Tag: kbo

Red Sox agree to minor league deal with former Dodgers farmhand Alec Gamboa

The Red Sox have agreed to terms on a minor league contract with free agent left-hander Alec Gamboa, as was first reported by Will Sammon of The Athletic. The deal includes an invitation to big league spring training and a salary of $925,000 if Gamboa makes it to the majors.

Gamboa, who turns 28 next month, has yet to reach the majors since being selected by the Dodgers in the ninth round of the 2019 draft out of Fresno City College. The California native spent parts of seven seasons in Los Angeles’ system, making 53 appearances (17 starts) in total for the club’s Triple-A affiliate in Oklahoma City before being released this past May.

After posting a 4.19 ERA (4.74 FIP) with 12 strikeouts to 12 walks in eight outings (two starts) and 19 1/3 innings for Oklahoma City in the hitter-friendly Pacific Coast League to begin the 2025 season, Gamboa was released on May 13 so that he could sign with the Lotte Giants of the Korean Baseball Organization. While overseas, the lefty forged a 3.58 ERA (3.47 FIP) with 117 strikeouts to 49 walks over 19 starts (108 innings) in which opponents batted .236 against him.

Listed at 6-foot-1 and 205 pounds, Gamboa featured a five-pitch mix with Oklahoma City earlier this year that consisted of a mid-90s four-seam fastball, an upper-80s slider, a lower-90s sinker, an upper-70s curveball, and a mid-80s changeup.

Though it remains to be seen how the Red Sox will deploy Gamboa, he likely projects as a left-handed relief option who will start the 2026 campaign in Triple-A Worcester’s bullpen. Like recent trade addition Tyler Samaniego, Gamboa should provide Boston with some much-needed depth in that area following the departures of Brennan Bernardino, Chris Murphy via trade, and Steven Matz via free agency.

Unlike Samaniego, however, Gamboa will not occupy a spot on Boston’s 40-man roster once his signing is made official.

(Picture of Alec Gamboa: John E. Moore III/Getty Images)

Former Red Sox pitching prospect Connor Seabold signs with KBO’s Samsung Lions

For the second time this week, a former Red Sox pitcher elected to take his talents overseas for the 2024 season by signing with a team in the Korea Baseball Organization.

Just days after left-hander Kyle Hart joined the NC Dinos, the Samsung Lions announced on Friday that they signed right-hander Connor Seabold to a one-year contract. The deal comes with $900,000 in guaranteed money and an additional $100,000 in possible incentives.

Seabold, who turns 28 next month, spent the better part of four seasons in the Red Sox organization after coming over from the Phillies alongside fellow righty Nick Pivetta in the August 2020 trade that sent relievers Brandon Workman and Heath Hembree back to Philadelphia.

Added to the 40-man roster later that year, Seabold was regarded as one of Boston’s top pitching prospects and rotational depth options entering the 2021 season. The former third-round draft selection out of Cal State Fullerton debuted for the Red Sox that September, allowing two runs over three innings as part of a 9-8 win over the White Sox at Guaranteed Rate Field.

Seabold did not see any additional big-league action again until last June. He made three starts into the early summer before being sidelined with a right forearm extensor strain and optioned to Triple-A Worcester upon activation from the 15-day injured list in late July. He returned to the Red Sox’ rotation nearly two months later and surrendered nine runs (eight earned) in his final two outings (seven innings) of the year.

Carrying with him a 10.55 ERA in 21 1/3 innings in the majors, Seabold was designated for assignment by the Red Sox in January to accommodate the addition of veteran starter Corey Kluber. Five days after being removed from Boston’s 40-man roster, Seabold was traded to the Rockies for cash considerations.

In 27 appearances (13 starts) for Colorado this past season, Seabold struggled to a 7.52 ERA and 5.75 FIP with 67 strikeouts to 28 walks over 87 1/3 innings. Interestingly enough, one of his better performances of the year came against the Red Sox on June 12, when he struck out a season-high of six and walked only one across six frames of one-run ball at Fenway Park.

