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KBO welcomes back 16 foreign players as all clubs fill designated slots

Published: 01 Jan. 2026, 14:27

Doosan Bears starting pitcher Chris Flexen delivers a pitch during a KBO League game against the NC Dinos at Jamsil Baseball Stadium in Seoul on Sept. 16, 2020. [YONHAP]

All 10 KBO teams have completed contracts with the 30 foreign players who will be part of their rosters for next season. Every club filled its three foreign-player slots with two pitchers and one position player.

For the 2026 season, “old faces” with prior KBO experience number 16, more than half of the total. Among them, 14 played in Korea this year and re-signed with their teams, while two are returning to the league after time away. Outfielder Jonathan Peraza of the Hanwha Eagles is back after one year, while pitcher Chris Flexen of the Doosan Bears returns after five years.

Hitters, who generally need more time than pitchers to adjust to the league, show a higher retention rate. Austin Dean of the LG Twins, Guillermo Heredia of the SSG Landers, Lewin Diaz of the Samsung Lions, Matthew Davidson of the NC Dinos and Victor Reyes of the Lotte Giants have all successfully re-signed at least twice.

Among them, Austin will play his fifth season in Korea, while Heredia enters his fourth. The Twins are the only team to re-sign all three foreign players. Along with Austin, pitchers Anders Tolhurst and Yonny Chirinos will remain with the Twins next season.

The Eagles, by contrast, replaced all three. It was not due to dissatisfaction but rather because they performed too well. The one-two punch of Cody Ponce, now with the Toronto Blue Jays, and Ryan Weiss, now with the Houston Astros, who combined for 33 wins, both departed for MLB. Their spots will be filled by Wilkel Hernandez and Owen White.

Jonathan Peraza of Hanwha Eagles [HANWHA EAGLES]

The third-place Landers also had to replace one pitcher after ace Andrew Anderson signed with the Detroit Tigers. Drew VerHagen will don an SSG uniform and pair with incumbent pitcher Mitch White. The KT Wiz, which failed to reach the postseason for the first time in six seasons, also overhauled all three foreign-player slots.

Among the 14 new faces, eight players signed contracts that hit the league’s $1 million cap for new foreign players: Eagles pitcher White, Lions pitcher Matt Manning, the Wiz's Caleb Boushley and Sam Hilliard, Giants pitchers Elvin Rodriguez and Jeremy Beasley, Tigers outfielder Harold Castro and Bears outfielder Daz Cameron. Five are pitchers and three are hitters.

The Giants, which have missed the postseason for eight straight years, parted ways with both foreign pitchers and brought in a $1 million duo to anchor its rotation. The only teams to retain both foreign pitchers are the Twins as well as the Tigers, which kept James Naile and Adam Oller.

This article was originally written in Korean and translated by a bilingual reporter with the help of generative AI tools. It was then edited by a native English-speaking editor. All AI-assisted translations are reviewed and refined by our newsroom.
BY BAE YOUNG-EUN [[email protected]]