Doosan signs Chris Flexen from the New York Mets

Former major league pitcher Chris Flexen has agreed to a one-year deal with the reigning Korean champions, the Doosan Bears.

The Bears announced on Sunday that the 25-year-old right-hander will make $1 million, the maximum amount allowed for first-year foreign players in the KBO.

Flexen, a 14th-round draft pick by the New York Mets in 2012, made his big league debut with the same club in 2017. One of the Mets’ top prospects who had Tommy John surgery to repair elbow ligament damage in 2014, Flexen has 27 major league games to his credit, including 11 starts, with a 3-11 record and an 8.07 ERA.

This past season, Flexen went 0-3 in nine games with a 6.59 ERA.

He made 26 appearances, including 14 starts, in Triple-A this year, going 5-3 with a 4.46 ERA.

The Bears said Flexen can dominate hitters with a fastball that touches 157 kilometers (98 miles) per hour, and he also throws a slider, a curve and a changeup.

The Bears have already parted ways with both of their American pitchers from the 2019 season, Josh Lindblom and Seth Frankoff.

To fill the one remaining foreign pitcher spot, the Bears are in talks with Raul Alcantara, who went 11-11 with a 4.01 ERA in 2019 with another KBO club, the KT Wiz.

Yonhap