Hanwha Eagles re-sign pitcher Sanchez

Hanwha Eagles pitcher Ricardo Sanchez / Courtesy of Hanwha Eagles

The Hanwha Eagles announced Tuesday they will bring back pitcher Ricardo Sanchez for his second season in South Korea.

The Korea Baseball Organization (KBO) team said Sanchez signed a new one-year deal worth up to $750,000. He will make $500,000 in salary and $100,000 in signing bonus, with another $150,000 up for grabs in incentives.

Sanchez, who hails from Venezuela, made $400,000 this past season, as a replacement for Burch Smith in late April.

In 24 starts, Sanchez went 7-8 with a 3.79 ERA across 126 innings. He struck out 99 and walked 28, ranking eighth overall in strikeout-to-walk ratio among all pitchers who tossed at least 100 innings.

With the Sanchez signing, the Eagles have filled their three foreign player spots for 2024. They had earlier re-signed pitcher Felix Pena and newly acquired hitter Yonathan Perlaza.

KBO teams can each sign a maximum three foreign players, with no more than two pitchers.

As of Tuesday, seven of the KBO's 10 clubs have completed their foreign player signings for the new season.

The NC Dinos are missing a position player, while the Samsung Lions are in talks to bring back staff ace David Buchanan as the final piece of their rotation puzzle.

The Kia Tigers have only signed outfielder Socrates Brito for his third season here and are looking for two new foreign pitchers. (Yonhap)