Doosan sign former MLB pitcher Cole Irvin on one-year, $1-million deal

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Doosan sign former MLB pitcher Cole Irvin on one-year, $1-million deal

Published: 15 Nov. 2024, 22:58 Updated: 15 Nov. 2024, 22:59

Cole Irvin, then a starting pitcher for the Baltimore Orioles, throws to a Los Angeles Dodgers batter during the first inning of a game in Los Angeles on Aug. 27. [AP/YONHAP]

The Doosan Bears signed former major league pitcher Cole Irvin on Friday.

The Bears said Irvin agreed to a one-year deal worth $1 million, the maximum amount allowed for all first-year foreign players in the KBO. Irvin will get $200,000 in signing bonus and earn $800,000 in salary.

Irvin, 30, appeared in 134 games for four major league clubs, including 93 starts, after making his debut with the Philadelphia Phillies in 2019, three years after being drafted by the same club in the fifth round.

The left-hander compiled a 28-40 record with a 4.54 ERA in 593 innings, with 434 strikeouts against 142 walks.

Irvin split the 2024 season between the Baltimore Orioles and the Minnesota Twins, going 6-6 with a 5.11 ERA in 16 starts and 13 relief appearances.

According to Baseball Savant, Irvin threw six types of pitches in 2024: four-seam fastball, curveball, sinker, changeup, cutter and slider. He averaged 91.9 miles per hour with his four-seamers, which would have made him one of the hardest-throwing starters in the KBO this year.

"He throws a great fastball and has quality secondary pitches, too," the Bears said. "He only averaged 2.16 walks per nine innings in the majors and we saw him as a pitcher with great control."

KBO teams can each carry a maximum two foreign pitchers. In 2024, the Bears received only 13 wins from their foreign contingent on the mound — two wins fewer than their homegrown ace, Gwak Been.

They began the season with Brandon Waddell and Raul Alcantara in the rotation but neither was around by the end of the year due to injuries.

Alcantara went 2-2 in 12 outings before being released in July. The Bears signed Jordan Balazovic to fill that spot, and the Canadian pitcher went 2-6 with a 4.26 ERA in 12 games.

Waddell had a 7-4 record in 14 starts with a 3.12 ERA but didn't pitch after June 23 because of shoulder problems.

The Bears acquired Keisho Shirakawa as a temporary injury replacement, but the Japanese righty was shut down in late August with an elbow injury. Shirakawa went 2-3 with a 6.03 ERA in seven starts as a Bear.

Yonhap