Kia Tigers sign ex-MLB pitcher Crowe
baseball club-pitcher
SEOUL, Jan. 7 (Yonhap) — The Kia Tigers announced Sunday they have signed former major league pitcher Wil Crowe.
Crowe agreed to a one-year deal worth up to US$1 million — with $600,000 in salary, $200,000 in signing bonus and a maximum $200,000 in incentives. The $1 million is the maximum amount that a new foreign player can make in the Korea Baseball Organization (KBO).
In this UPI file photo from April 7, 2023, Pittsburgh Pirates pitcher Wil Crowe pitches against the Chicago White Sox during a Major League Baseball regular season game at PNC Park in Pittsburgh. (Yonhap)
Crowe, 29, made his major league debut with the Washington Nationals in 2020 and then pitched for the Pittsburgh Pirates from 2021 to 2023. The right-hander made 94 appearances, including 29 starts, over those four seasons, and compiled a 10-21 record with five saves and a 5.30 ERA in 210 2/3 innings.
Crowe made 25 starts in 2021 but 59 relief appearances the very next season.
Crowe was limited to five relief outings in the majors last year, going 0-1 with a 4.66 ERA. He pitched in 14 games in Triple-A, where he had a 1-1 record with a 4.33 ERA.
New Kia Tigers pitcher Wil Crowe signs his contract with the Korea Baseball Organization club, in this photo provided by the Tigers on Jan. 7, 2024. (PHOTO NOT FOR SALE) (Yonhap)
According to website Baseball Savant, Crowe had a four-pitch mix last year: four-seam fastball, slider, changeup and sweeper. Crowe averaged 93.6 miles per hour with his fastball, which would instantly make him one of the hardest-throwing starters in the KBO. Though Crowe hasn’t been a full-time starter since 2021, the Tigers said they will put the American in their starting rotation in 2024.
KBO teams can each sign a maximum three foreign players, with no more than two pitchers. The Tigers earlier re-signed outfielder Socrates Brito but did not bring back either of the two foreign pitchers that finished the 2023 season with them, Thomas Pannone and Mario Sanchez.
In this Getty Images file photo from April 17, 2023, Wil Crowe of the Pittsburgh Pirates pitches against the Colorado Rockies during a Major League Baseball regular season game at Coors Field in Denver. (Yonhap)
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