The LG Twins of the Korea Baseball Organization have signed a right-hander Yonny Chirinosby Dan Kurtz of MyKBO.net and Jiheon Pae (X link). It was previously reported by XSportsNews reporter Kim Geun-han and forwarded by Kurtz (X link). Righties will earn $1MM in 2025, in the form of a $200K signing bonus and $800K salary.
Chirinos, 31, was once seen as a versatile building block for the Rays. During the 2018 and 2019 seasons, he threw 223 innings, allowing a 3.71 earned run average. He struck out 21% of the batters he faced, walked just 5.9% of opponents and kept the ball in the ground at a 43.5% clip.
But elbow problems became an issue for a few years and he hasn’t been able to get back on track since. He played in only three major league games in 2020, requiring Tommy John surgery in August of that year. He missed the entire 2021 campaign while recovering. While trying to come back from that process, he suffered another elbow fracture. He wasn’t released from the IL until September of 2022, more than two years after going under the knife, making two appearances at the end of that season.
It has been two years since he returned to the stick but he could not return to his previous level. He has a 5.63 ERA in 115 innings over the last two major league seasons, with his strikeout rate just 15.3% over that span. He had to deal with a minor league deal with the Marlins through 2024 and was only on their roster for about a month from mid-June to mid-July.
Had Chirinos stayed in North America, he would surely have been limited to another minor league deal somewhere. Even if he had returned to the big league roster in 2025, he would likely have been salary-capped somewhere around the league minimum of $760K.
By heading overseas, you unlock more money and more job security. If he can make the most of his opportunity with the Twins, maybe he can play North American football again down the line.
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