Hanwha Eagles release slumping hitter O'Grady

Sports 17:10 May 31, 2023

By Yoo Jee-ho

SEOUL, May 31 (Yonhap) -- The Hanwha Eagles announced Wednesday they have released first-year American outfielder Brian O'Grady.

The Eagles said they have asked the Korea Baseball Organization (KBO) to place O'Grady on waivers and will find his replacement in the lineup "as soon as possible."

O'Grady finished his disappointing KBO stint with a .125/.174/.163 line and eight RBIs without a home run in 22 games. He struck out 31 times in 80 at-bats.

In this file photo from March 16, 2023, Brian O'Grady of the Hanwha Eagles hits a three-run home run against the KT Wiz during a Korea Baseball Organization preseason game at Hanwha Life Eagles Park in Daejeon, 160 kilometers south of Seoul. (Yonhap)

After batting just .127 in 17 games in April, O'Grady was sent down to the minor league, where he only managed a .179 batting average in eight games.

The Eagles gave him another shot in the top competition this month, but in five games upon rejoining the Eagles on May 13, O'Grady batted .118 with nine strikeouts.

The Eagles sent O'Grady back to the minors, but then he suffered an oblique injury. The Eagles ran out of patience for a player that they'd signed in December for power production and will now be replacing a foreign player for the second time already this season.

In April, they released starter Burch Smith after only one start. The right-hander suffered a muscle strain in his right shoulder and the Eagles replaced him with Ricardo Sanchez.

No other KBO team has replaced two foreign players this season.

KBO clubs are each allowed to carry three foreign players, with no more than two pitchers. They can only replace up to two of those three players within a season.