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Drew Rucinski

Latest On A’s Rotation

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The A’s entered camp with a host of pitchers competing for what appeared to be two rotation spots. Another opened during Spring Training, as righty Paul Blackburn tore a fingernail and will start the year on the injured list. That left Drew Rucinski and Shintaro Fujinami as the apparent top two. For different reasons, there are questions about the workload both hurlers can shoulder.

Rucinski won’t make his next scheduled Spring Training start because of left hamstring tightness, manager Mark Kotsay said this afternoon (relayed by Martín Gallegos of MLB.com). His availability for Opening Day is now uncertain. Signed to a $3MM free agent deal after four seasons with the NC Dinos in the Korea Baseball Organization, Rucinski has pitched three times this spring. The right-hander has allowed eight runs with a 7:3 strikeout-to-walk ratio in 10 1/3 innings.

Fujinami isn’t dealing with any health concerns. The A’s are planning to be cautious with his workload as he makes the jump from Japan’s Nippon Professional Baseball, however. Starters in Japan typically only throw once per week, so a five-day rotation presents an adjustment for hurlers coming over from NPB. Kotsay indicated this week that Oakland would limit Fujinami to starts every sixth or seventh day early in the season to avoid overworking him (link via Matt Kawahara of the San Francisco Chronicle).

“We feel strongly about keeping him in that routine,” Kotsay told reporters. “There is a lot of change going on already for Fuji, so we want to try to at least keep something as consistent as possible and that’s his routines.” The 6’6″ right-hander signed for $3.25MM this offseason, with the A’s rolling the dice on a high-octane arsenal despite an inconsistent strike-throwing track record in Japan.

Control woes kept Fujinami from holding a permanent rotation spot with the Hanshin Tigers over the past few seasons. He’d bounced between the Tigers and their minor league affiliate and between the starting staff and the bullpen. Altogether, Fujinami tallied 107 1/3 innings last season. That was the first time he’d topped the century mark since 2018, so it’s not surprising the A’s want to keep an eye on his workload.

Oakland has maintained they’re committed to Fujinami as a starting pitcher. It’s an upside play that could make him an intriguing trade candidate if he establishes himself closer to the summer deadline. Fujinami has been erratic this spring, striking out 17 but issuing 13 walks in 12 2/3 frames over three outings.

With only one pitcher now locked into the season-opening rotation and coming with workload concerns of his own, Oakland will obviously have to plug a number of vacancies. As Kawahara writes in a separate piece, righty James Kaprielian seems on track to grab a rotation job. While he’d been delayed in camp recovering fromDecember shoulder surgery, he built up to five innings in today’s exhibition start against the Cubs. The former Yankee first-rounder started 26 games and threw 134 innings last year, working to a 4.23 ERA despite below-average strikeout, walk and ground-ball rates.

A number of recent trade acquisitions are among those battling for rotation spots alongside Fujinami, Kaprielian and hopefully Rucinski. Ken Waldichuk and JP Sears, both acquired from the Yankees in last summer’s Frankie Montas deal, could have the inside track on jobs after debuting last season. Lefty Kyle Muller, brought in from Atlanta this winter in the Sean Murphy package, remains in camp.

So does righty Adam Oller, who came over from the Mets in the Chris Bassitt trade a year ago. Oller started 14 of 19 MLB appearances as a rookie but was hit hard, surrendering more than six earned runs per nine innings. Kawahara suggests the righty could be ticketed for long relief instead of the rotation. The 28-year-old told reporters he was open to whatever role the club preferred. “I knew going into this year (a swing role) was going to be a possibility,” Oller said (via Kawahara). “I spoke to Kotsay … and I told him straight up, ‘I don’t care.’ Obviously, everybody wants to be a starter, but at the end of the day, I just want to be on the team and do what I can to help the team win.“

Sorting Through The Athletics’ Rotation Options

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The A’s formally announced newly signed right-hander Shintaro Fujinami at a press conference last week, where general manager David Forst confirmed that Fujinami is indeed viewed as a starting pitcher. That’s the role he’s held in Japan’s Nippon Professional Baseball for the bulk of his career, so perhaps it’s not a surprise, but Fujinami is a hard-throwing righty with command issues, so there was a case to be made for putting him in the ’pen.

