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Yefry Ramirez Signs With KBO’s Hanwha Eagles

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Right-hander Yefry Ramirez has signed with the Hanwha Eagles of the Korea Baseball Organization, per a team announcement from the Eagles (hat tip: Dan Kurtz of MyKBO.net, on Twitter). He’ll earn a total of $600K for the remainder of the season, Kurtz adds. Jee-ho Yoo of the Yonhap News Agency tweets that Ramirez will replace former big league lefty Ryan Carpenter, who was released by the Eagles this week.

Ramirez, 28, has appeared in parts of three big league seasons, most recently with the Dodgers in 2021. He opened the 2022 campaign with the Dodgers’ Triple-A affiliate and pitched to a 3.76 ERA in 40 2/3 frames with their top affiliate in Oklahoma City. Ramirez appeared in a game as recently as three days ago, suggesting the Dodgers and Eagles either came to terms on a buyout of his minor league contract or that Ramirez had an opt-out or foreign play clause written into his contract.

In 91 2/3 big league innings, Ramirez has a 6.19 ERA with a 21.7% strikeout rate and 12.6% walk rate. He’s been better in Triple-A, where he holds a 4.36 ERA through 288 2/3 frames to go along with a 24.1% strikeout rate and 9.8% walk rate. Ramirez will hope to follow the path of many players before him who’ve carved out strong numbers overseas and eventually cashed in on a Major League return. At the very least, that $600K salary is healthier than what he’d have earned in Triple-A for the remainder of the season (even with an eventual call to the Majors). He’ll also set himself up for the chance to re-sign for another six- or even low seven-figure deal with the Eagles, should he enjoy a solid half-season audition.

As for the 31-year-old Carpenter, he appeared in 15 games for the 2018-19 Tigers and struggled heavily in the Majors before signing on with the Rakuten Monkeys of Taiwan’s Chinese Professional Baseball League for the 2020 season. He threw well enough in Taiwan — 4.00 ERA in 157 1/3 innings — to draw interest from the KBO’s Eagles the following offseason. Since signing with the Hanwha club prior to the 2021 campaign, Carpenter has turned in a solid 3.83 ERA in 188 frames with better than a strikeout per inning. However, Yoo writes that Carpenter sustained an elbow injury after just his third start of the 2022 season and, upon being activated last week, exited his first game back with recurring discomfort in that left elbow.

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 Hanwha Eagles Re-Sign Nick Kingham, Ryan Carpenter

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The Hanwha Eagles of the Korea Baseball Organization re-signed right-hander Nick Kingham and left-hander Ryan Carpenter to new one-year contracts earlier this month.  According to Jeeho Yoo of Yonhap News, Kingham will receive $900K in guaranteed salary, while Carpenter gets $750K.  The new deals represent nice raises for both pitchers, as Carpenter signed for $300K and Kingham for $250K last winter.

Kingham missed much of the 2020 season due to elbow surgery, and made only two starts for the SK Wyverns before the KBO club released him in July 2020.  Looking to rebound with the Eagles, Kingham largely stayed healthy (except for a month-long absence with a lat injury) and posted a 3.19 ERA and 22.16% strikeout rate over 144 innings last season.  As Kingham told Yoo in a recent interview, he believes he can pitch even better in 2022, as he enters the new year focused only on normal offseason preparations without any injury rehab.

After pitching for the Rakuten Monkeys of the Chinese Professional Baseball League in 2020, Carpenter performed well in his debut KBO season.  The southpaw posted a 3.97 ERA and 23.99% strikeout rate over 170 innings for the Eagles, starting 30 of his 31 games.

Both pitchers looked for a fresh start overseas after appearing in parts of the 2018 and 2019 MLB seasons.  Kingham, a former top prospect during his days in the Pirates farm system, has a 6.08 ERA over 131 2/3 career Major League frames with Pittsburgh and Toronto.  All of Carpenter’s big league experience came in a Tigers uniform, as he posted an 8.57 ERA over 63 innings (starting 14 of 15 games) with Detroit.

KBO’s Hanwha Eagles Sign Ryan Carpenter, Nick Kingham

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The Hanwha Eagles of the Korea Baseball Organization have agreed to deals with left-hander Ryan Carpenter, and right-hander Nick Kingham.  (Hat tips to the CPBL Stats website and Dan Kurtz of MyKBO.net.)  Both pitchers will receive a $100K signing bonus, while Carpenter will receive $300K salary and another potential $100K in incentives, and Kingham gets a $250K salary and $200K in incentives.

Both pitchers will be spending a second season overseas.  Carpenter pitched for the Rakuten Monkeys of the Chinese Professional Baseball League in 2020, and Kingham will remain in the KBO League after an injury-shortened season with SK Wyverns.

A veteran of 15 games with the Tigers in 2018-19, Carpenter posted an 8.57 ERA, 2.35 K/BB rate, and 5.7 K/9 over his 63 Major League innings.  After inking a deal with the Monkeys last January, Carpenter performed well in his first CPBL season, delivering a 4.00 ERA, 4.55 K/BB rate, and 8.6 K/9 over 157 1/3 innings, starting 25 of his 26 appearances.

