Seoul High School pitcher Lee Chan-sol signs with Boston Red Sox

Baseball

Published: 26 Jul. 2023, 13:29 Updated: 26 Jul. 2023, 14:56

Seoul High School pitcher Lee Chan-sol signs with Boston Red Sox

An empty player profile on MLB.com for Lee Chan-sol, an 18-year-old pitcher who signed with the Boston Red Sox out of Seoul High School on Monday [SCREEN CAPTURE]

The Boston Red Sox signed Korean pitcher Lee Chan-sol straight out of Seoul High School on Monday to a minor league contract, according to the team’s official transaction log.

Right-hander Lee, 18, was expected to be a first round pick in the KBO draft later this year, but instead joined the likes of Park Chan-ho, Choo Shin-soo, Choi Ji-man and Bae Ji-hwan in opting to sign directly with a Major League team rather than starting his career in Korea.

Lee stands at 6-foot-1 and has a 95-mile-per-hour fastball, according to FanNation. He reportedly joined the Red Sox with a $300,000 signing bonus, the second-largest the Boston club has ever given to a foreign free agent.

Lee pitched 20 innings for Seoul High School, where he is currently a senior, during this year’s national high school baseball tournament, recording a 6.30 ERA with a WHIP of 1.75.

Speaking on the sidelines of that tournament in May, Lee told reporters that his role models are major league pitchers Yu Darvish and Shohei Ohtani, Darvish for his pitching prowess and Ohtani for his personality both on and off the field.

The announcement of Lee’s signing appeared on the club’s official transaction log — “Boston Red Sox signed free agent RHP Chansol Lee to a minor league contract,” the log read — one of five player moves on Monday. Eighteen-year-old Venezuelan pitcher Greider Colina was also signed on the same day.

The Boston Red Sox official transaction log shows that the club signed Lee Chan-sol on Monday [SCREEN CAPTURE]

Joining the Red Sox on a Minor League contract, Lee is likely a long way away from making it to the big leagues. If he does make it all the way to the MLB in the next few years, he is likely to be one of the only Korean pitchers in the league.

While Korea has been famous for providing strong left-handed pitchers to the majors in the past, Ryu Hyun-jin of the Toronto Blue Jays is currently the only Korean pitcher in the league. The remaining Korean players, including Kim Ha-seong of the San Diego Padres and Choi Ji-man of the Pittsburgh Pirates, are all position players.

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