(LEAD) Ex-MLB pitcher Pannone set to join Kia Tigers in KBO

▲ In this Getty Images file photo from Sept. 16, 2018, Thomas Pannone of the Toronto Blue Jays pitches against the New York Yankees in the bottom of the first inning of a Major League Baseball regular season game at Yankee Stadium in New York. (Yonhap)

(LEAD) baseball-pitcher

(LEAD) Ex-MLB pitcher Pannone set to join Kia Tigers in KBO

(ATTN: ADDS details in paras 8-9)

By Yoo Jee-ho

SEOUL, June 28 (Yonhap) -- Former major league pitcher Thomas Pannone is on his way to South Korea.

Pannone announced on his Instagram page Tuesday morning (Korean time) that he will be pitching for the Kia Tigers in the Korea Baseball Organization (KBO) the rest of this season. The 28-year-old left-hander had been pitching for the Worcester Red Sox in Triple-A this year. Reports out of Worcester earlier in the day had also said Pannone was leaving the minor league team for South Korea.

It wasn't immediately clear whom Pannone will replace in the Tigers' rotation. KBO clubs can each carry a maximum two foreign pitchers, and the Tigers currently have Sean Nolin and Ronnie Williams under contract.

Nolin has gone 2-5 with a 3.53 ERA, but he hasn't pitched since May 20 while dealing with a calf injury.

Williams is 3-3 with a 5.89 ERA. He also missed time with some elbow issues earlier in the season.

Pannone was a 33rd-round draft pick by the Chicago Cubs in 2012 but opted to go to college. He reentered the draft the following year and was selected in the ninth round by the Cleveland Indians (now Guardians).

Pannone was traded to the Toronto Blue Jays in July 2017 and made his big league debut with the club the following year. He compiled a 7-7 record and a 5.43 ERA in 49 games, including 13 starts, across two seasons for the Blue Jays.

This year, Pannone went 5-3 with a 4.57 ERA in 14 appearances, a dozen of them starts, for Worcester. He struck out 70 and walked only eight in 63 innings.

So far this season, the Hanwha Eagles and the KT Wiz have replaced their foreign pitchers. The Eagles have replaced Ryan Carpenter and Nick Kingham with Yefry Ramirez and Felix Pena. The Wiz parted ways with William Cuevas and acquired Wes Benjamin.

Once his deal with the Tigers is officially announced, Pannone will become the fourth member of the 2019 Blue Jays in the KBO this season. He will join his new Tigers teammate Socrates Brito, SSG Landers starter Wilmer Font and Wiz outfielder Anthony Alford in that group.

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