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International Signings: 12/20/16

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Here are some of the latest comings and goings on the international market:

  • There are a few recent moves to cover on the KBO side as well. Southpaw Hyeon-jong Yang will return to Korea’s Kia Tigers, Yonhap News reports (h/t Dan Kurtz of MyKBO.net, via Twitter). The 28-year-old has been on the MLB radar for some time, and had been expected to gauge interest as a free agent this winter. Evidently, there wasn’t enough of an opportunity in North American ball for him to forego a chance at what’s reported to be the biggest single-season contract ever awarded in the KBO: 2.25 billion won, or about $1.89MM. Yang carries a 3.02 ERA with 7.2 K/9 and 3.7 BB/9 over 373 innings in the past two seasons in the hitter-friendly KBO.
  • Also, SK Wyverns recently announced the signings of infielder Danny Worth (for $700K) and lefty Scott Diamond ($600K). Both have seen action in multiple MLB campaigns. Most recently, Worth briefly cracked the Astros’ major-league roster. Though he struggled there, he did slash an excellent .330/.431/.525 in his 368 Triple-A plate appearances in 2016. And Diamond, once a rotation piece for the Twins, made one major-league appearance last year with the Blue Jays, but spent most of the year working to a 4.50 ERA (with 5.4 K/9 and 1.7 BB/9) over 166 innings at Triple-A.

Earlier Updates

  • The Yakult Swallows have added righty David Buchanan on a one-year deal worth about $750K, per a team announcement (via Kyodo News). Buchanan, 27, had been cut loose by the Phillies after spending all of 2016 at Triple-A, working to a 3.98 ERA over 167 1/3 innings. He had some success in a twenty-start rookie year at the major-league level back in 2014, but struggled there in 2015 and wasn’t able to return last year. “He can keep his pitches low with a high strike rate, and has strong fighting spirit. We wanted that kind of a pitcher,” said Yakult international director Masayuki Okumura.
  • Also heading to Japan after a recent stint with the Phillies is fellow righty Phil Klein, who the club recently released to pursue an opportunity in the NPB. He’s heading to the Yokohama BayStars, the team announced (Japanese-language link), for a deal that’s said to promise him around 150MM yen (~$1.27MM) along with an incentives package. Though Klein hasn’t succeeded in his looks at the majors, he obviously drew real interest from Asia with his intriguing numbers in the upper minors — including a 2.14 ERA with 9.8 K/9 and 2.9 BB/9 over 160 Triple-A frames.
  • The BayStars will not retain free agents Guillermo Moscoso and Zach Petrick, the team also noted. Moscoso, a former big leaguer, had spent three years with the organization. The 27-year-old Petrick, a former Cardinals farmhand, struggled to a 5.51 ERA in his only campaign in Japan.
  • Continuing their international spree, the Padres have agreed to a $400K bonus with Cuban lefty Ramon Ernesto Perez Favier, according to a report from Francys Romero of OnCuba.com (Twitter link), which Dennis Lin of the San Diego Union-Tribune confirms (also via Twitter). There isn’t much public information on the 17-year-old, though you can check out his stuff on this YouTube video that reputedly features him. Lin provides a few tidbits on Favier as well, tweeting that the young southpaw sits in the low-nineties with his fastball and features a breaker with two varieties of change-ups. Since San Diego has long seen blown past its bonus limitations, the team will double its investment in the form of a penalty tax.

International Signings/Moves: Kuroda, Pino, Davies, Cardinals, Stults

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Dylan Hernandez of the L.A. Times passes on a Sponichi report (Twitter link) noting that former Dodgers/Yankees right-hander Hiroki Kuroda will earn $4.9MM in 2016 on his latest one-year deal with the Hiroshima Carp. That, as Hernandez notes, makes Kuroda the highest-paid player in Japan. Kuroda, who will turn 41 in February, returned to Japan last year for what many believed would be his final season. However, the veteran showed no signs of his age, reeling off a 2.55 ERA in 169 2/3 innings across 26 starts and averaging 5.6 K/9 against 1.5 BB/9. The strong campaign marked another impressive chapter in Kuroda’s exceptional career, which now spans 19 seasons between Nippon Professional Baseball and Major League Baseball. The upcoming season will be his 20th as a professional, and to this point, he has a lifetime 193-176 record, a 3.53 ERA, 6.6 K/9, 2.2 BB/9 and a 1.22 WHIP in 3202 2/3 innings.

Here are a few signings/moves pertaining to Japan and Korea…

  • Right-hander Yohan Pino has signed a one-year deal with the KT Wiz of the Korea Baseball Organization, the club announced (hat tip: Jee-ho Yoo of the Yonhap News Agency). The soon-to-be 32-year-old Pino, a client of agent Steve Comte, logged 79 2/3 innings over the past two Major League seasons between the Twins and the Royals (spending more time on the mound with the former but enjoying better results with the latter). He owns a 4.63 ERA with averages of 7.1 K/9 and 1.9 BB/9 as a big leaguer, and he’s also compiled a 4.38 ERA in 494 2/3 innings at the Triple-A level in his career. This will be his first stint with an Asian team.
  • Via NPB Tracker’s Patrick Newman (Twitter link), the Yakult Swallows of Nippon Professional Baseball have considered signing right-handers Kyle Davies and Josh Lueke as well as lefty Luis Perez. Newman initially cited a Japanese-language report indicating Yakult had signed the trio, but now indicates that report was incorrect. Davies has the most Major League experience of the bunch, having totaled 768 innings with the Royals and Braves from 2005-11. Davis returned to the Majors this past season, tossing 2 1/3 innings for the Yankees. Though he’s been around for quite some time, Davies will pitch nearly all of next season at age 32, so he could potentially have several relatively lucrative years ahead of him if he thrives in NPB.
  • The Cardinals announced that they have sold the rights to right-hander Zach Petrick to NPB’s DeNA Yokohama Bay Stars (Twitter link). St. Louis will receive cash considerations (the exact amount has yet to be reported) for surrendering the 26-year-old Petrick, who will be better-compensated pitching in Japan’s top league than he would have been in the minor leagues here. Petrick breezed through the minor leagues and posted strong ERA marks until reaching Triple-A, where he’s struggled a bit over the past two seasons, registering a 4.56 ERA with 6.4 K/9 against 2.1 BB/9 in 272 1/3 innings. Originally signed as an undrafted free agent, Petrick rose to No. 15 on Baseball America’s list of Top 30 prospects following the 2013 season, with BA praising his sinking fastball, above-average changeup and repeatable mechanics, which led to strong command.
  • Left-hander Eric Stults will either pitch in Japan this season or retire, reports Ben Nicholson-Smith of Sportsnet (on Twitter). It’s not clear exactly whether Stults has a concrete offer from a Japanese club, although that does seem to be the implication. Stults made eight starts for the Braves in 2015 and has recorded 683 1/3 innings at the Major League level, working to a 4.24 ERA. His best years came with the 2013-14 Padres, when he was a staple in the team’s rotation and delivered 379 2/3 innings of 4.10 ERA ball.
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