Lions eye Lim after Cubs release

Chicago Cubs released pitcher Lim Chang-yong on Monday. Samsung Lions, Lim’s former team in Korea Baseball Organization, said it is considering adding him. / AP-Yonhap

By Kim Tong-hyung

Lim Chang-yong’s career in Major League Baseball (MLB) has proved to be short, but the 37-year-old pitcher is still an intriguing option for the best team in the Korea Baseball Organization (KBO).

The Samsung Lions, who won the last three Korean Series titles, said they will be willing to add Lim, who pitched for the Lions for nine seasons until 2007, if he decides to resume his career in Korean professional baseball.

Lim earlier in the day was released by the MLB’s Chicago Cubs. He appeared in six games for the Cubs last season and posted a 5.40 earned run average (ERA) over five innings.

``We will ask Lim first if he wants to come back to the Lions. He is a pitcher who has a 150-kilometer fastball. Of course we want him back,’’ said a Lions club official, a sentiment supported by manager Ryu Joong-il, who said Lim would be an asset to his bullpen.

Ryu has been trying to add more pitching depth to his team after losing his former closer Oh Seung-hwan to the Japanese league’s Hanshin Tigers in the offseason.

Lim, who debuted with the Haitai (now Kia) Tigers in 1995, was considered one of the top pitchers in the KBO throughout his 13-year career in Korea. He led the league in saves three different times and won 17 games as a starter for the Lions in 2002.

Lim’s fastball is considered one of the best pitches ever to be thrown in the KBO as he’s got good velocity and movement on the ball delivered from his unorthodox side-arm angle.

After leaving the Lions in 2007, Lim spent five seasons with the Yakult Swallows of Japan’s Nippon Professional Baseball and was one of the league’s top closers. However, he has not been able to leverage his success in Korea and Japan in the majors.