KBO's Eagles sign ex-MLB outfielder Mike Tauchman, bring back 2 American starters

All News 10:18 December 10, 2021

By Yoo Jee-ho

SEOUL, Dec. 10 (Yonhap) -- The South Korean baseball club Hanwha Eagles announced Friday they've acquired a former major league outfielder, Mike Tauchman.

The Eagles are also bringing back their two American starters from this past season, Nick Kingham and Ryan Carpenter.

In this Getty Images file photo from May 15, 2021, Mike Tauchman of the San Francisco Giants watches his two-run home run against the Pittsburgh Pirates in the top of the sixth inning of a Major League Baseball regular season game at PNC Park in Pittsburgh. (Yonhap)

Tauchman, 31, agreed to a one-year, $1 million contract, the maximum amount allowed for first-year foreign players. The outfielder will make $700,000 in guaranteed salary and $300,000 in signing bonus.

A 10th round draft pick by the Colorado Rockies in 2013, Tauchman made his major league debut with the Rockies in 2017. He later went on to play for the New York Yankees and the San Francisco Giants.

Tauchman's best season came with the Yankees in 2019, when he had 13 home runs and 47 RBIs in 87 games. In 257 career big league games, Tauchman had 17 home runs, 78 RBIs, 17 steals and a .231/.326/.378 line.

In eight minor league seasons, Tauchman had 49 homers, 335 RBIs and 117 steals in 676 games, while batting .301/.374/.452.

This image provided by the Hanwha Eagles on Dec. 10, 2021, shows the Korea Baseball Organization club's new outfielder, Mike Tauchman (R). (PHOTO NOT FOR SALE) (Yonhap)

Tauchman will be replacing Hernan Perez in the Eagles' lineup next year.

The Eagles said Tauchman can handle all three outfield positions and should produce 20 home runs and a .300 batting average at the plate.

The Korea Baseball Organization (KBO) allows clubs to carry up to three foreign players, with no more than two pitchers. Teams almost always sign two starting pitchers and one position player to fill their quotas.

In this file photo from Aug. 11, 2021, Nick Kingham of the Hanwha Eagles pitches against the Kia Tigers in the bottom of the first inning of a Korea Baseball Organization regular season game at Gwangju-Kia Champions Field in Gwangju, some 330 kilometers south of Seoul. (Yonhap)

And the Eagles have re-signed Kingham to a new $900,000 deal and Carpenter to a $750,000 contract.

Kingham went 10-8 with a 3.19 ERA in 25 starts while making $550,000 this year. Opponents batted .219 against Kingham, the third-lowest mark in the KBO.

Carpenter was 5-12 with a 3.97 ERA in 31 starts on a $500,000 contract. Despite the underwhelming win-loss record, Carpenter finished second in the league with 179 strikeouts in 170 innings.