Beyond that, the simple fact is that even prior to signing Fujinami, the A’s had more rotation candidates than rotation spots. That’s not an especially common spot for a rebuilding club to find itself, but Oakland has zeroed in on bulk pitching acquisition over the course of its fire sale/teardown. The front office didn’t target exclusively pitchers, but the A’s nonetheless have as many as seven rotation candidates who’ve been acquired via trade within the past calendar year on the 40-man roster.

No team is going to rely on five starters to get through a season, and even getting through a year with “only” seven or eight starters is a luxury to which most teams cannot lay claim in the modern baseball landscape. That said, the A’s stand out as a team that might lean on 15 or more starting pitchers to get through the season, given the lack of established talent, the glut of nearly MLB-ready arms on the roster and the potential for an in-season trade involving just about any likely member of the rotation.

Let’s take a look at what the starting staff might look like…

The Locks

Cole Irvin, LHP: Not many trades that end up sending cash back to a player’s former team work out better than the acquisition of Irvin has for the A’s. It’s been nearly two years to the day since Oakland picked him up from the Phillies in exchange for cash, and he’s made 62 starts of 4.11 ERA ball with a well below-average 16.8% strikeout rate but a superb 5.2% walk rate.

With four years of club control remaining, it’d be a surprise if Irvin hasn’t at least generated some cursory trade interest this winter, although his glaring home/road splits might not help his cause much. Dating back to Opening Day 2021, the lefty owns a 3.44 ERA at home, where opponents have batted just .243/.288/.355 against him in nearly 800 plate appearances. In that same timeframe, Irvin’s road ERA is a more alarming 4.88, and opponents have pounced on him for a .285/.330/.491 slash.

Splits notwithstanding, Irvin is a perfectly viable fourth/fifth starter, but a team that plays its home games in a more hitter-friendly environment might be understandably dissuaded from giving up too much young talent to acquire him. That’s fine for the A’s for now, given Irvin’s remaining club control and the simple fact that they’ll need some dependability on the staff. If he’s pitching well come July, he’ll be a feasible trade candidate (particularly with an arbitration raise looming next offseason).

Paul Blackburn, RHP: It’s easy to call Blackburn, who made the 2022 All-Star team but finished the year with a 4.28 ERA, a token All-Star who was only chosen because every team needs a representative. Perhaps there’s some truth to that, too, but as I noted last summer, Blackburn was a plenty deserving selection and a fairly intriguing trade chip at one point. Through July 2, he’d pitched 87 innings of 2.90 ERA ball with three times as many strikeouts as walks (18.8% to 6.2%) and a strong 48.7% grounder rate. His .280 BABIP and 80.7% left-on-base rate pointed to some likely regression, but based on results alone, Blackburn was pretty good.

Things went off the rails almost immediately thereafter, however. Blackburn tried for several weeks to pitch through pain that’d arisen in his pitching hand, but he was shelled for 21 runs in a span of 14 1/3 innings. He eventually landed on the injured list due to that pain, and testing revealed that he’d torn the tendon sheath in his right middle finger. He was placed in a splint for up to eight weeks, and his season was over.

Time will tell whether Blackburn can replicate his production from the first three months of the 2022 season, but as long as he’s healthy, he’ll be given every opportunity to prove it was sustainable. Blackburn only has three seasons of club control remaining, so if he’s healthy and pitching well this summer, expect to hear his name pop up in rumors.

Newcomers Who’ll Be Given a Chance

Shintaro Fujinami, RHP: The former high school rival of Shohei Ohtani, Fujinami was once lauded as a prospect nearly as much as the current Angels phenom. Fujinami, 28, stepped right from his high school rotation into the rotation of Japan’s Hanshin Tigers, posting a 2.75 ERA in 137 2/3 innings as a rookie in Nippon Professional Baseball. He was a multi-time All-Star and budding phenom in his first four years in Japan, pitching to a sub-3.00 ERA each season. His career has come off the rails since that time, though, and Fujinami comes to Oakland as a hard-throwing but command-challenged project. At 6’6″, he’s armed with a fastball that can reach triple digits and a splitter and slider that have both, at times, made hitters look silly. He’s also been shuttled between the Tigers’ top team and minor league team in NPB for several seasons while displaying troubling walk rates and looking like a shell of the potential star he was early in his pro career.

