Still, as baseball-starved fans hope for some ability to monitor those games, it seems worth a rundown of which former big leaguers will be suiting up in the KBO for fans around the world to follow — even if it’s in box scores and highlight clips only. Here’s a look at some names you might recognize in the 10-team league (with a hefty tip of the cap to the indispensable MyKBO.net and MyKBOstats.com)…

Doosan Bears (2019 record: 88-55-1)

• Jose Miguel Fernandez, 1B/DH: The 32-year-old Fernandez was a notable signing out of Cuba by the Dodgers but never got a look with his original club. He latched on with the 2018 Angels and appeared in 36 games before heading to the KBO, where he posted a massive .344/.409/.483 slash even in a year that saw a leaguewide decrease in offense.
• Raul Alcantara, RHP: Alcantara, 27, pitched with the Athletics in 2016-17. He notched a 4.01 ERA in 172 2/3 with the KT Wiz in Korea last season before inking a deal with the Bears this past winter.
• Chris Flexen, RHP: Flexen struggled with the Mets from 2017-19 before signing up for his first overseas stint this past season. He had some success with the Mets’ Triple-A club and averaged a strikeout per inning at that level.

SK Wyverns (88-55-1)

• Nick Kingham, RHP: The longtime Pirates top prospect never put it together in 131 2/3 big league innings, but he’s still just 28 years old. He’ll be an interesting name to monitor with regard to a future return.
• Ricardo Pinto, RHP: The 26-year-old spent time with the Phillies, Rays and Giants organizations but struggled in limited MLB time.
• Jamie Romak, 1B: The 33-year-old Romak only has 39 MLB plate appearances on his track record, but he’s become a consistent offensive force in the KBO, hitting .283/.376/.544 in three seasons with the Wyverns.

Kiwoom Heroes (86-57-1)

• ByungHo Park, 1B: Park’s big free-agent deal with the Minnesota Twins didn’t pan out, but he’s posted an OPS north of 1.000 since returning to the Heroes two seasons ago.
• Taylor Motter, INF/OF: The versatile 30-year-old didn’t hit much in 141 MLB games between the Rays, Mariners and Twins. He’ll hope for an overseas breakout in 2020.
• Jake Brigham, RHP: Brigham, 32, only got a brief look with the 2015 Braves, but he’s entering his fourth KBO season — his second with the Heroes. In a total of 501 1/3 KBO innings, he’s posted a 3.72 ERA with 7.2 K/9 against 2.2 BB/9.
• Eric Jokisch, LHP: An encouraging 2014 stint with the Cubs (three runs in 14 1/3 innings) never led to another MLB look for Jokisch, who bounced around the Triple-A circuit before turning in an impressive 3.13 ERA and 141-to-39 K/BB ratio in 181 1/3 frames in last year’s KBO debut.

LG Twins (79-64-1)

• Hyun-Soo Kim, OF: The former Oriole and Phillie returned to the KBO after a two-year MLB stint in 2016-17, signing a four-year, $10.7MM deal with LG. The “Hitting Machine,” as he was nicknamed in the KBO, posted an OPS north of 1.000 in his return and has largely picked up where he left off.
• Casey Kelly, RHP: The one-time star Red Sox prospect is now 30 years old and fresh off a 2.55 ERA, 6.3 K/9 and 2.0 BB/9 through 180 1/3 innings in his first KBO season.
• Tyler Wilson, RHP: Wilson, also 30, floundered through 145 innings with the Orioles before finding himself with the LG Twins, for whom he’s tossed 355 innings with a 2.99 ERA, 7.3 K/9 and 2.0 BB/9.
• Roberto Ramos, 1B: One of the few players on this list who never appeared in the Majors, the 25-year-old Ramos is a former Rockies prospect who signed on for his first season of Asian ball after hitting .309/.400/.580 in Triple-A last year.

NC Dinos (73-69-2)

• Aaron Altherr, OF: One of the more recognizable names on the list, Altherr at times looked like a budding star with the Phillies. He fizzled out after some notable injuries, though, and is will make his KBO debut at 29 this year.
• Mike Wright, RHP: Another former O’s hurler, Wright appeared in parts of five seasons with Baltimore. He had his share of success in Triple-A (3.76 ERA) but regularly struggled in the big leagues (6.00 ERA in 258 frames). He’s making his KBO debut this season as well.
• Drew Rucinski, RHP: The 31-year-old saw time with the Angels, Twins and most recently the Marlins (2018). He returns to the Dinos after pitching 177 2/3 frames of 3.05 ERA ball in 2019 (6.0 K/9, 2.3 BB/9).

