Hanwha Eagles sign Ricardo Sanchez, release Burch Smith

Ricardo Sanchez poses while signing a contract with the Hanwha Eagles in an image released by the club Thursday. [YONHAP]

The Hanwha Eagles on Wednesday signed Venezuelan pitcher Ricardo Sanchez on a $400,000 deal covering the rest of the season, replacing injured pitcher Burch Smith released earlier the same day.

Twenty-six-year-old Sanchez made his big league debut with the St. Louis Cardinals in 2020, but missed the 2021 season due to injury. He has most recently been playing on a minor league contract with the Chicago White Sox.

Sanchez has a career 4.61 ERA in the minors with 32 wins and 52 losses on his line. He appeared in three games this season with the Charlotte Knights, starting one, and has a 5.40 ERA with one hold on the season.

Sanchez’s arrival comes after the Eagles acted quickly to remove Smith just over two weeks into the 2023 season.

Smith, who joined the Eagles during the offseason, managed just two and two thirds innings of KBO baseball before he took himself out of the game on opening day with shoulder pain.

He was later diagnosed with a muscle strain and the Eagles decided to cut their losses rather than wait out the injury, informing the KBO prior to their game against the Doosan Bears on Wednesday evening that they want to place Smith on waivers.

At the time the Eagles said that they would find a new foreign pitcher as soon as possible. The club then announced on Thursday that they had signed Sanchez on Tuesday evening, U.S. time.

The Eagles are the first team to release a player this season and, injuries permitting, that will likely remain the case for some time. KBO clubs typically start to release foreign players after three to four months in the summer if they appear to be struggling to adjust to the Korean league.

As of press time Tuesday, the Eagles currently sit in ninth place in the KBO, climbing out of last place last week with five wins, nine losses and a tie so far this season.

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