Drew Rucinski, RHP: In the past five years, the now-34-year-old Rucinski went from nondescript, replacement-level MLB pitcher to a powerhouse workhorse for the KBO’s NC Dinos. Rucinski started 121 games dating back to 2019 and has posted an ERA between 3.17 and 2.93 each season. Along the way, he’s whiffed 21.5% of opposing batters, walked just 6.3% of them and posted a superhuman 66% ground-ball rate. The A’s signed Rucinski for a year and $3MM, with a 2024 club option valued at $5MM. If he can carry over any of that KBO form to the Coliseum, he’ll be a durable source of innings and a nice summer trade chip.

The Out-of-Options Arm Who’ll Make the Staff in Some Capacity

James Kaprielian, RHP: A former first-round pick of the Yankees who was sent to Oakland as part of the Sonny Gray trade, Kaprielian has been injured more often than he’s been healthy. He looked to be turning a corner over the past two seasons, logging a combined 4.16 ERA in 253 1/3 innings over the life of 50 games (47 of them starts). However, Kaprielian had shoulder surgery this offseason, and it’s not clear whether he’ll be ready to go for Opening Day. Manager Mark Kotsay said at the time of Kaprielian’s surgery that the organization expected him to be ready, but Shayna Rubin of the San Jose Mercury News recently suggested that the soon-to-be 29-year-old might miss time early in the year. (If that’s indeed the case, he’ll land on the IL alongside rotation hopeful Daulton Jefferies, who’ll miss all of 2023 after undergoing both thoracic outlet surgery and Tommy John surgery.) Kaprielian is out of minor league options, so whenever he’s healthy, he’ll be on the roster either as a starter or perhaps a multi-inning reliever — it’s a just a matter of when that time will be.

Candidates for the Remaining Rotation Innings

(Note: all players in this section have six-plus seasons of club control remaining)

Adrian Martinez, RHP (two remaining option years): One of two players acquired in the trade that sent Sean Manaea to San Diego, Martinez was roughed up for a 6.24 ERA in 57 2/3 innings in last year’s MLB debut. It’s a rough showing, to be sure, but his 20.5% strikeout rate and 7.3% walk rate both portend better production. Martinez’s 2.03 HR/9 mark was one of the highest in the game, and only four of the 344 pitchers who threw at least 50 innings in 2022 saw a larger percentage of their fly-balls become home runs than Martinez’s 19.7%. That HR/FB rate, in particular, is ripe for positive regression, even before considering the A’s spacious home park. Metrics like xFIP (4.11) and SIERA (4.16), which normalize HR/FB to league-average levels, feel that Martinez was vastly better than his basic earned run average.

Ken Waldichuk, LHP (three option years): A key piece in the trade sending Frankie Montas to the Bronx, Waldichuk held his own in a seven-start debut (4.93 ERA, 33-to-10 K/BB ratio in 34 2/3 innings). His final outing, featuring seven shutout frames against the Angels, was a particularly high note on which to finish. On top of those 34 2/3 MLB frames, Waldichuk logged 95 innings of 2.84 ERA ball between Double-A and Triple-A. He’s arguably the most highly regarded member of this bunch, and he should have multiple opportunities to win a rotation spot over the next 12 to 18 months in Oakland.

Kyle Muller, LHP (one option year): A 2016 second-round pick by the Braves (who traded him to Oakland in the Sean Murphy deal), Muller has at times been ranked among the sport’s 100 best prospects at various outlets, but his stock has dimmed a bit since that time. He’s managed just a 5.14 ERA in 49 MLB innings, but he spent the bulk of his 2022 season pitching to a 3.41 ERA in 134 1/3 Triple-A innings (23 starts). Muller punched out a hefty 29.3% of his opponents. Muller can reach the upper 90s with his heater, draws plus grades on his slider and now that he’s out of a more crowded rotation mix in Atlanta, should have a clear path to innings with the A’s. He’s out of options after the 2023 season, so it’s in Oakland’s best interest to give him a chance sooner than later.

JP Sears, LHP (two option years): Prior to Oakland’s dice rolls on Rucinski and Fujinami, Sears might’ve been a favorite to break camp in the rotation after pitching to a 3.86 ERA in 70 innings as a rookie last year. Acquired in the Montas trade along with Waldichuk, the 5’11” lefty has dominated Triple-A (2.32 ERA in 101 career innings), but a return to that level might be his most straightforward path to starter’s innings early in the season. Sears, who’ll turn 27 in a few weeks, isn’t the prototypical “prospect,” as he doesn’t throw especially hard and has relied more on plus command than overpowering stuff to find success in the minors. It’s a recipe that’s worked well for Oakland pitchers in the past, thanks to the Coliseum’s cavernous dimensions. Even if he doesn’t break camp on the roster, he’ll probably start a fair number of games for the A’s in 2023.

