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Heroes sign all 4 foreign players for 2026 KBO season

Published: 16 Dec. 2025, 16:19

This image shows the club's four foreign-born players for the 2026 Korea Baseball Organization season. From left: pitcher Raul Alcantara, pitcher Nathan Wiles, outfielder Trenton Brooks and pitcher Yuto Kanakubo. [KIWOOM HEROES]

The Kiwoom Heroes announced their signings of all four foreign-born players for the 2026 season in Korean baseball Tuesday.

The Heroes will bring back right-handed starter Raul Alcantara for his second season with them while adding right-hander Nathan Wiles to their rotation.

Trenton Brooks will be their new foreign hitter, while Japanese pitcher Yuto Kanakubo will fill their Asian quota in 2026.

Starting in 2026, the KBO will allow each of the 10 clubs to sign either an Asian-born or an Australian-born player, in addition to their usual trio of players from outside the continent.

Alcantara, 33, agreed to a one-year deal worth up to $900,000 — with $700,000 in salary and up to $200,000 in incentives. Alcantara joined the Heroes in May this year as a midseason replacement and went 8-4 with a 3.27 ERA in 19 appearances.

The Heroes started the 2025 campaign with two foreign hitters, Yasiel Puig and Ruben Cardenas, and one foreign pitcher, Kenny Rosenberg — while all the other teams had two pitchers and one hitter from overseas. Alcantara took Puig's spot on the Heroes' roster.

This will be Alcantara's sixth season in the KBO. He previously pitched for the KT Wiz (2019) and the Doosan Bears (2020, 2023 and 2024).

Wiles signed for $910,000. The 27-year-old American made his major league debut with the Atlanta Braves this year but logged just one inning in one game, in which he was charged with three earned runs on four hits.

In Triple-A in the Braves system this year, Wiles went 6-8 with a 3.04 ERA in 25 appearances, including 19 starts. He has a four-pitch mix with a four-seam fastball, cutter, changeup and slider. With a career minor league walk rate of 2.1 per nine innings, the Heroes said Wiles will provide stability alongside Alcantara at the top of their rotation.

Brooks will earn $700,000 in salary and can make another $150,000 in incentives. The 30-year-old American, who throws and bats left, has 37 major league games under his belt, mostly recently playing in 25 games for the San Diego Padres in 2025.

He only batted .146 with one home run this year in the bigs but put up a solid .275/.388/.491 line with 15 home runs and 68 RBIs in 90 games in Triple-A in the Padres system.

The Heroes said Brooks can play first base and all three outfield positions. They described him as a hitter with good plate discipline and gap power.

Kanakubo signed for $100,000 in salary and $30,000 in incentives. The right-hander had been with the Tokyo Yakult Swallows in Japan's Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB) since 2020, posting a 4.31 ERA and a 5-4 record in 34 appearances.

The 26-year-old can reach 154 kph with his four-seam fastball, the Heroes said, and his experience in both starting and pitching out of the bullpen will add versatility to their staff next year.

The Heroes have finished last in the standings in each of the past three seasons.

Yonhap