KT Wiz (71-71-2)

• Odrisamer Despaigne, RHP: The 2020 season will be the first in the KBO for the 33-year-old Despaigne — a six-year MLB veteran who has tallied 363 innings in the big leagues.
• Jae-Gyun Hwang, 3B: The (San Francisco) Giants signed Hwang back in 2017 but never gave him a long look despite a memorable home run in his MLB debut. He’s a productive regular in the KBO once again, having signed a four-year, $7.9MM deal with the Wiz prior to the 2018 season.
• Mel Rojas Jr., OF: The 29-year-old Rojas never got a chance with the Pirates or Braves, and he’s now one of the KBO’s top hitters. In three seasons with the Wiz, Rojas has mashed at a .310/.377/.561 clip. He’s hit 30 homers in consecutive seasons.
• William Cuevas, RHP: Cuevas, 29, got a cup of coffee with both the Red Sox and Tigers before jumping to the KBO and posting a 3.62 ERA with 6.6 K/9 and 3.1 BB/9 in 184 innings last year.

Kia Tigers (62-80-2)

• Preston Tucker, OF: The former Astros prospect had a hot start with the ’18 Braves but faded quickly. He’s set for a second season with the Tigers after hitting .311/.381/.479 in last year’s debut effort.
• Aaron Brooks, RHP: Brooks, 30 next week, pitched for the A’s, Royals and O’s between 2014-19 but struggled to a 6.49 ERA in 179 2/3 innings. He’s set for his KBO debut.
• Drew Gagnon, RHP: A third-round pick of the Brewers in 2011, Gagnon saw MLB action with the Mets in 2018-19 but performed poorly. He had a bit 2019 season in Triple-A (2.33 ERA in 88 2/3 innings), which helped attract interest overseas.

Samsung Lions (60-83-1)

• Seunghwan Oh, RHP: Oh enjoyed a quality four-year run with the Cardinals, Blue Jays and Rockies before undergoing elbow surgery last summer and heading back to the Lions, for whom he starred for nine seasons as one of the best relievers in league history (a tenure that earned him his incredible “Final Boss” nickname).
• Tyler Saladino, INF: The former White Sox utilityman saw MLB time with the Brewers in 2018-19 and now heads to South Korea for the first time at 30 years of age.
• David Buchanan, RHP: Buchanan hasn’t pitched in the big leagues since a 2014-15 run with the Phillies. He’s spent the past three seasons with Japan’s Yakult Swallows, working to a 4.07 ERA in 433 innings — mostly working as a starter.
• Ben Lively, RHP: A prospect of some note for a bit with the Phillies, Lively had a solid MLB debut in ’17 but never further established himself. He gave the Lions 57 innings of 3.95 ERA ball after signing midseason in 2019.

Hanwha Eagles (58-86)

• Jared Hoying, OF: Hoying barely got a look with the Rangers in 2016-17, but he’s compiled a .296/.355/.519 slash in two seasons with the Eagles so far.
• Warwick Saupold, RHP: The Aussie hurler managed a 4.98 ERA in three seasons with the Tigers before taking his 80-grade name to the KBO. In last year’s 192-inning debut, he logged a 3.51 ERA.
• Chad Bell, LHP: Bell and Saupold were teammates with the Tigers. Both debuted in the KBO last year, and Bell’s 3.50 ERA is a near-identical match to his longtime teammate.

Lotte Giants (48-93-3)

• Dan Straily, RHP: The most accomplished pitcher on this list, Straily racked up 495 1/3 innings of 4.03 ERA ball with the Reds and Marlins from 2016-18 before his production fell off a cliff in 2019. He’ll hope to rebound on a one-year, $1MM deal with the Giants.
• Dae-ho Lee, 1B: The 37-year-old slugger came to the Majors for one season with the 2016 Mariners before returning to Korea on a four-year, $12.9MM contract that represented the largest deal in KBO history at the time. Lee’s bat faded in 2019, but he mashed 37 homers with a .987 OPS in 2018.
• Adrian Sampson, RHP: The 31-year-old comes to the Giants for his own KBO debut with a solid Triple-A track record but an ugly 5.71 ERA in 153 MLB innings.
• Dixon Machado, INF: Yet another former Tiger, Machado spent 2019 with the Cubs’ Triple-A club, where he hit .261/.371/.480 before agreeing to a deal with Lotte this winter.