Freddy Tarnok, RHP (two option years): Another piece of Oakland’s return for Murphy, Tarnok has all of 44 2/3 innings above Double-A under his belt (including a tiny two-thirds of an inning MLB debut in 2022). That lack of upper minors experience, coupled with the breadth of options for the Athletics’ rotation, should probably ticket him for Triple-A work to start the season. Several scouting reports on the 6’3″ Tarnok suggest his ultimate home might be in the bullpen, where a fastball that can already reach 98 mph might play up further. He’s never reached 110 innings in a professional season, so in addition to getting some needed reps against Triple-A lineups, he’ll also be looking to build out his workload.

Luis Medina, RHP (one option year): Yet another piece of the Montas return, Medina pitched to a 3.38 ERA in 17 Double-A starts with the Yankees before being blown up for a calamitous 11.76 ERA in seven starts (20 2/3 innings) with the Athletics’ Double-A club. Command has long been an issue for Medina, but he took that concern to new heights with the A’s, walking 22 of the 114 batters he faced following the trade. FanGraphs lauds Medina’s plus breaking ball and elite arm strength, while Baseball America notes that his heater has reached 103 mph in the past. The huge command concerns could lead to a future in the bullpen. Medina isn’t likely to win a starting job early in the season, but the A’s can continue trying to refine his ability to locate the ball in hopes of hitting the jackpot on a starter with this type of repertoire. If not, a move to the ’pen could put him on a fast track to the Majors.

Adam Oller, RHP (two option years): The A’s picked up Oller as one of two arms in the trade sending Chris Bassitt to the Mets. Nineteen appearances later (14 starts), he has a 6.30 big league ERA under his belt with nearly as many walks (39) as strikeouts (46) in 74 1/3 innings. It wasn’t the start anyone hoped for, but Oller posted a solid 3.69 ERA in seven Triple-A starts. Oller always profiled as a potential back-of-the-rotation starter, and even the A’s massive home park couldn’t curtail the right-hander’s home run issues (2.06 HR/9). A bullpen role where he works multiple innings is feasible, as is a return to Triple-A Las Vegas.

Other Recent Trade Acquisitions

J.T. Ginn, RHP: Ginn missed more than three months of the 2022 season with a forearm injury and was clobbered for a 6.11 ERA in 10 starts of Double-A ball when healthy. He came to the A’s alongside Oller in the Bassitt trade and, as a 2020 second-rounder, was the more highly regarded get for Oakland. He’s not on the 40-man roster yet and is still only 23, so there’s plenty of time for him to right the ship, but he’s not on the immediate rotation radar.

Ryan Cusick, RHP: The Braves’ top pick in 2021, Cusick was traded to Oakland in the Matt Olson swap. Like Ginn, he spent much of the season on the injured list (in his case, due to a rib fracture). Also like Ginn, he was hit hard in Double-A when healthy, yielding a 7.02 ERA in 41 frames. He’s not Rule 5-eligible until after the 2024 season, so there’s no rush.

Joey Estes, RHP: Acquired from the Braves alongside Cusick, Estes handled older competition in High-A reasonably well. His 4.55 ERA wasn’t especially eye-catching, but he whiffed 23.8% of his opponents against a strong 7.8% walk rate in 91 innings. Home runs were an issue, but that’s two straight years of nice K-BB numbers against older competition for Estes.

Gunnar Hoglund, RHP: Hoglund would’ve been a top-10 pick in 2021 had he not required Tommy John surgery during his junior year of college, but the Blue Jays still liked him enough to take him at No. 19 and the A’s still liked him enough to make him the headliner in the Matt Chapman deal. Hoglund only pitched eight innings late in the 2022 season as he worked back from that ligament replacement procedure, so he’s nowhere close to the big leagues. His development will be worth keeping an eye on, though. Lefty Zach Logue, acquired alongside Hoglund, has already been designated for assignment, claimed by the Tigers and then passed through waivers in Detroit. He surrendered a 6.79 ERA through 57 innings as a rookie last year and actually posted an even grislier 8.12 ERA in 78 2/3 Triple-A frames.

—

Amazingly, even after all of their recent trades of star-caliber players, the organization’s lone entrant on Baseball America’s Top 100 list is catcher Tyler Soderstrom — who, unlike every single one of the names mentioned prior, was drafted by the A’s. Part of that is borne out of the Athletics’ penchant for prioritizing near-MLB players in trades (as opposed to further off, more highly touted prospects), but it’s still rather surprising to see.

