KBO teams close up foreign player rosters with flurry of weekend signings

Guillermo Heredia is at bat for the SSG Landers in October. [YONHAP]

More KBO teams have locked in their foreign player rosters for the 2024 season after a flurry of signings and re-signings over the weekend.

SSG Landers sign Robert Dugger on one-year, $900,000 deal

The SSG Landers and the Lotte Giants joined the LG Twins and the KT Wiz, both of who earlier reached the foreign player max. KBO teams are allowed to sign up to three foreign players per year.

The Landers re-signed outfielder Guillermo Heredia on a deal worth up to $1.5 million and pitcher Roenias Elias on a deal worth up to $1 million.

Both will return to the team for a second year after making their KBO debuts in 2023.

Heredia, 32, batted an average .323 with 12 home runs and 76 RBIs in his first season with the Landers. Elias, 35, earned a 3.70 ERA over eight wins and six losses.

Both Heredia and Elias are getting significant salary bumps. Heredia earned a guaranteed salary of $900,000 in 2023 while Elias, who joined the team in the middle of the season, signed on for a guaranteed $540,000.

The Landers earlier signed 28-year-old pitcher Robert Dugger, who comes to the team from a career in the Minor leagues and a brief stint in the MLB.

The Lotte Giants also reached their three-player max over the weekend.

The Giants are bringing back pitcher Charlie Barnes for his third year in the KBO on a deal worth up to $1.35 million. Barnes will receive a guaranteed salary of $1.2 million and can earn up to $150,000 in incentives.

The left-hander, 28, made his KBO debut with the Giants in 2022. He has a career 3.46 ERA with 23 wins and 22 losses from the past two seasons — but had his better season last year, with a 3.28 ERA in 2023.

The Giants also signed outfielder Victor Reyes on a one-year deal worth up to $950,000. Reyes will receive a salary of $700,000 and can earn up to $250,000 in incentives. Barnes and Reyes join American pitcher Aaron Wilkerson on next year's roster.

2023 Korean Series champions and runners-up, the LG Twins and the KT Wiz, had earlier filled their foreign player spots.

The Twins re-signed Casey Kelly and Austin Dean. They also signed American pitcher Dietrich Enns on a one-year, $1 million deal — the cap for first-year foreign players. And the KT Wiz re-signed pitchers Wes Benjamin and Will Cuevas and are also bringing back Mel Rojas Jr., who spent brief stints in Japan and South America.

Also over the weekend, the Kiwoom Heroes inched closer to a full foreign player lineup. The Heroes signed pitcher Enmanuel De Jesus on a one-year deal worth up to $800,000.

The left-hander will receive $600,000 in salary and can earn up to $200,000 in incentives. He joins outfielder Ronnie Dawson, who last week signed on for another season with the Heroes.

BY MARY YANG [mary.yang@joongang.co.kr]