Oh isn’t going to pitch again this year, as he’s set to undergo season-ending elbow surgery. The Rockies released Oh last month after finding out he’d need the procedure, and that parting of ways may go down as the 37-year-old’s final major league transaction. If it does, the right-hander will conclude his big league tenure with a 3.31 ERA, 10.05 K/9 against 2.23 BB/9, 45 holds and 42 saves in 225 2/3 innings divided among the Cardinals, Blue Jays and Rockies.

Oh signed with the Cardinals prior to the 2016 season after a resoundingly successful run in Asia. He pitched with Samsung from 2005-13, during which he saved a KBO-record 277 games, logged a sparkling 1.69 ERA in 510 1/3 innings and earned the nickname the “Final Boss.” Oh then had a highly productive two-year tenure with the Hanshin Tigers of Nippon Professional Baseball in Japan before he headed to the majors.

Now that he’s back with the Lions, Oh will have to overcome a couple obstacles before taking the mound again. Not only will he have to recover from his surgery, but Oh will be required to serve a 72-game suspension for a gambling conviction in Korea, according to Yoo. He’ll sit 42 games this season and the other 30 next year.

Reynolds’s second stint in Colorado will officially come to a close after a dreadful season in which he has managed an abysmal .170/.290/.311 slash line. While Reynolds has always been strikeout-prone, the problem has come to a head this season: the 35-year-old has struck out 57 times in 162 plate appearances. On the positive side, he has drawn 22 walks in that span, but that hasn’t translated to an above-average on-base percentage. In free agency, Reynolds could earn a minor-league contract with a team that hopes to tap into the power that allowed him to slug 30 home runs just two years ago.

Oh, meanwhile, was designated after undergoing season-ending elbow surgery. He had been playing out the final season of a two-year contract and was slated to reach free agency at season’s end. However, it’s far from a sure thing that he will play again in the Major Leagues. Oh has been rumored to be contemplating a return to the Korean Baseball Organization, where he pitched from 2005-2013. Now 37 years old, Oh has played four seasons in Major League Baseball and has pitched to a 3.31 ERA in 225 2/3 innings.

Oh recently underwent season-ending elbow surgery, so his subtraction from the 40-man roster is a formality. He’s in the final season of his contract and, in all likelihood, will be released in the coming days. Whether he opts for another season in the U.S. is entirely his call, but Oh recently turned 37 and reportedly contemplated returning to South Korea this past offseason.

The 32-year-old Alonso was released by the White Sox after a miserable half season in Chicago but quickly latched on with the Rockies. He’s raked at a .419/.500/.774 clip with two homers, three doubles and a triple in 38 plate appearances down in Albuquerque and will look to bounce back in hopes of securing a big league deal in free agency this winter. Alonso may only have batted .178/.275/.301 in 251 trips to the plate with the ChiSox, but he hit a combined .257/.340/.458 with the A’s, Mariners and Indians across the 2017-18 seasons.

This news wraps up a miserable campaign for Oh, who last pitched May 30. The 37-year-old took the mound 21 times for the Rockies this season and pitched to a hideous 9.33 ERA/6.70 FIP with 7.85 K/9, 2.95 BB/9 and a 37.9 percent groundball rate over 18 1/3 frames. It was a far cry from the Oh who dominated at times over the previous three seasons with the Cardinals, Blue Jays and Rockies. Even factoring in this year’s disastrous production, the Korean-born Oh has still recorded a 3.31 ERA/3.46 FIP with 10.05 K/9 against 2.23 BB/9 across 225 2/3 innings since emigrating from the Japan Central League in 2016.

Oh turned in excellent numbers last year between Toronto and Colorado and amassed enough appearances (73; he needed 70) for his $2.5MM club option to vest for this season. The Rockies were happy to welcome Oh back at such a reasonable salary, though he indicated last October that he wanted to return to the Korea Baseball Organization, where he pitched from 2005-13.

While Oh decided to honor the remainder of his contract with the Rockies, it’s now fair to wonder what the future holds for the hurler known as the “Final Boss.” As a soon-to-be free agent, Oh could return to his homeland to finish his career or simply retire. If Oh returns to the majors, it seems likely he’ll have to settle for a minor league deal on the heels of a nightmarish contract year.

Taking the active roster spot is lefty Phillip Diehl. His contract was selected to the 40-man roster.

