC Dinos (73-69-2)

  • Aaron Altherr, OF: One of the more recognizable names on the list, Altherr at times looked like a budding star with the Phillies. He fizzled out after some notable injuries, though, and is will make his KBO debut at 29 this year.
  • Mike Wright, RHP: Another former O’s hurler, Wright appeared in parts of five seasons with Baltimore. He had his share of success in Triple-A (3.76 ERA) but regularly struggled in the big leagues (6.00 ERA in 258 frames). He’s making his KBO debut this season as well.
  • Drew Rucinski, RHP: The 31-year-old saw time with the Angels, Twins and most recently the Marlins (2018). He returns to the Dinos after pitching 177 2/3 frames of 3.05 ERA ball in 2019 (6.0 K/9, 2.3 BB/9).

KT Wiz (71-71-2)

  • Odrisamer Despaigne, RHP: The 2020 season will be the first in the KBO for the 33-year-old Despaigne — a six-year MLB veteran who has tallied 363 innings in the big leagues.
  • Jae-Gyun Hwang, 3B: The (San Francisco) Giants signed Hwang back in 2017 but never gave him a long look despite a memorable home run in his MLB debut. He’s a productive regular in the KBO once again, having signed a four-year, $7.9MM deal with the Wiz prior to the 2018 season.
  • Mel Rojas Jr., OF: The 29-year-old Rojas never got a chance with the Pirates or Braves, and he’s now one of the KBO’s top hitters. In three seasons with the Wiz, Rojas has mashed at a .310/.377/.561 clip. He’s hit 30 homers in consecutive seasons.
  • William Cuevas, RHP: Cuevas, 29, got a cup of coffee with both the Red Sox and Tigers before jumping to the KBO and posting a 3.62 ERA with 6.6 K/9 and 3.1 BB/9 in 184 innings last year.

Kia Tigers (62-80-2)

  • Preston Tucker, OF: The former Astros prospect had a hot start with the ’18 Braves but faded quickly. He’s set for a second season with the Tigers after hitting .311/.381/.479 in last year’s debut effort.
  • Aaron Brooks, RHP: Brooks, 30 next week, pitched for the A’s, Royals and O’s between 2014-19 but struggled to a 6.49 ERA in 179 2/3 innings. He’s set for his KBO debut.
  • Drew Gagnon, RHP: A third-round pick of the Brewers in 2011, Gagnon saw MLB action with the Mets in 2018-19 but performed poorly. He had a bit 2019 season in Triple-A (2.33 ERA in 88 2/3 innings), which helped attract interest overseas.

Samsung Lions (60-83-1)

  • Seunghwan Oh, RHP: Oh enjoyed a quality four-year run with the Cardinals, Blue Jays and Rockies before undergoing elbow surgery last summer and heading back to the Lions, for whom he starred for nine seasons as one of the best relievers in league history (a tenure that earned him his incredible “Final Boss” nickname).
  • Tyler Saladino, INF: The former White Sox utilityman saw MLB time with the Brewers in 2018-19 and now heads to South Korea for the first time at 30 years of age.
  • David Buchanan, RHP: Buchanan hasn’t pitched in the big leagues since a 2014-15 run with the Phillies. He’s spent the past three seasons with Japan’s Yakult Swallows, working to a 4.07 ERA in 433 innings — mostly working as a starter.
  • Ben Lively, RHP: A prospect of some note for a bit with the Phillies, Lively had a solid MLB debut in ’17 but never further established himself. He gave the Lions 57 innings of 3.95 ERA ball after signing midseason in 2019.

Hanwha Eagles (58-86)

  • Jared Hoying, OF: Hoying barely got a look with the Rangers in 2016-17, but he’s compiled a .296/.355/.519 slash in two seasons with the Eagles so far.
  • Warwick Saupold, RHP: The Aussie hurler managed a 4.98 ERA in three seasons with the Tigers before taking his 80-grade name to the KBO. In last year’s 192-inning debut, he logged a 3.51 ERA.
  • Chad Bell, LHP: Bell and Saupold were teammates with the Tigers. Both debuted in the KBO last year, and Bell’s 3.50 ERA is a near-identical match to his longtime teammate.

