Infielder Patrick Wisdom has reached an agreement with the Kia Tigers of the Korea Baseball Organization, as noted by Jeeho Yoo of Yonhap News. Yoo notes that the deal is currently pending a physical. The Naranjeros de Hermosillo, for whom Wisdom had been playing in the Mexican Pacific Winter League, announced earlier today that they’ve removed Wisdom from their roster in deference to the wishes of his new club after the sides agreed to a deal.
Wisdom, 33, was a first-round pick by St. Louis back in 2012 but but didn’t make his big league debut until 2018. After making it into just 43 games across three seasons in the majors with the Cardinals, Rangers, and Cubs, he settled into a regular role with Chicago during the 2021 season. As a 29-year-old rookie that year, Wisdom took over the everyday third base job from outgoing star Kris Bryant and performed admirably in the role. He hit .231/.305/.518 (117 wRC+) despite an eye-popping 40.8% strikeout rate thanks to 28 homers in just 375 trips to the plate and earned himself a fourth-place finish in NL Rookie of the Year voting.
That success Wisdom found in his rookie season suggested he might have a future in the majors if he managed to cut down on the strikeouts a bit, and he did that over the next two seasons. In 2022 and ’23, Wisdom hit a combined .206/.295/.453 (108 wRC+) with a 35.2% strikeout rate and 48 homers in 836 trips to the plate. By the end of the 2023 season, Wisdom had generally ceded his everyday role in the lineup to a combination of Nick Madrigal, Christopher Morel, and deadline addition Jeimer Candelario, and he headed into the 2024 season projecting as a bench bat for Chicago.
His time on the bench with the Cubs did not go especially well, as Wisdom posted his worst season since getting an extended look in the majors back in 2021. He stepped up to the plate 174 times in 75 games with Chicago this year and hit just .171/.237/.392 (75 wRC+). While his strikeout rate ticked down to “just” 33.9%, Wisdom struggled to generate his trademark power with just eight home runs this year, and his walk rate suffered as he took a free base just 5.7% of the time. That steep decline in production in conjunction with Wisdom’s ever-shrinking role on the team led the Cubs to non-tender him last month, at which point he joined the free agent market.
Now, it appears he’ll head overseas to test his abilities in KBO league play, which is notoriously devoid of high-end power hitters. Former big league Matt Davidson led the league with 46 home runs last year and sported a high-power, strikeout-heavy profile similar to Wisdom during his time in the majors, so it’s certainly within the realm of possibility that Wisdom winds up doing quite well for himself as part of a Tigers offense that already led the KBO league in slugging percentage this past season.
Didn’t realize he was that old tbh
Not old enough for another MLb team to take a chance on him. Curious why his is going to the KBO this quickly?
To get consistent at bats. One good season the might get him a guaranteed contract next season.
Maybe because he can’t hit MLB pitching?
KBO probably pays better at this point in his career.
Oh Shoot! I wanted Wisdom back in Seattle for third base. I will ask Uncle Mike if Miles Mastrobuoni is a suitable replacement. Mariners might be able to afford him.
Not if you expect anything with the bat. Fine defender as a plug-in, but cannot hit to save his life.
He has 88 more big league hone runs than you do
His OPS+ is over 100 which means he was better than average.
Mastrobuoni can’t hit his weight anywhere. In Seattle he couldn’t hit water if he fell out of a boat. Pop Quiz: Mastrobuoni is a suitable replacement for…………Absolutely nothing comes to mind.
Mastrobuoni will take over for his tepid bat. At least with Wisdom you got pop. Miles just sucks, must have dirt on Hoyer.
If Bellinger isn’t traded he plays 1B with Busch sliding over to 3B. Mastrobuoni is a bench player if he even makes the team
Busch at 3B would be hilarious to watch. No way in hell they do that.
Matt Shaw is the Cubs 3B for the next decade
Don’t tell that to ‘rememberthecoop’, he’ll be very disappointed to hear that. I guess ‘coop’ must think the Dodgers made a big mistake by not playing Busch, there.
I know Busch will improve if left at 1B. Can he become a 30-100 guy? Possibly. Will Shaw be that guy? No. Could Cam Smith have become that guy? Absolutely. The Cubs INF could have been in 2026, Smith-Swanson-Shaw-Bush. Another dream out the window. Sigh
If Bush and Shaw can provide 20 hrs, 75 rbi an average of 270-280 and play solid defense I’ll take it. Maybe the live ball comes back then those power numbers can be padded a bit.
Mastrobuoni needs to join Wisdom in Korea when he’s finally DFA’d
Korea is too close. Does New Zealand have a baseball league? That might be far enough.
Miles is decently athletic so maybe he can pick up football in new Zealand. Or to the layman’s “soccer”
Looking forward to not seeing him on Dancing With The Stars.
Why would the Mariners want to get worse? They’re cheap, not stupid.
IDK what the KBO home run record is but this dude might break it.
56 for a single season. Lee Seung-Yeop 2003.
I was thinking the same thing about the KBO strikeout record.
He’ll pull a Matt Davidson and drop 40 tanks and hit .320.
KBO is basically AA/AAA caliber so yeah, Wisdom could probably dominate.
South Korea makes poor cars. But they make good looking girls.
My Hyundai Ioniq 6 puts my 2020 Tesla S “long range” AWD to shame for half the price. A much better quality car and the actual range is close. Tesla far oversold what the range actually is.
My wife traded in her 2021 Lexus GX460 on a 2025 Genesis GV80 a few months ago and loves it. Its also a Korean car.
We will see how she likes it compared to the 2022 Porsche Cayenne S she has parked in the garage in Scottsdale when we get there after Christmas.
To be fair, a 300 dollar $h1tbox that can’t even turn on is better than a tesla.
I can’t say for sure about South Korean vehicles. But the South Korean woman are absolutely wonderful. Very beautiful, caring and loyal. They helped make my 22 years active in the US Military a pleasant experience.
So happy for him. He will probably rake over there.
One of the best Cubs.
Seems like a wise choice.
He’ll do good over there. Didn’t quite have the eye for major league pitching, but he had some good moments with the Cubbies.
Go mash over there Wizzy
This is probably a perfect fit for him
Correction, Wisdom signed a lease for a Kia Sportage
Things could be a lot worse: rather than thrive in the land of sunbeams, puppies, gummy bears and Kpop, he could be spending the next year in Detroit, the land of permanent 70s fashion.
P Wizzy will always be a memorable Cub. In fact he has the cubs home run rookie record when he broke Kris Bryant’s 26 by hitting 28 in 2021
The most dreaded sound at Wrigley Field….PA announcer now batting Patrick Wisdom when Counsel would use him as a late inning pinch hitter
Cubs kept forcing a guy into their lineup that had to go to Korea for his next opportunity.
Good luck, Patrick! You seemed like a genuinely nice person. I wish you the best.
This Dude had many clutch at bats. Thanks Mr. Wisdom. Since that COVID year to 2024.
Patrick Wisdom was a good Cub in some lean years. I will miss him and I’m sure his teammates will too. He was great off the field in the community.
Patrick is a good dude, a better human, and just the kind of teammate any MLB team likes to have in the clubhouse. That said, it was time for him to go. If in a couple of years, the Cubs bring him, and Mike Tauchman back as coaches, I’ll be ok with those moves. In the meantime, good luck in Korea P-Wizzy, make bank and maybe you’ll get a last shot in The Show!