Nevertheless, while the A’s aren’t going to win many games in 2023, they’re brimming with young arms who could eventually hold down spots in the rotation. Attrition rate among young pitchers is enormous, and many of these names will be lost to injury, shift to the bullpen, or pitch themselves off the roster entirely. For now, it’ll be fascinating to see how many of Oakland’s young arms can solidify themselves in the big leagues, because their ability to do so (or lack thereof) will be a driving factor in the latest rebuild phase.

A’s Sign Drew Rucinski

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December 21: The A’s made it official today, announcing the signing.

December 20: The A’s are in agreement with starter Drew Rucinski, pending a physical. It’s reportedly a one-year, $3MM guarantee for the Paragon Sports International client. The deal also contains a $5MM club option for the 2024 season.

Rucinski returns to the U.S. after four seasons in South Korea. The 6’2″ righty kicked around the majors in the middle of the last decade as a swing option. While Rucinski worked as a starter in the minors, he came out of the bullpen for six of seven appearances with the Angels in 2014-15. Rucisnki spent the next year in Triple-A with the Cubs organization before spending two years as a depth reliever. He pitched twice for the Twins in 2017 and logged 35 1/3 innings over 32 relief appearances for the Marlins the next season.

That marked a career-high workload for the Ohio State product, and he made the jump to the Korea Baseball Organization the next offseason. Rucinski landed with the NC Dinos, kicking off a four-year run in which he’d work as a durable innings eater. The righty started 30-plus games in all four of his KBO seasons, pitching at least 177 1/3 innings in each year. Rucinski was consistent and very effective, posting an ERA between 2.97 and 3.17 in every season.

Rucinski only struck out 16.8% of his opponents during his debut season, but he topped a 20% strikeout rate in each of the next three years. Rucinski topped out at a 24.3% strikeout percentage in 2022, while this year’s 2.97 ERA over 193 2/3 innings marked his lowest with the Dinos. He threw plenty of strikes, walking just 4.3% of batters faced this year. Rucinski also induced grounders on two-thirds of batted balls in each of the last three years, with those dominant numbers earning him another MLB look.

MLBTR placed Rucinski 50th on this offseason’s top free agent list. His one-year pact falls short of MLBTR’s projected two-year, $9MM guarantee. Pitchers like Chris Flexen and Merrill Kelly secured two-year contracts coming over from the KBO, but Rucinski’s age apparently limited him to one year. He’ll turn 34 next week, while Flexen and Kelly each returned to the U.S. before their 31st birthday.

It’s a low-cost flier for the A’s, whose spacious home park figures to play well for a pitch-to-contact arm of Rucinski’s ilk. Cole Irvin and Paul Blackburn look to have secured season-opening rotation spots alongside Rucinski, while players like James Kaprielian, Ken Waldichuk, Adam Oller and Adrián Martínez could battle for spots at the back end. Oakland GM David Forst and his staff could still look to augment that group, even in another rebuilding season.

The A’s still have just $54MM in projected 2023 payroll, per Roster Resource. They’ve added Jace Peterson and Aledmys Díaz on lower-cost two-year deals, while Trevor May, Rucinski and Manny Piña (in the Sean Murphy trade) have been brought aboard with one-year commitments.

Ken Rosenthal of the Athletic first reported Rucisnki was in agreement with the A’s. Jon Heyman of the New York Post was first to report it was a one-year, $3MM guarantee with a $5MM club option.

Top Ex-MLB Performers In The 2022 KBO Season

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The KBO playoffs are at their final stages, with the Kiwoom Heroes meeting the LG Twins and the winner going on to face the SSG Landers in the Korean Series. A few familiar names from MLB in recent years had strong seasons in Korea, so let’s take a look at three of the top ex-MLB pitchers and three hitters that excelled there in 2022.

Pitchers

Adam Plutko (LG Twins): 162 IP (28 starts), 2.39 ERA, 0.7 HR/9, 2.1 BB/9, 8.3 K/9.

