Kia Tigers sign Wil Crowe on one-year, $1 million deal

Pittsburgh Pirates pitcher Wil Crowe works against the Colorado Rockies on April 17, 2023, in Denver. [AP/YONHAP]

The Kia Tigers have signed former MLB pitcher Wil Crowe on a one year deal worth up to $1 million, the club announced Sunday.

The 29-year-old right-hander will receive an annual salary of $600,000, a signing bonus of $200,000 and can earn up to $200,000 in incentives, the club said.

Crowe, formerly of the Pittsburgh Pirates, has a career 5.30 ERA across 94 MLB games with 10 wins and 21 losses.

He spent most of the 2023 season in the minor leagues pitching for the Pirates’ Single- and Triple-A affiliates.

Crowe has “excellent pitching ability, and is a powerful player with a fastball with a maximum speed of 153 kilometers per hour (95 miles per hour) and various breaking balls such as a slider and change-up,” Kia Tigers manager Shim Jae-hak said in the announcement.

“He is also expected to play a key role in the club’s starting lineup due to his extensive experience as a full-time starter in the major leagues,” Shim said.

The Tennessee native started 25 out of 26 games during his first season with the Pirates, in 2021, after making his MLB debut with the Washington Nationals in 2020.

Crowe will join fellow foreign player Socrates Brito on the Tigers lineup after the team re-signed the Dominican outfielder for a third year.

KBO teams are allowed up to three foreign players per season with a maximum of two foreign pitchers.

There was a fair amount of movement in the Gwangju club’s foreign player lineup last season when the team brought in pitcher Mario Sanchez from Taiwan in the summer — and also brought back former Tigers pitcher Thomas Pannone, who came in as a replacement for Shaun Anderson.

The Tigers, along with the NC Dinos, are the only remaining KBO teams that have yet to reach their three foreign player limit. Each has one spot remaining.

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