NC Dinos sign ex-big league pitcher Butler

SEOUL, Dec. 3 (Yonhap) -- South Korean baseball club NC Dinos on Monday announced their acquisition of former major league right-hander Eddie Butler.

The Dinos, which had the worst record in the Korea Baseball Organization (KBO) this past season, signed Butler to a one-year deal worth US$1 million, which includes a $200,000 signing bonus.

Butler has appeared in 79 big league games for three teams. He split the 2018 season with the Chicago Cubs and the Texas Rangers, posting a combined 2-3 record with a 5.62 ERA in 30 relief appearances.

In 2017, Butler made 11 starts for the Cubs and was 4-3 with a solid 3.95 ERA then.

Butler has been 12-22 with a 5.80 ERA in his major league career. In the minors, Butler has gone 34-28 with a 3.35 ERA in 100 games, all but one of them starts.

The Dinos said Butler is a power pitcher who mixes in changeup, slider and curve. They added they liked Butler's starting experience and his competitive fire.

Butler joins fellow former big leaguer Drew Rucinski, who signed last Friday, in the revamped Dinos' rotation for 2019. KBO teams are permitted a maximum two foreign pitchers each, and by acquiring Butler and Rucinski, the Dinos parted ways with both of their foreign starters from 2018, Logan Verrett and Wang Wei-Chung.

Wang, the first baseball player from Taiwan to pitch in the KBO, was 7-10 with a 4.26 ERA in 25 starts, while Verrett had a 6-10 record and a 5.28 ERA in 29 starts.

jeeho@yna.co.kr
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