Landers sign ex-MLB pitcher VerHagen as ace Anderson returns to MLB
New SSG Landers pitcher Drew VerHagen signs his contract with the Korea Baseball Organization club, in this photo provided by the Landers Dec. 6. Yonhap
The SSG Landers announced their signing of ex-major league pitcher Drew VerHagen, Saturday, just as their former staff ace Drew Anderson reportedly went back to the big leagues.
The Landers said VerHagen, 35, agreed to a one-year deal worth up to $900,000 -- $750,000 in salary, $50,000 as a signing bonus and $100,000 in incentives.
The right-hander was selected in the fourth round of the 2012 Major League Baseball (MLB) draft by the Detroit Tigers and made his big league debut with the same club two years later.
He remained with the Tigers until the 2019 season before pitching for the Hokkaido Nippon-Ham Fighters in Japan's Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB) from 2020 to 2021.
VerHagen returned to the United States to pitch for the St. Louis Cardinals in 2022 and 2023, and then had his second tour of duty with the Fighters over the past two seasons.
In 206 career MLB games, including eight starts, VerHagen had an 18-12 record with a 4.98 ERA, plus 234 strikeouts and 115 walks in 281 2/3 innings.
He had a much different role in Triple-A, with 56 of his 76 outings there coming as a starter. He had a 20-20 record with a 3.98 ERA, along with 258 strikeouts and 103 walks in 323 1/3 innings in Triple-A.
Across four NPB seasons, VerHagen went 18-19 with a 3.68 ERA, 278 strikeouts and 78 walks in 283 1/3 frames.
In 2025, VerHagen pitched in more games for the Fighter's minor league affiliate (15) than their NPB club (six). He went 3-3 with a 6.08 ERA in those NPB games.
The Landers described VerHagen, listed at 198 centimeters, as an aggressive pitcher who can overpower hitters with his fastball and four quality secondary pitches: a slider, changeup, curveball and sweeper. They added the right-hander can touch 155 kph with his fastball and can maintain high velocity deep into games.
"We like his ability to command his pitches and pound the strike zone with precision," the Landers said. "He has the poise to work his way out of trouble, and that's a huge asset. Given his substantial MLB and NPB experience, we expect him to eat up a ton of innings in our starting rotation."
Teams in the Korea Baseball Organization (KBO) can sign a maximum two foreign-born pitchers and, starting in 2026, an additional pitcher from an Asian country or Australia. The Landers signed Japanese pitcher Shota Takeda as their Asian quota player in November, and VerHagen is essentially replacing Anderson, who has reportedly signed a one-year contract with the Tigers.
Reports out of Detroit, Friday (local time) said Anderson's deal was pending a physical.
Anderson, 31, was one of the most dominant starters in the KBO during his two seasons here after joining the Landers in the middle of the 2024 campaign. He had a combined ERA of 2.91 in 287 1/3 innings with a 23-10 record and 403 strikeouts -- the most in the KBO in that two-year stretch, 98 more than the next pitcher, former Hanwha Eagles ace Ryan Weiss, who has reportedly signed with the Houston Astros.
In 2025, Anderson finished second in the KBO with 245 strikeouts, also the second-highest total for a season in KBO history. The only pitcher to finish ahead of him, Cody Ponce of the Eagles with a league-record 252, signed with the Toronto Blue Jays earlier this week.
Anderson was with the Tigers in spring training in 2024 but only pitched in Triple-A before moving to the KBO. Prior to that, Anderson had spent two years with the Hiroshima Toyo Carp in the NPB, and logged 19 MLB games from 2017 to 2021 for the Philadelphia Phillies, Texas Rangers and Chicago White Sox -- with a brief stop in Australia thrown in between.
The other foreign-born pitcher for the Landers in 2025 was the half-Korean right-hander Mitch White, who went 11-4 with a 2.87 ERA in 24 starts.