KBO club Dinos sign ex-MLB pitcher Erick Fedde

By Yoo Jee-ho

SEOUL, Dec. 20 (Yonhap) -- The NC Dinos announced Tuesday they have signed former major league pitcher Erick Fedde.

The 29-year-old right-hander will receive US$800,000 in guaranteed salary and another $200,000 in signing bonus, the Korea Baseball Organization (KBO) club said. The $1 million total is the maximum amount allowed for first-year foreign players in the league.

Fedde has pitched 102 games in the majors, all of them for the Washington Nationals, from 2017 to 2022. He did not make the Nationals' World Series roster when they defeated the Houston Astros for the championship.

Fedde was teammates with former Dinos star and KBO MVP Eric Thames in 2020.

Fedde compiled a 21-33 record with a 5.41 ERA, mostly as a backend starter. He made 27 starts this year, going 6-13 and posting a 5.81 ERA in 127 innings.

Per Statcast, Fedde threw four types of pitches in 2022: sinker (40.1 percent), curveball (28.7 percent), cutter (27.6 percent) and changeup (3.6 percent). He had the most success with his cutter, with opponents batting .234. Hitters batted over .300 off the three other pitches from Fedde.

Fedde profiles as a groundball pitcher. His groundball rate for 2022 came to 50.2 percent, well over the major league average of 44.9 percent.

"Fedde throws a good cutter and mixes in a variety of secondary pitchers to induce groundballs," the Dinos said. "As a full-time starter in the majors, he can be a steady presence on the mound. We expect him to be an integral part of our starting rotation."

KBO teams are each allowed to sign up to three foreign players, with a maximum two pitchers. Before signing Fedde, the Dinos had newly acquired outfielder Jason Martin.

jeeho@yna.co.kr
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