Lotte Giants (48-93-3)

  • Dan Straily, RHP: The most accomplished pitcher on this list, Straily racked up 495 1/3 innings of 4.03 ERA ball with the Reds and Marlins from 2016-18 before his production fell off a cliff in 2019. He’ll hope to rebound on a one-year, $1MM deal with the Giants.
  • Dae-ho Lee, 1B: The 37-year-old slugger came to the Majors for one season with the 2016 Mariners before returning to Korea on a four-year, $12.9MM contract that represented the largest deal in KBO history at the time. Lee’s bat faded in 2019, but he mashed 37 homers with a .987 OPS in 2018.
  • Adrian Sampson, RHP: The 31-year-old comes to the Giants for his own KBO debut with a solid Triple-A track record but an ugly 5.71 ERA in 153 MLB innings.
  • Dixon Machado, INF: Yet another former Tiger, Machado spent 2019 with the Cubs’ Triple-A club, where he hit .261/.371/.480 before agreeing to a deal with Lotte this winter.

Odrisamer Despaigne Signs With KBO’s KT Wiz

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Former MLB hurler Odrisamer Despaigne has inked a contract to pitch with the KT Wiz of the KBO, relays Dan Kurtz of MyKBO.net (link). The Cuban native will receive a $750K guarantee with up to $150K in incentives.

Despaigne’s name last surfaced here when he was outrighted off of the roster of the White Sox in mid-June after a rough sampling of three starts with Chicago. After his outright, the 32-year-old enjoyed a nice showing with Triple-A Charlotte, recording a 3.47 ERA and 9.0 K/9 in 124.1 innings at the highest level of the minors.

As it stands, his 2014 rookie season with the Padres stands as the highlight of a six-season major league career spent with five separate major league teams. That incipient season saw the 6’0 Despaigne log a 3.36 ERA and 3.74 FIP across 96.1 big league innings, although ensuing years exposed the hurler’s general lack of strikeout stuff as something of a liability (career 5.55 K/9 mark). Still, Despaigne will be fondly remembered by some fans for being a true everything-and-the-kitchen-sink pitcher, with Statcast recording as many as seven pitches in his toolbox (including an all-too-rare eephus offering).

The former Padre, Oriole, Marlin, Angel, and White Sox will head to his next adventure with a career 5.11 ERA through 353 innings and 50 starts at the MLB level. MLBTR wishes him all the best in his international endeavor.

 

Pitchers Recently Electing Free Agency

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Since the conclusion of the regular season, a number of players have elected free agency. That right accrues to certain players who are outrighted off of a 40-man roster during or after the season — namely, those that have at least three years of MLB service and/or have previously been outrighted. Such players that accepted outright assignments during the season have the right to elect free agency instead at season’s end, provided they aren’t added back to the 40-man in the meantime.

We already rounded up the position players. Now, here are the pitchers that have recently taken to the open market, along with their now-former teams (via the International League and PCL transactions pages):

White Sox Outright Odrisamer Despaigne

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White Sox right-hander Odrisamer Despaigne has accepted an outright assignment to Triple-A Charlotte, James Fegan of The Athletic tweets. The club designated Despaigne on June 24.

Despaigne could have rejected an outright in favor of a return to free agency, but he’ll stick with Chicago, which signed him to a minor league deal May 19 after he opted out of a minors contract with the Reds. The 32-year-old Cuba native then recorded a 2.00 ERA/4.27 FIP with 8.0 K/9 and 2.0 BB/9 over 18 innings in Charlotte.

Despaigne’s output with the White Sox’s top affiliate earned him a promotion to the majors, though he wasn’t able to carry his success to the game’s highest level. Despaigne made three starts with the ChiSox and managed a 9.45 ERA/6.86 FIP with a matching 4.73 K/9 and BB/9 across 13 1/3 frames before they designated him.

White Sox Designate Odrisamer Despaigne, Activate Jon Jay

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The White Sox announced Monday that they’ve activated outfielder Jon Jay from the 60-day injured list for his season debut and designated right-hander Odrisamer Despaigne for assignment in order to open a roster spot.