Plutko headed to Korea after struggling mightily in 2021 in Baltimore, pitching to a 6.71 ERA across 38 appearances. That came after four years in Cleveland where he put up a 5.05 ERA across 217 1/3 innings. Plutko had solid walk rates in the majors, but had difficulties with the long ball and posted poor strikeout rates. That’s perhaps not surprising, given scouts often viewed him as a pitcher lacking in elite stuff but with the command and deployment to make up for it. He’s enjoyed tremendous success in his first season in the KBO, however. Plutko is now a free agent, having played the 2022 season on a one-year deal with a $500K base salary and $300K in incentinves.

Drew Rucinski (NC Dinos): 193 2/3 IP (31 starts), 2.97 ERA, 0.7 HR/9, 1.6 BB/9, 9.0 K/9.

Rucinski, 33, enjoyed his fourth, and most successful, season in the KBO in 2022. The former Angels, Twins and Marlins pitcher has long been one of the best foreign pitchers in the league, and was the second highest foreign earner this year, taking home a $1.9MM base. He’s shown exceptional durability while in Korea, reaching 30 starts in each of his four seasons. This year, he posted his highest innings total, lowest ERA, and dropped his walk rate by around one batter per nine innings. Rucinski has also seen his ground ball percentage soar while in Korea, and his mark of 66.7% in 2022 is well north of his MLB rate of 48%.

Wilmer Font (SSG Landers): 184 IP (28 starts), 2.69 ERA, 0.9 HR/9, 1.7 BB/9, 8.3 K/9.

2022 was Font’s second season in the KBO, and comfortably his best. The 32-year-old improved his walk rate from a year prior, issuing one fewer free pass per nine innings. That helped his ERA drop from 3.46 to 2.69, but Font also worked deeper into ballgames and threw almost forty more innings in 2022 than a year earlier, all the while maintaining a strong 23.3% strikeout rate. Font bounced around the majors between 2012-20, appearing for six teams but struggling to post consistent results. One of the biggest shifts since his move to Korea is a huge uptick in ground ball percentage, as Font posted 55% and then 51.6% marks across the past two seasons, far above his MLB rates.

Hitters

Jose Pirela (Samsung Lions): (141 games) .342/.411/.565, 28 HR, 55 BB, 81 K, 15 SB.

Pirela suited up for the Yankees, Padres and Phillies in the majors between 2014-19, before making the switch to Japan. After one year with the Hiroshima Carp, he moved to Korea to join the Lions. While Pirela posted strong numbers in his first year, he’s become one of the KBO’s most feared hitters in 2022. The 32-year-old finished second in home runs, hits, average and OBP all while striking out just 12.9% of the time. It was a sizable jump from 2021, when he hit .284/.357/.490 with 28 home runs. While a small dip in strikeouts would’ve helped, he was certainly boosted by a .361 BABIP in 2022, almost 70 points higher than the previous season. Nonetheless, it’ll be interesting to see if Pirela garners any MLB attention this winter on the back of an MVP-level year in Korea.

Anthony Alford (KT Wiz): (80 games) .286/.362/.509, 14 HR, 33 BB, 90 K, 5 SB.

Alford, 28, was released from a minor league deal with the Guardians in May to pursue an opportunity in Korea, where he’s impressed greatly, showcasing some of the exciting talent that made him one of baseball’s top young prospects between 2016-18. Alford tallied 240 plate appearances for the Blue Jays and Pirates with a whopping 37.9% strikeout rate. Those strikeouts were still a problem in Korea, but he cut that back to 27.9%. As a prospect, Alford was always touted as having the power and athleticism to be a star, and while he hasn’t been able to tap into that at the top level, he’s still young enough that a second season overseas with improvements shown could make him an intriguing candidate for a second crack at the majors.

Socrates Brito (Kia Tigers): (127 games) .311/.354/.494, 17 HR, 34 BB, 81 K, 12 SB. 

Released by the Yankees at the end of the 2021 campaign after bouncing around major league teams providing minor league outfield depth, Brito inked his first KBO deal for 2022. While he’d hit just .179/.216/.309 across 218 MLB plate appearances, the 30-year-old found his groove in Korea. Through the minors and into the majors, Brito’s strikeout rate had generally hovered a bit above 20%, but he cut that back to 14.6% in Korea. Brito often put up stellar Triple-A numbers, but struggled in his last season at the level in the Yankees organization, so it’s possible that a strong season in Korea will give him the chance to return to the US and seek another crack as solid outfield depth on an MLB team.

