S. Korean pitcher Yang Hyeon-jong signs minor league deal with Texas Rangers

▲ In this file photo from Oct. 13, 2020, Yang Hyeon-jong of the Kia Tigers pitches against the NC Dinos in the bottom of the first inning of a Korea Baseball Organization regular season game at Changwon NC Park in Changwon, 400 kilometers southeast of Seoul. (Yonhap)

▲ In this file photo from Oct. 29, 2020, Yang Hyeon-jong of the Kia Tigers pitches against the Doosan Bears in a Korea Baseball Organization regular season game at Gwangju-Kia Champions Field in Gwangju, 330 kilometers south of Seoul. (Yonhap)

▲ In this file photo from Oct. 29, 2020, Yang Hyeon-jong of the Kia Tigers takes a bow before fans at Gwangju-Kia Champions Field in Gwangju, 330 kilometers south of Seoul, during a Korea Baseball Organization regular season game against the Doosan Bears. (Yonhap)

pitcher-MLB

S. Korean pitcher Yang Hyeon-jong signs minor league deal with Texas Rangers

By Yoo Jee-ho

SEOUL, Feb. 13 (Yonhap) -- South Korean pitcher Yang Hyeon-jong has signed a minor league contract with the Texas Rangers, while also getting a shot at making his major league dream come true.

The Rangers announced Friday (local time) that they've signed the left-hander to a one-year pact worth US$1.3 million, with $550,000 in performance bonuses, if he makes the big league roster.

The 32-year-old will have a chance to win that major league job during spring training, which begins next Wednesday for pitchers and catchers in Surprise, Arizona.

Yang has spent his entire 14-year professional career with the Kia Tigers in the Korea Baseball Organization (KBO). He has a 147-95 record with a 3.83 ERA.

Yang was 11-10 with a 4.70 ERA, his worst mark as a full-time starter. But Yang also threw 172 1/3 innings, further cementing his reputation as the KBO's premier workhorse with his seventh consecutive season of at least 170 innings thrown in the 144-game schedule.

He turned down an opportunity to sign a multiyear extension with the Tigers so that he could pursue his major league dream.

Yang, who turns 33 next month, was both the regular season MVP and the Korean Series MVP in 2017, becoming the first player to win both honors in the same year. Yang went 20-6 with a 3.44 ERA in the regular season and threw a complete game shutout in the Korean Series to lift the Tigers to their first championship since 2009.

Yang tried to reach the majors in 2014 through the posting process, and the Rangers put in a bid for the pitcher during the silent auction process. The Tigers pulled him back from the market and Yang would pitch six more years in the KBO.

In those six seasons, Yang led all KBO pitchers with 85 wins, 10 complete games, 925 strikeouts and 1,119 1/3 innings pitched.

In the Rangers' rotation, Kyle Gibson, Mike Foltynewicz and Kohei Arihara appear to be locks. The likes of Kyle Cody, Jordan Lyles, Dane Dunning and Yang will likely be battling for the final two spots in a traditional five-man rotation. The Rangers may also opt to go beyond the five-man unit and use two starter-caliber pitchers in the same game in a piggyback setup.

If Yang makes the Rangers out of camp, he'd become the third South Korean player to don their uniform, after retired pitcher Park Chan-ho and free agent outfielder Choo Shin-soo.

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