Ahead of the Rule 5 Draft earlier this month, the Rockies released Seabold to clear a spot on their 40-man roster for right-hander Anthony Molina, whom they plucked from the Rays. It remains to be seen if Seabold had drawn interest on the open market from other big-league clubs in the weeks since he was cut loose by Colorado, but the California native ultimately opted to go abroad to South Korea.

All told, Seabold owns a lifetime 8.12 ERA (5.96 FIP) with 86 strikeouts to 38 walks in 33 total appearances (19 starts) spanning 108 2/3 innings for his career at the major-league level. At the Triple-A level, he has produced a far more respectable 4.13 ERA with 177 strikeouts to 46 walks over 38 starts (172 inning) from 2021-2023.

Though a myriad of elbow and forearm injuries have all but hindered the likelihood of him being as a frontline starter in the big-leagues, Seabold could very well leverage his performance overseas into another opportunity with an MLB team at some point down the line.

In the more immediate future, Seabold joins infielder David MacKinnon as two of the three foreign players the Lions — and all KBO teams — are allowed to carry on their respective rosters. According to Jee-ho Yoo of South Korea’s Yonhap News Agency, the Daegu-based club is in talks to bring back righty David Buchanan, which would round out their foreign-born contingent heading into the 2024 season.

(Picture of Connor Seabold: Dylan Buell/Getty Images)

Former Red Sox lefty Kyle Hart signs with KBO’s NC Dinos

Former Red Sox left-hander Kyle Hart will be taking his talents overseas in 2024 after signing a one-year deal with the NC Dinos of the Korea Baseball Organization on Tuesday. According to a team release, the contract includes a signing bonus of $200,000, a base salary of $500,000, and up to $200,000 in possible incentives.

Hart, 31, broke in with the Red Sox during the COVID-shortened 2020 season after originally being selected by the club in the 19th round of the 2016 amateur draft out of Indiana. The former Hoosier appeared in just four games — three of which were starts — but struggled mightily, allowing 21 runs (19 earned) on 10 walks and 13 strikeouts over 11 innings of work. Opposing hitters batted .429 against him and he ended the year on the injured list with a left hip impingement.

Boston removed Hart from its 40-man roster that November and subsequently outrighted him to the minor-leagues after he cleared waivers. The 6-foot-5, 200-pound lefty served as organizational depth for the next two seasons, spending all of 2021 with Triple-A Worcester and splitting 2022 between Worcester and Double-A Portland, before reaching minor-league free agency last fall.

Before the start of spring training this year, Hart inked a minors pact with the Phillies, reuniting him — to some degree — with former Red Sox president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowksi. Hart, however, appeared in just one game for Philadelphia’s Triple-A affiliate in April and was released by the club shortly thereafter. He latched on with the Mariners in June and spent the rest of the 2023 campaign with Triple-A Tacoma, pitching to a 4.58 ERA with 85 strikeouts to 35 walks in 18 starts (88 1/3 innings) for the Rainiers.

It is unclear if other affiliated clubs had interest in bringing in Hart on a minor-league contract this winter, but the Ohio native has nonetheless elected to go abroad to South Korea. With the Dinos, who are based in Changwon, Hart will join fellow southpaw and recent signee Daniel Castano as the club’s two foreign-born pitchers to open the 2024 season.

(Picture of Kyle Hart: Billie Weiss/Boston Red Sox/Getty Images)

Red Sox sign former Rockies prospect, LG Twins first baseman Roberto Ramos to minor-league deal

The Red Sox have signed free agent first baseman Roberto Ramos to a minor-league contract for the 2022 season, according to MassLive.com’s Chris Cotillo. The deal also includes an invite to major-league spring training.

Ramos, 27, was originally selected by the Rockies in the 16th round of the 2014 amateur draft out of the College of the Canyons (Santa Clarita, Calif.). He debuted for Low-A Tri-City that summer and made it as far as Triple-A Albuquerque in 2019.

In 127 games with the Isotopes, the left-handed hitter batted .309/.400/.580 (135 wRC+) with 27 doubles, 30 home runs, 105 RBIs, 77 runs scored, 61 walks, and 141 strikeouts across 503 plate appearances.