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

Drew Rucinski, Wes Parsons Re-Sign With KBO’s NC Dinos

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Right-handers Drew Rucinski and Wes Parsons have re-signed with the NC Dinos of the Korea Baseball Organization for the 2022 season, reports Jee-ho Yoo of South Korea’s Yonhap News Agency. Rucinski will be guaranteed $1.9MM with another $100K of incentives available, tying him for the second-largest salary of any foreign player in the KBO, per Yoo. Parsons, meanwhile, receives $550K in guarantees, plus another $250K of available incentives.

After totaling 54 innings in a nondescript big league career that included stops with the Angels (2014-15), Twins (2017) and Marlins (2018), Rucinski has emerged as one of the top arms in the KBO. He’s started exactly 30 games in each of the past three seasons, averaging 179 2/3 frames per year and posting consecutive ERAs of 3.05, 3.05 and 3.17 from 2019-21. This past season, Rucinski posted the highest strikeout rate (23.5%) and ground-ball rate (a massive 67.8%) of his KBO career. His 7.3% walk rate was strong as well, and he yielded just 12 homers on the year (0.60 HR/9).

Rucinski will turn 33 next week and would be 34 by the time he could plausibly pitch in the Majors again, but given his standout work in the KBO and his eye-popping ground-ball rates, it’s feasible that he could draw MLB interest on next offseason’s market. He’s now racked up a total of 539 innings with a 3.09 ERA, a 20.5% strikeout rate and a 6.9% ground-ball rate during his time in the KBO. Batted-ball data for Rucinski’s first season in South Korea isn’t publicly available, but last year’s ground-ball rate was no fluke; he sat a 63.8% in 2020 and has a combined 65.7% mark over the past two seasons. At the very least, one would imagine that next winter, in a more stable free-agent climate, Rucinski could pique the interest of big league teams with strong infield defenses.

As he enters his fourth season in the KBO, Rucinski has now guaranteed himself $5.7MM over a four-year term in Korea (not including any of the incentives in his prior deals or this upcoming contract). For an undrafted player who had three stints with the independent Rockford RiverHawks of the Frontier League before even finding consistent minor league work, it’s a fairly remarkable journey — and an encouraging tale for players who continue to grind through minimal pay on the minor league and indie circuits.

As for Parsons, who turned 29 back in September, he was also an undrafted minor league free agent who now finds himself on a similar trajectory. His first two contracts in the KBO have been more modest than those of Rucinski, but he’s secured himself more than a million dollars in total after a seven-year minor league journey netted him just 39 2/3 innings in the Majors with the Braves. Parsons tallied 133 innings during his first season with the Dinos in 2021, pitching to a 3.72 ERA with a 25.6% strikeout rate, a 10.9% walk rate and an excellent 64.3% ground-ball rate of his own.

NC Dinos Re-Sign Aaron Altherr, Drew Rucinski

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The NC Dinos of the Korea Baseball Organization kicked off the New Year by announcing that they’ve re-signed outfielder Aaron Altherr and right-hander Drew Rucinski to new one-year contracts for the 2021 season. Dan Kurtz of MyKBO.net tweets that Altherr’s deal comes with a $1.3MM guarantee and another $100K available via incentives, while Rucinski will be paid $1.6MM with up to $200K of incentives. Altherr is represented by All Bases Covered. Rucinski is represented by Paragon Sports.

Altherr, 30 next month, had some success with the Phillies in 2015 and 2017 but never fully established himself as a big league regular. By 2019, he was designated for assignment multiple times and split the season between three clubs, going just 5-for-61 at the MLB level.

It was a different story in South Korea for Altherr. He mashed opposing pitching at a .278/.352/.541 clip and belted 31 home runs, 20 doubles and seven triples to go along with 22 steals in 25 tries. Altherr was 27 percent better than a league-average hitter, by measure of wRC+, so it’s not a surprise that the KBO-champion Dinos sought to bring him back for a return effort.

Rucinski, who turned 32 just two days ago, will return for a third season with the Dinos. The former Indians and Angels farmhand made it to the Majors as an undrafted free agent, logging a combined 54 innings between the Halos, Twins and Marlins from 2014-18 — albeit without much success. He’s found a home with the Dinos, however, pitching to an identical 3.05 ERA in each of his first two seasons there. Rucinski racked up 183 innings in 2020, averaging 8.2 strikeouts and 2.8 walks per nine frames along the way.

