4 KBO teams still looking to fill foreign player spots for 2023

By Yoo Jee-ho

SEOUL, Dec. 14 (Yonhap) -- Just over half the teams in the South Korean baseball league have filled up their foreign player quota for 2023, with others looking to complete their transactions before the calendar flips to the new year.

As of Wednesday morning, six out of 10 clubs in the Korea Baseball Organization (KBO) had signed their maximum three foreign players, each with two pitchers and one position player. Those teams are: the Kiwoom Heroes, the KT Wiz, the Kia Tigers, the Samsung Lions, the Lotte Giants and the Doosan Bears.

The defending champions SSG Landers are looking for one new pitcher, while the LG Twins remain a hitter short.

The Hanwha Eagles, after finishing in last place for the third consecutive season in 2022, have so far signed just one foreign player, bringing back right-hander Felix Pena on Tuesday after the Dominican pitcher spent the second half of the 2022 season with them.

The NC Dinos inked new outfielder Jason Martin to a one-year deal last Friday but their two pitcher spots remain empty.

Of the 24 foreign players who have signed so far, 13 are returnees, while two others will be on their second tour of duty in the KBO after playing here in 2020.

The Lions will have the same trio that ended the 2022 season, with pitchers David Buchanan and Albert Suarez and outfielder Jose Pirela all coming back. The Giants will do the same with pitchers Dan Straily and Charlie Barnes and outfielder Zach Reks.

The Landers won the Korean Series title with Wilmer Font and Shawn Morimando on the mound and Juan Lagares in the outfielder, but they have decided to replace all three. They have so far signed left-hander Kirk McCarty and outfielder Guillermo Heredia.

The Heroes, runners-up to the Landers, re-signed left-hander Eric Jokisch for his fifth straight year and newly signed Ariel Jurado. In a curious move, they reacquired infielder Addison Russell, who didn't pan out as a midseason arrival in 2020 and who had spent the past two seasons in Mexico. Russell, former National League (NL) All-Star with domestic violence-related suspension to his resume, is replacing Yasiel Puig, another former NL All-Star who once faced sexual assault charges and is now dealing with illegal gambling allegations.

The Bears are reuniting with right-hander Raul Alcantara, who enjoyed huge success in his first go-around with the Bears in 2020, when he led the KBO with 20 wins and finished second overall with 182 strikeouts. He will be joined by two new foreign players in pitcher Dylan File and utility player Jose Rojas.

The Twins will have the same one-two punch with Casey Kelly and Adam Plutko at the top of their rotation for the second consecutive year. Kelly, coming back for his fifth season, signed for US$1.8 million, the largest deal for a foreign player so far this winter.

The Twins also announced signing of new infielder Abraham Almonte on Dec. 6 but voided his one-year, $800,000 deal four days later, citing a failed physical.

Elsewhere, the KT Wiz have re-signed pitcher Wes Benjamin and outfielder Anthony Alford to new one-year deals, while newly signing pitcher Beau Sulser.

The Tigers announced re-signing of outfielder Socrates Brito in November and later brought in two new pitchers with Shaun Anderson and Adonis Medina.

jeeho@yna.co.kr
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