Kingham suffered an elbow injury that ended his stint with the Wyverns after only two starts (and a 6.75 ERA), as he was released in July.  It wasn’t the first time that elbow problems have impacted Kingham’s career, as his development as a top-100 ranked prospect in the Pirates’ farm system was curtailed by Tommy John surgery in 2015.  Though he still showed some flashes of his old form at the minor league level, Kingham managed only a 6.08 ERA over 131 2/3 career MLB innings with the Pirates and Blue Jays in 2018-19.

Ryan Carpenter Signs With CPBL’s Rakuten Monkeys

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The Rakuten Monkeys of the Chinese Professional Baseball League have signed left-hander Ryan Carpenter, as per the CPBL Stats website.  Carpenter became a free agent after being released by the Tigers in September.

The 27-year-old southpaw has an 8.57 ERA, 2.35 K/BB rate, and 5.7 K/9 over 63 career innings in the majors, all with Detroit from 2018-19.  Carpenter was bedeviled by the long ball during his brief time in the big leagues, allowing 20 homers over his 63 IP (an ugly 2.9 HR/9).  Home runs weren’t nearly as big an issue for Carpenter over his 919 2/3 career minor league frames, as he had a moderate 1.0 HR/9 to go with a 4.48 ERA, 3.31 K/BB rate, and 7.9 K/9.

Originally a seventh-round pick for Tampa Bay in the 2011 draft, Carpenter pitched in the minors with the Rays, Rockies, and Tigers before getting his big league debut in 2018.  He’ll now start a new chapter of his career overseas, joining former Major Leaguers Radhames Liz and Zeke Spruill on the Monkeys’ roster.

Tigers Claim Troy Stokes

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The Tigers have claimed outfielder Troy Stokes Jr. off waivers from the Brewers, per a club announcement. To create 40-man space, the Detroit organization released lefty Ryan Carpenter.

Stokes has at times been considered a solid prospect, but lost his 40-man spot recently. He has managed only a .233/.341/.385 batting line this year in 381 plate appearances at Triple-A.

Carpenter, who just turned 29, has been on the injured list but obviously wasn’t in the Tigers’ future plans. He has struggled to an 8.57 ERA in 63 career MLB frames.

Tigers To Place Grayson Greiner On IL, Select Bobby Wilson

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The Tigers have placed catcher Grayson Greiner on the 10-day injured list with a lower back strain, the team announced. To replace Greiner, the club will select catcher Bobby Wilson from Triple-A Toledo. Wilson will take the 40-man roster spot of injured right-hander Tyson Ross, whom the Tigers are transferring to the 60-day IL. In other moves, the Tigers optioned lefty Ryan Carpenter to Toledo and will recall Triple-A lefty Gregory Soto.

The 26-year-old Greiner has gotten off to a dismal start at the plate in his first season as the Tigers’ starting catcher. He owns a .162/.231/.279 line (35 wRC+) with five home runs and 57 strikeouts against 13 walks over 169 PA. Behind the plate, Greiner has thrown out a solid 29 percent of would-be base stealers while earning roughly neutral grades as a blocker and framer.

Wilson, 36, will see his first action in Detroit since 2016, when he totaled 13 at-bats with the club. He spent last season in Minnesota, which had been the latest stop in a nomadic major league career, and then joined the Tigers prior to the current campaign. Wilson has hit an unimpressive .208/.264/.313 (56 wRC+) in exactly 1,000 major league PA, though he’s known as a quality defender.

The demotion of Carpenter is notable considering he’s tied for fourth on the Tigers in starts this season. A few of those performances have been disastrous, though, evidenced by the 28-year-old Carpenter’s 8.82 ERA/7.04 FIP in 32 2/3 innings. He toed the rubber for the seventh time of the year Friday and had another night to forget. The Indians roughed Carpenter up for eight runs (six earned) on eight hits and four walks in just three innings, leading the Tigers to demote him to the minors.

Central Notes: Sano, Wood, Tigers

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Twins third baseman Miguel Sano is launching an official rehab assignment, per a club announcement. He’ll open at the High-A level, with planned stops at the next two rungs on the ladder before MLB activation, MLB.com’s Do-Hyoung Park was among those to report. Sano has been working back from an injury to his Achilles that healed much more slowly than anticipated. The hope now is that the issue is behind him, but the Twins want to get Sano plenty of reps before bringing him back to the big-league roster. Sano, who’ll turn 26 on May 11th, is looking to bounce back after a highly disappointing 2018 campaign. No doubt the Minnesota organization would like to see him put in some of the work he was prevented from undertaking this spring.

