The LG Twins of the Korea Baseball Group have signed right-hander Yonny Chirinos, per Dan Kurtz of MyKBO.internet and Jiheon Pae (X hyperlink). It had beforehand been reported by XSportsNews reporter Kim Geun-han and relayed by Kurtz (X hyperlink). The righty will earn $1MM in 2025, within the type of a $200K signing bonus and $800K wage.
Chirinos, 31, as soon as appeared like a possible rotation constructing block for the Rays. Over the 2018 and 2019 seasons, he tossed 223 innings, permitting 3.71 earned runs per 9. He struck out 21% of batters confronted, walked simply 5.9% of opponents and stored the ball on the bottom at a 43.5% clip.
However elbow troubles turned the story for just a few years and he hasn’t been in a position to get again on monitor since. He solely made three main league appearances in 2020, requiring Tommy John surgical procedure in August of that yr. He missed all the 2021 marketing campaign whereas recovering. Whereas making an attempt to get again from that process, he was additional delayed by an elbow fracture. He wasn’t activated off the IL till September of 2022, over two years after going below the knife, making two appearances on the finish of that season.
He’s been again on the mound for the previous two years however hasn’t been in a position to get again to his earlier degree of efficiency. He has a 5.63 ERA in 115 innings over the 2 most up-to-date huge league seasons, along with his strikeout price at simply 15.3% in that point. He needed to accept a minor league cope with the Marlins going into 2024 and was solely on their roster for a few month from the center of June to the center of July.
Had Chirinos stayed in North America, he certainly would have been restricted to a different minor league deal someplace. Even when he made it again onto a significant league roster in 2025, he doubtless would have been restricted to a wage someplace across the $760K league minimal.
By heading abroad, he has unlocked a bit extra money and presumably a bit extra job safety. If he can profit from his alternative with the Twins, maybe he can take one other crack at North American ball down the road.