KBO/NPB Notes: Rucinski, C. Stewart, N. Soto

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We’re nearing the start of the 2020 season for the Korea Baseball Organization, whose campaign will begin at 1 a.m. ET on Tuesday with fives games set to take place. If you’re still awake then, you’ll be able to catch the NC Dinos-Samsung Lions matchup on ESPN, which reached a broadcast deal with the KBO on Monday. As MLBTR’s Steve Adams pointed out a couple weeks ago, both teams feature some familiar faces. Ex-major leaguers Aaron Altherr, Mike Wright and Drew Rucinski are members of the Dinos, and Seunghwan Oh, Tyler Saladino, David Buchanan and Ben Lively are on the Lions’ roster. If you want to learn more about those two teams and the rest of the league’s other clubs, check out this in-depth primer from ESPN.com.

With that, we’ll dive into some more baseball notes out of Asia…

  • The right-handed Rucinski, who will start the Dinos’ opener, appeared in the majors with the Angels, Twins and Marlins from 2014-18. He immigrated to the KBO prior to last season and wound up recording an impressive 3.05 ERA over 177 1/3 innings. Rucinski spoke with Kyle Glaser of Baseball America (podcast) about what life is currently like in the KBO, whose season will get underway without spectators. “It’s kind of weird because the fans are such a big part of the game here,” said Rucinski, who has tossed two exhibition games without anyone in attendance. That’s just one of the topics covered in their chat (coronavirus precautions and family life are also among them). The interview’s worth a full listen.
  • Shifting to Japan’s Nippon Professional Baseball, Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks righty Carter Stewart discussed his experience abroad with Kyodo News and the Japan Baseball Weekly Podcast. Stewart was the eighth overall pick of the Braves in 2018, but he was unable to reach an agreement with them, so he decided to sign in Asia last year. The 20-year-old indicated that he’s pleased with his choice. “I think the baseball is fantastic over here,” Stewart said. “I really enjoy the fan base. I enjoy the people. I enjoy everything about it, so what is the driving factor for me to go back home? Maybe at some point I’ll have an opportunity to go back to the States, but I have no restraints for staying over here until I’m 50.”
  • Looking ahead to major league free agency next offseason, infielder/outfielder Neftali Soto could be a name to keep in mind. Soto was a 2007 third-round pick of the Reds who has not produced in the majors, but he mashed in the minors with the Nationals in 2017 and has carried that into NPB. Since signing with the Yokohoma Baystars before the 2018 season, Soto has batted .288/.355/.594 with a whopping 84 home runs in 1,043 trips to the plate. He’s a back-to-back HR champion, having amassed 41 two years ago and 43 in 2019. Between those numbers and his defensive versatility, he could find himself on MLB teams’ radars in the offseason.

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.

Quick Hits: NC Dinos, Rucinski, Royals, Orioles, Holt

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The NC Dinos of the Korean Baseball Organization have brought back pitcher Drew Rucinski on a one-year, $1MM deal with a $200K signing bonus, per Dan Kurtz of myKBO.net (via Twitter). The team also announced the deal on their twitter account. Rucinski, who turns 31 on Monday, last played in the states for the Marlins in 2018, putting up a 4.33 ERA/3.81 FIP across 32 appearances out of the pen. For the Dinos in 2019, he threw 177 1/3 innings of 3.05 ERA baseball, striking out 119 batters to 49 walks. On a slow news day, chew on these quick hits from the AL…

  • The Royals are not shy about how they value the versatility of players like Whit Merrifield and Hunter Dozier. Their recent signing of Maikel Franco attempts to take advantage of said versatility, with Dozier planned to move to right field to make room for the former Phillie, per MLB.com’s Jeffrey Flanagan. Merrifield, meanwhile, is likely to lead off and play centerfield. The Royals have attempted to lengthen their lineup this offseason, and while it’s not the most daunting group, Kansas City expects better years out of Franco, Nicky Lopez, and Ryan O’Hearn, who all struggled mightily in 2019. Improvement is a low bar for this trio, and unless they make significant strides, it’s hard to imagine the Royals making much noise in the American League.
  • The Orioles made some additions to their coaching staff while shifting around a good chunk of the incumbent staff. Chris Holt, however, has taken on an entirely new role in the organization as the new Director of Pitching, per MASN’s Roch Kubatko. Holt was formerly the minor league pitching coordinator after defecting from Houston, but his new role will allow him the freedom to assist pitching coach Doug Brocail in implementing much of the data that accompanied GM Mike Elias to the organization. Holt will continue to spend much of his time with the minor leagues, but his new role will allow him to see his development projects through all the way to the bigs.
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