Kia Tigers re-sign Socrates Brito on one-year, $1.1 million contract

Socrates Brito of the Kia Tigers celebrates after picking up a two-run knock in a game against the LG Twins at Jamsil Baseball Stadium in southern Seoul on Oct. 4. [YONHAP]

The Kia Tigers have re-signed outfielder Socrates Brito on a one-year deal worth $1.1 million.

The 30-year-old KBO sophomore will earn $500,000 in guaranteed salary with $300,000 in incentives and a $300,000 signing bonus.

Brito joined the Kia Tigers this season and quickly established himself with the Gwangju club, recording a .311 batting average with 160 hits, 77 RBIs and 17 home runs.

Brito was the KBO Player of the Month in May, when he led the league with a .415 batting average, 44 hits and a .698 slugging percentage. He took a pitch to the face in July that saw him sidelined for a month, missing the All-Star game.

Brito initially signed with the Tigers in December last year on a $900,000 deal. He made his major league debut with the Arizona Diamondbacks in 2015 and has made 99 appearances in the Major leagues, most recently in 2019 with the Toronto Blue Jays.

In 2018 and 2019, Brito was the fastest base running major league right fielder. His spring speed was 29.9 feet per second in 2018 and 29.8 feet per second the next year.

He became a free agent after the 2019 season and signed a minor league contract with the Pittsburgh Pirates. After opting out of the 2020 season, he again became a free agent in 2020.

In January last year, he signed a minor league contract with the New York Yankees and spent the season with the Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders where he hit .251 in 107 games with nine home runs and 53 RBIs.

Brito is the second foreign position player to sign a contract this offseason. The Doosan Bears last month signed Jose Rojas to replace Jose Fernandez.

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