Shortly before the start of the 2020 campaign, Ramos had his contract with the Rockies purchased by the LG Twins of the Korea Baseball Organization. The hulking 6-foot-3, 220 pounder did not wait long to make his impact felt overseas, as he slashed .278/.362/.592 (141 wRC+) with 38 homers and 86 RBIs over 117 games (494 plate appearances) in his first season with the Twins.

Last year, however, Ramos was limited to just 51 games due to a lower back injury. He managed all of eight home runs and 25 RBIs while posting a .739 OPS over that stretch before being released by LG in late June.

This off-season, Ramos returned to his home country of Mexico to suit up for Naranjeros de Hermosillo of the Mexican Pacific Winter League, though the Hermosillo native only appeared in five games before being placed on the reserve list in November.

Ramos, who does not turn 28 until December, seems likely to begin the 2022 season with Triple-A Worcester. There, he should represent some intriguing first-base depth behind Triston Casas, although he does have limited experience at other positions like third base, left field, and right field.

(Picture of Roberto Ramos: Han Myung-Gu/Getty Images)

Red Sox one of several teams interested in signing Korean sensation Ha-Seong Kim, per report

The Red Sox are reportedly one of several teams that are interested in signing free-agent Korean infielder Ha-Seong Kim, according to ESPN’s Daniel Kim.

Per ESPN’s Kim, “Kim has several MLB offers in the five-plus year range.”

Kim, 25, has has yet to play at the major-league level, but has proven to be one of the more impressive players in the Korean Baseball Organization over the past seven seasons.

Going back to 2014, the South Korean-born, right-handed hitting, right-handed throwing infielder owns a career slash line of .294/.373/.493 to go along with 133 home runs, 575 RBI, and 134 stolen bases over 891 total games between the Nexen Heroes and Kiwoom Heroes.

He has also proven to be one of the better defensive shortstops in the KBO in recent years, picking up a pair of Gold Glove awards for his efforts at short in 2018 and 2019.

Kiwoom officially posted Kim on December 7, giving major-league clubs until the first of January to acquire his services.

Depending on how much Kim signs for, that club will owe Kiwoom 20% of the contract’s first $25 million in value, 17.5% of the next $25 million, and 15% of anything beyond the $50 million threshold, as noted by MLB Trade Rumors‘ Mark Polishuk.

MLBTR predicts that Kim will land a five-year deal worth somewhere around $40 million with whichever club he signs with. They also had him as their seventh-ranked free agent at the onset of the offseason.

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All this being said, the Red Sox should be players for Kim, but only if they can convince him to move to second base, a position he has very little experience at, on a (just about) full-time basis.

The Boston Globe’s Alex Speier observed earlier this month that as a five-star phenom in Korea, Kim’s “age and performance would fit the Sox’ vision of upgrading their long-term talent base” — but only if he is open to playing second.

“In all likelihood, [Kim’s] the only open-market second base option this winter for whom the Sox would consider a deal of more than two years,” Speier wrote.

This may be the case because the Red Sox are coming off a season in which their second basemen struggled mightily, as has seemingly been the case the past few years.

Among American League teams in 2020, Red Sox second basemen ranked 14th in on-base (.273) and slugging percentage (.313), and 15th in OPS (.586) and wRC+ (55).

Those are truly dismal numbers from one position group, and they will likely need to improve if Boston intends on not being one of the worst team in baseball for a second consecutive year in 2021.

Identifying second base as a potential area of weakness headed into the spring, how do Red Sox chief baseball officer Chaim Bloom and Co. go about addressing that area in order to improve their squad?

Well, besides the trade market, free agency is always an option, too. And Kim — at the ripe age of 25 years old, just entering his prime — might just be the best infielder not named D.J. LeMahieu available to sign at the moment.

“The international market is an intriguing one and a good one,” Sox manager Alex Cora said of international free agents such as Kim during his virtual winter meetings media availability last week. “Like the rest of the big-league organizations, everybody’s paying attention and doing their homework.

“They’re very talented, they’re guys that can impact the game sooner rather than later,” added Cora. “It will be interesting how it moves in the upcoming days or weeks. These guys, throughout their careers, they’ve been very solid, very consistent, and that’s something that intrigues not only the Red Sox, but the rest of the organizations at the big-league level.”