Jay, 34, was signed to a one-year deal worth $4MM in the offseason — perhaps in part as an unsuccessful enticement to close friend Manny Machado, whom the Sox recruited heavily — but has yet to play in 2019 due to a hip injury. Jay hit .358/.382/.396 in 13 games with Triple-A Charlotte while rehabbing and batted a combined .268/.330/.347 through 586 combined plate appearances with the Royals and D-backs in 2018.

The veteran Jay is capable of manning all three outfield spots, and while he’s lacking in power, he has a knack for putting the ball in play at a high rate (career 16.5 percent strikeout rate). A lifetime .285/.352/.378 hitter, he’ll join an outfield mix that currently contains Eloy Jimenez, Leury Garcia, Charlie Tilson and Ryan Cordell.

Despaigne, 32, was tattooed for 14 runs on 24 hits and seven walks with seven strikeouts in 13 1/3 innings for the South Siders. The Cuban-born righty has appeared in the big leagues in each of the past six seasons but hasn’t found success outside of his 2014 rookie season in San Diego and a solid run with the Marlins in 2017. Overall, he has a career 5.11 ERA with 224 strikeouts against 130 walks in 363 MLB innings.

White Sox Release Nicky Delmonico

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The White Sox announced Monday that they’ve released outfielder Nicky Delmonico. His spot on the 40-man roster will got right-hander Odrisamer Despaigne, whose contract as been formally selected from Triple-A Charlotte (as was first reported last night). To open space on the 25-man roster for Despaigne, left-hander Jace Fry was placed on the injured list due to soreness in his left shoulder.

The 26-year-old Delmonico recently underwent season-ending shoulder surgery. Injured players can’t be run through outright waivers, so Chicago opted to simply release Delmonico to open the necessary 40-man roster spot. As noted at the time of his surgery, it’s commonplace to see teams release and then re-sign 40-man players who incur a season-ending injury while in the minors. That could well be the case here. Delmonico certainly has the right to explore other options, but as a player who’s fresh off surgery and won’t be ready to play until 2020, his appeal to a new organization will be fairly limited.

Back in 2017, Delmonico looked like a nice find for the White Sox when he hit .262/.373/.482 with nine homers and four doubles in a 43-game audition down the stretch (166 plate appearances). The former Orioles and Brewers prospect made the team’s Opening Day roster the next year but hasn’t produced in the Majors since that rookie season. Over his past 386 plate appearances at the MLB level, he’s slashed an anemic .213/.290/.357 with a 27.2 percent strikeout rate.

White Sox To Select Odrisamer Despaigne’s Contract

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The White Sox will select the contract of veteran right-hander Odrisamer Despaigne from Triple-A prior to tomorrow’s game, according to Francys Romero of Las Mayores (Twitter link).  Another move is forthcoming to create space for Despaigne on both the 25-man and 40-man rosters.

Despaigne is lined up to start Chicago’s game against Washington on Monday, as the 32-year-old is set to get his first taste of Major League action in the 2019 season.  Despaigne joined the White Sox in mid-May on a minor league contract, just days after opting out of another minors deal with the Reds signed last winter.  Over 59 1/3 combined inning for both clubs’ Triple-A affiliates, Despaigne has produced some pretty solid numbers — a 3.34 ERA, 8.5 K/9, and 2.8 K/BB rate.

The White Sox were already thin on MLB-caliber pitching talent to begin the season, and they’ve seen that depth further stretched due to injuries; Carlos Rodon was lost to season-ending Tommy John surgery and Dylan Covey hit the 10-day injured list just earlier today with shoulder inflammation.  Despite a breakout performance from Lucas Giolito, the Sox rotation as a whole still ranks at or near the bottom in most cumulative starting pitching categories.

With this in mind, there’s plenty of opportunity for Despaigne to win himself some regular work, and try to firmly establish himself as a starter in his sixth big league season.  Despaigne has a career 4.94 ERA, 5.6 K/9, and 1.76 K/BB rate over 349 2/3 career frames in the majors, spending time with the Angels, Marlins, Orioles, and Padres since 2014.

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