2 weeks Ago By [email protected](KoreaTimes)
Austin Dean plays during the game against the Samsung Lions at the Jamsil Baseball Stadium in Songpa District, Seoul, Oct. 19. Yonhap The LG Twins announced Thursday they will bring back first baseman Austin Dean and right-hander Elieser Hernandez.
Dean agreed to a new one-year deal worth up to $1.7 million, with a guaranteed salary of $1.2 million, a signing bonus of $300,000 and another $200,000 up for grabs in incentives.
In 2024, his second season in the Korea Baseball Organization (KBO), Dean led the league with a franchise-record 132 RBIs on a $1.3 million contract. Dean also put up a .
319/.384/.573 line with 99 runs scored, 32 doubles, 168 hits, 12 steals and 61 walks — all of them his new KBO career highs.
Dean also earned his first KBO Fielding Award at first base for his work with the glove. Hernandez signed for $1.3 million — $800,000 in salary, $300,000 in signing bonus and $200,000 in incentives.
Hernandez replaced veteran starter Casey Kelly in August this year and went 3-2 with a 4.02 ERA and a save in 11 outings during the regular season on a $440,000 deal. The Venezuelan pitcher thrived in the postseason, piecing together 11 shutout innings across two series.
He appeared in all five games of the first round against the KT Wiz and was named the series MVP after picking up two saves and a hold while striking out 10 in 7 1/3 innings. He made one appearance against the Samsung Lions in the next series and earned an 11-out save with five strikeouts in Game 3 of that round. These re-signings completed the foreign player setup for the Twins for 2025.
They signed former major league right-hander Yonny Chirinos on Wednesday to place left-hander Dietrich Enns. KBO teams are permitted three foreign players each, with no more than two pitchers. (Yonhap).
