Sports Briefs

BASEBALL

Heroes sign Jerry Sands to replace Michael Choice

Korean baseball club Nexen Heroes on Tuesday signed former big leaguer Jerry Sands to replace struggling outfielder Michael Choice.

The KBO team signed Sands, 30, to a $100,000 deal, with 35 games remaining this season.

Sands appeared in 156 major league games from 2011 to 2016, batting .238/.303/.367 with 10 homers and 57 RBIs. He made his debut with the Los Angeles Dodgers and spent two years there before taking cups of coffee with the Tampa Bay Rays, Cleveland Indians and Chicago White Sox.

In the minor leagues, Sands, who bats and throws right, had a .275/.366/.508 line with 180 home runs and 609 RBIs in 936 games.

He has split his 2018 season between Double-A and Triple-A in the San Francisco Giants system, and batted .269/.361/.505 with 16 home runs and 46 RBIs in 100 combined games.

The Heroes said Sands has power and a good eye at the plate and that he can play both corner outfield positions and first base. Sands is expected to arrive in Korea either Saturday or Sunday, and will join the club once he acquires his work permit.

GOLF

Ryu So-yeon passes Park to take No. 2 in world rankings

Korean golfer Ryu So-yeon jumped two spots to reach No. 2 in the latest women’s rankings Tuesday, following her third-place finish at the Ricoh Women’s British Open.

Ryu has now positioned herself right behind Ariya Jutanugarn, who has been No. 1 since last week. Ryu was the top-ranked golfer from June 26 to Oct. 30 in 2017.

Ryu finished alone in third place at the Women’s British Open at the Royal Lytham & St. Annes Golf Club in Lancashire, England, on Sunday, at 13-under 275. She was four strokes behind the champion, Georgia Hall.

With Ryu’s rise, two other Koreans each fell down a notch, with Park In-bee now at No. 3 and Park Sung-hyun at No. 4.

One other Korean in the top 10 is Kim In-kyung, who went down from No. 7 to No. 8 this week.

Yonhap