Hanwha Eagles re-sign Ricardo Sanchez on $750,000 deal

Baseball

Published: 26 Dec. 2023, 11:51 Updated: 26 Dec. 2023, 17:41

Hanwha Eagles re-sign Ricardo Sanchez on $750,000 deal

Hanwha Eagles' starter Ricardo Sanchez pitches during a game against the Kiwoom Heroes at Hanwha Life Eagles Park in Daejeon in May. [YONHAP]

The Hanwha Eagles have re-signed pitcher Ricardo Sanchez on a one-year deal worth up to $750,000, the team announced Tuesday, becoming the latest KBO club to reach its foreign player maximum ahead of the 2024 season.

The left-hander will receive a salary of $500,000, a signing bonus of $100,000 and can earn up to $150,000 in incentives, the team said in an official Instagram post.

Sanchez, 26, made his KBO debut with the Eagles earlier this year in April, just weeks into the 2023 season. He replaced foreign pitcher Burch Smith, whom the Eagles released due to an injury, and went on to pitch a 3.79 ERA with seven wins and eight losses over 24 games — and just as many starts.

Sanchez, who is from Venezuela, came to Korea from a career in the Minors where he recorded a 4.61 ERA over 140 games. He pitched three games for the MLB’s St. Louis Cardinals in 2020.

He joins fellow foreign pitcher Felix Pena and outfielder Yonathan Perlaza on the Eagles’ full foreign player roster for the 2024 season. Pena joined the Eagles in 2022, and Perlaza will make his KBO debut next season.

Sanchez said he is "quite happy” to stick with the Eagles for another year, according to the Instagram post.

"I'll make use of my strengths that have emerged throughout this season and make up for my shortcomings and show a better performance next season,” he said.

The Eagles finished ninth on the 10-team table in 2023.

Following Sanchez’s deal with the Eagles, just three KBO teams had yet to fill their foreign player spots. KBO teams can sign up to three foreign players per year with a two-pitcher maximum.

The Samsung Lions, the NC Dinos and the Kia Tigers have yet to reach that threshold for 2024.

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