More from the game’s central divisions …

  • The Reds received some unwelcome news on starter Alex Wood, as manager David Bell told reporters including Bobby Nightengale of the Cincinnati Enquirer (Twitter link) that the southpaw recently suffered a setback while trying to work through the back problems that have sidelined him to date. Wood has yet to appear with his new organization, which had hoped he’d be one of three new veteran starters to bolster the rotation. An examination has been scheduled for Wednesday, at which time more on Wood’s outlook may be known. The 28-year-old is earning $9.65MM in his final season of arbitration eligibility after defeating the Reds in an arb hearing.
  • Health issues are creating problems in the Tigers rotation, which means GM Al Avila is weighing the options for filling in. As Chris McCosky of the Detroit News writes, the top Detroit baseball decisionmaker doesn’t see much of interest in free agency; he says the front office will “have to keep our eye on the waiver wire and on guys in the minor leagues who have opt-out clauses.” With nothing doing there at the moment, the Tigers are looking internally. Ryan Carpenter and Kyle Funkhouser both are under consideration, with the team also pondering the possibility of utilizing Blaine Hardy in a swingman role once he’s activated from the IL.
  • It’s awfully tempting to wonder whether one of the Tigers’ blue-chip pitching prospects could instead get the call, particularly after ace-in-the-making Casey Mize spun a rare complete-game no-hitter this evening. Whether that’ll be a possibility at some point remains to be seen, but it’s worth bearing in mind that there are some notable roster considerations that counsel against a quick promotion even beyond service-time considerations. As Avila tells McCosky, the organization anticipates a need to add something like ten prospects to the 40-man roster in advance of this winter’s Rule 5 draft. The club is obviously keeping a close eye on the downstream effects of its decisions.

Tigers Release Gerson Moreno, Announce Pitching Roster Moves

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3:51pm: Anthony Fenech of the Detroit Free Press adds some context to the surprising release of Moreno (Twitter link). The 22-year-old is set to undergo Tommy John surgery on his right elbow, GM Al Avila revealed today.

Avila added that placing Moreno on release waivers was the best way to get him off the 40-man roster while ensuring a chance to retain him via a new minor league deal (Twitter link via MLB.com’s Jason Beck). A player claimed off release waivers can reject the assignment to a new club in favor of free agency, whereas a player claimed from outright waivers would not (unless he had previously been outrighted or has three-plus years of MLB experience — neither of which applies to Moreno). The Tigers are interested in bringing Moreno back to the organization if he reaches the open market, per Avila.

2:35pm: The Tigers announced that they have released righty Gerson Moreno. That clears a 40-man roster spot, leaving the team with one opening.

Moreno, 22, was given a roster spot last fall to protect him from the Rule 5 draft. He had struggled at the Double-A level but found some success in the Arizona Fall League.

Entering the current season, Moreno graded among Detroit’s more notable prospects (see, e.g., MLB.com, Fangraphs) owing to his big fastball and reasonably promising (albeit still-inconsistent) secondary offerings. Thus far in 2018, Moreno’s return to the penultimate level of the minors has gone poorly. Through 17 innings, he carries a 5.29 ERA with 11.1 K/9 and 7.4 BB/9. Given the promise he showed heading into the season, it registers as at least some degree of surprise that the Tigers would simply cut him loose based on a handful of Double-A innings — no matter how discouraging they may have been.

Detroit also announced, as it had indicated previously, that lefties Francisco Liriano (hamstring strain) and Daniel Stumpf (ulnar nerve irritation) are each headed to the 10-day DL. Two relievers — righty Johnny Barbato and southpaw Ryan Carpenter — have been recalled to replace them on the active roster. At this time, it’s still not known how long Liriano and Stumpf are expected to be sidelined.

Tigers Select Louis Coleman, Designate Chad Bell

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The Tigers announced that they’ve selected the contract of right-hander Louis Coleman from Triple-A Toledo, while simultaneously designating left-hander Chad Bell for assignment. The club has also recalled left-hander Ryan Carpenter to serve as the 26th man for the second game of today’s double-header.

Coleman’s certainly done enough to earn his recent promotion. The Tigers signed him to a minor-league deal late this offseason, and he’s rewarded them with 15 innings of 2.40 ERA ball at the club’s Triple-A affiliate, striking out 15 and walking five.

It’s actually somewhat curious that it took so long for Coleman to make it back to the majors. Back in 2016, the righty struggled somewhat out of the Dodgers’ pen (4.69 ERA, 4.50 BB/9). But between the Triple-A affiliates of the Reds and Diamondbacks last season, he pitched to a 2.25 ERA with an impressive 10.83 K/9, albeit still with a bloated walk rate. That he’s managed to walk only three batters per nine so far this season is encouraging, particularly for a club in rebuild mode that’s no doubt hoping to find a few diamonds in the rough.

Conversely, it’s not hard to imagine why the Tigers would be willing to part ways with the 29-year-old Bell. The lefty’s ERA and K/9 are equal on the season (8.59). Still, his FIP (3.84) gives hope that he might be able to turn things around with another club, particularly since that unsightly ERA comes in such a small sample size (7 1/3 IP). Bell’s 44.4% ground ball rate and 2.45 BB/9 are also reasons for optimism, though surely inquiring ballclubs won’t be placing too much weight on any of the above stats in a sample size under ten innings.

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