Kia Tigers sign pitcher Sean Nolin on $900,000 contract

Baseball

Kia Tigers sign pitcher Sean Nolin on $900,000 contract

Published: 10 Jan. 2022, 12:52

Sean Nolin pitches for the Washington Nationals in the first inning of an MLB game against the Atlanta Braves at Truist Park in Atlanta, Georgia on Sept. 8, 2021. [AFP/YONHAP]

The Kia Tigers announced Sunday that they have acquired free agent pitcher Sean Nolin on a one-year deal worth up to $900,000.

The 32-year-old will earn $350,000 in guaranteed salary with a $250,000 signing bonus and $300,000 in incentives.

Nolin was drafted in 2010 by the Toronto Blue jays and made his big league debut with the club in 2013. He made one appearance for the Toronto club that season and one the following season, before being traded to the Oakland Athletics.

Nolin spent the following few years playing minor league baseball with a number of organizations and then spent the first half of the 2020 season with the Saitama Seibu Lions in Japan's Nippon Professional Baseball league. He returned to the United States last year and made it back into the majors with the Washington Nationals, although that stint was also interrupted by a five-game suspension in September for intentionally throwing at a batter.

Over 18 career major league appearances, Nolin has a 5.74 ERA with one win and five losses. In Triple A, he has appeared in 60 games with 16 wins, 16 losses and a 3.65 ERA.

Nolin joins an entirely revamped foreign roster at the Tigers, alongside pitcher Ronnie Williams and outfielder Socrates Brito. The Gwangju club, which finished last season in the penultimate spot, has dug deep this offseason, also bringing back former franchise star and MLB returnee Yang Hyeon-jong and signing free agent All-Star slugger Na Sung-bum, formerly of the NC Dinos.

With Nolin's signing, only one spot remains unfilled in the KBO's foreign player roster. With each club allowed to sign three foreigner players with a maximum two pitchers, only the Doosan Bears are yet to fill all three spots. The Bears have already re-signed league MVP starter Ariel Miranda and brought in pitcher Robert Stock, but have yet to sign a position player. The Bears are believed to still be in talks to bring back slugger Jose Fernandez.

BY JIM BULLEY [jim.bulley@joongang.co.kr]