Doosan Bears sign Brandon Waddell to replace 2021 KBO MVP Ariel Miranda

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Doosan Bears sign Brandon Waddell to replace 2021 KBO MVP Ariel Miranda

Published: 14 Jul. 2022, 15:15

Brandon Waddell [USA TODAY/YONHAP]

The Doosan Bears on Wednesday announced the signing of former major league pitcher Brandon Waddell for $230,000, releasing former KBO MVP Ariel Miranda.

Waddell, who spent the first half of the 2022 season with the Triple A Memphis Redbirds, will earn $200,000 in guaranteed salary with $30,000 available in incentives.

Waddell was drafted by the Pittsburgh Pirates in 2015, but spent the first four years of his career playing in the minors. In 2020 he made his big league debut with the Pirates, appearing in three games that season. He saw some more action last year, bouncing between the Minnesota Twins, Baltimore Orioles and St. Louis Cardinals for nine more MLB games for a career total of 11 major league appearances with one loss and a 5.68 ERA.

Waddell has made 23 appearances with the Redbirds this season, picking up two wins and one loss with a 3.30 ERA.

Waddell replaces Miranda, the 2021 KBO MVP who has struggled with shoulder problems this season.

Miranda took the league’s top honor last year after a record-breaking season that saw him lead the KBO with a 2.33 ERA and 255 strikeouts, the highest number of strikeouts ever recorded by a pitcher in a single season.

He narrowly missed out on a pitching triple crown, finishing tied for fourth with 14 wins, two behind joint leaders Eric Jokisch of the Kiwoom Heroes and David Buchanan of the Samsung Lions.

Miranda was the seventh foreign player to win the KBO MVP award and the fourth foreign pitcher. He was the first Cuban national to take the league’s top prize.

But this year has been a very different story, with just three appearances and an 8.22 ERA on the season, leaving Doosan with little choice but to cut their former ace loose.

Waddell faces a tough challenge when he arrives in Seoul, with perennial Korean Series contenders Doosan currently struggling in seventh place as of press time Thursday, 20.5 games behind the leading SSG Landers.

BY JIM BULLEY [[email protected]]