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One foreign player spot left in KBO after Dinos sign ex-MLB pitcher Allen

Published: 19 Dec. 2024, 09:16 Updated: 19 Dec. 2024, 18:05

Logan Allen signs his contract with the NC Dinos in a photo sahred by the club on Dec. 18. [SCREEN CAPTURE]

All but one spot have been filled for foreign players in the KBO for 2025, following the NC Dinos' signing of former major league pitcher Logan Allen this week.

The Dinos announced Wednesday that Allen, 27, had signed a one-year deal worth up to $1 million — $560,000 in salary, $140,000 in a signing bonus and up to $300,000 in incentives.

An eighth-round pick by the Boston Red Sox in 2015, Allen has 45 big league games under his belt with four clubs, including 22 with the Cleveland Guardians from 2019 to 2022.

The left-hander spent the 2024 season with the Arizona Diamondbacks organization. He went 0-1 with a 5.46 ERA in 12 appearances for the big club, all of them in relief. In 20 outings for the Triple-A Reno Aces, including 19 starts, Allen pitched to a 6-3 record and a 5.23 ERA.

Allen was mostly a starter in the lower rungs of the minor leagues, and then pitched mostly out of the bullpen in Triple-A in 2022 and 2023.

The Dinos said they expect Allen to become a major part of their rotation, alongside another new signing for this offseason, Riley Thompson.

With the Diamondbacks in 2024, Allen threw six different types of pitches: four-seam fastball, cutter, sweeper, splitter, sinker and curveball. He averaged 91.3 miles per hour with his four-seamers.

The Dinos noted that Allen is an aggressive pitcher who throws "quality breaking pitches" and his experience should serve him well.

Allen is replacing left-handed starter Kyle Hart, who led the KBO with 182 strikeouts and finished second with a 2.69 ERA. He received the Choi Dong-won Award in November as the league's top pitcher and also grabbed the Golden Glove Award last week.

The NC Dinos' Kyle Hart reacts during a KBO game against the SSG Landers at Changwon NC Park in Changwon, South Gyeongsang on Sept. 25. [YONHAP]

The Dinos said they had tried to bring back Hart for his second season but the 32-year-old pitcher was eyeing a return to the majors.

"We respect his wishes and we hope he does well in the U.S.," the Dinos said.

KBO teams are each allowed to carry three foreign players, with no more than two pitchers. Following the Allen signing, nine of the league's 10 clubs have filled their three spots. The Kiwoom Heroes are the only club with one pitcher and two position players — left-hander Kenny Rosenberg, plus hitters Yasiel Puig and Ruben Cardenas — and the eight other clubs have signed two pitchers and one hitter.

The defending Korean Series champions Kia Tigers are the only club not to have completed their foreign player signings.

They have brought back the reigning league ERA champion James Naile for the second season and signed new pitcher Adam Oller on Monday.

They are believed to be close to signing former big league outfielder Patrick Wisdom to replace Socrates Brito, who had been with the Tigers since 2022.

For 2025, no club will have the same trio of foreign players that ended the 2024 season. The Doosan Bears replaced all three, with pitchers Cole Irvin and Thomas Hatch, and outfielder Jake Cave.

The Samsung Lions re-signed pitcher Denyi Reyes and infielder Lewin Diaz, and then acquired right-hander Ariel Jurado, who pitched for the Heroes in the past two seasons.

Jurado's rotation mate with the Heroes in 2024, Enmanuel De Jesus, signed with the KT Wiz, joining the two returning players, starter William Cuevas and outfielder Mel Rojas Jr.

Yonhap