Oh has not pitched since May 30th, making for quite a lengthy stretch of inactivity for a player on the active roster. He has struggled quite a bit to open the season, working to a 9.33 ERA in 18 1/3 innings with 7.9 K/9 and 2.9 K/9. Opposing hitters haven’t struggled to make good contact, with 29 total hits and six long balls.

Diehl, 24, came to the Rox in a pre-season swap with the Yankees. He has compiled 29 strikeouts against eight walks in 27 1/3 upper-minors frames this year. Diehl owns a 2.30 cumulative ERA, though that mark has risen a fair bit since he was promoted to Triple-A following 13 1/3 scoreless frames at Double-A.

“Our understanding is that he has every intention of honoring his contract,” said Bridich. He explains that Oh’s camp informed him that the righty’s “comments to the Korean media were not specifically about 2019,” so much as a general preference to pitch again in the KBO before wrapping up his playing career.

Certainly, that news comes as a relief for the Rox, who stand to control Oh for a reasonable $2.5MM salary. The 36-year-old thrived both before and after a mid-season trade sent him to Colorado from the Blue Jays. He ended the season with a 2.63 ERA over 68 1/3 innings, with a healthy combination of 79 strikeouts and 17 walks.

Despite exhibiting a velocity loss of a full tick on his average fastball, Oh managed to post a strong 14.7% swinging-strike rate. He increased the usage of a fourth pitch (a curve) that he used at the expense of his somewhat diminished heater.

Obviously, it’s always a good thing to have a useful ballplayer under contract at a price that lags his value. And there’s little question that Oh would earn more in free agency were he to return to the open market this fall.

But the need is even more acute for a Rockies organization that has poured money into its bullpen without achieving the desired results. Since the 2015-16 winter, the club has signed Wade Davis ($52MM total guarantee), Jake McGee ($27MM), Bryan Shaw ($27MM), Mike Dunn ($19MM), Greg Holland ($7MM guarantee, $14MM ultimate salary owing to incentives), Jason Motte ($10MM), and Chad Qualls ($6MM).

Overall, there’s little question that the club has not received the output it hoped for from this group. Several players — Davis, McGee, Shaw, and Dunn — remain under contract. While a bounceback or two may still not be too much to ask for, it’s critical that the organization get some cost-efficient, quality pieces in the mix. That’s particularly true given that the organization is already sitting with nearly as much cash on the books (around $130MM with arbitration eligibles included at their projected value) as it did to start the 2018 season (a club record of about $136MM).

“I am a bit exhausted after spending five seasons in Japan and the United States,” said Oh, who pitched for Japan’s Hanshin Tigers in 2014-15, the St. Louis Cardinals in 2016-17 and the Blue Jays and Rockies in 2018. “I feel like I want to return to the KBO while I still have the energy to help the team and pitch in front of home fans. I can’t make this decision alone. I’ll have to speak with my agency about the next season.”

It’s a surprising development for a player who is already under contract at a $2.5MM rate that is modest in the United States but would be a substantial salary in the KBO. Then again, the 36-year-old Oh was the KBO’s premier reliever for nine seasons (2005-13) and has had plenty of success in five years pitching between NPB and MLB, so his career earnings are already substantial. Money likely isn’t the primary motivating factor for him at this point. To that end, Oh acknowledged: “It’s not easy living in a foreign country. … Everything away from the stadium is an extension of competition.”

It’s not clear exactly how a move back to the KBO would come together. Yoo notes that Oh’s former club, the Samsung Lions, still controls his rights in the Korean league, though he quotes a Lions official indicating that he was not aware of Oh’s desire to return until learning of it through the media. That executive, though, said the Lions could “explore different possibilities” with Oh should he pursue a return to South Korea. Oh would also be facing a 72-game suspension after the Korean courts fined him for gambling in a foreign casino (a violation of South Korea’s strict gambling laws), which will likely factor into his decision process.

If Oh does ultimately head back to the KBO, it’d be an unexpected blow for a Rockies club that surrendered a pair of prospects — Forrest Wall and Chad Spanberger — when acquiring his services from the Blue Jays back in a late July trade. Presumably, the Rockies and Oh would come to an agreement that would void the remainder of his contract (as was the case with the Twins and ByungHo Park when he, too, decided to return to Korea), though perhaps some additional financial determinations (e.g. compensation from the Lions) would need to be discussed.

Oh was outstanding both in Toronto and Denver this season, pitching to a combined 2.63 ERA with 10.4 K/9, 2.2 BB/9 and 1.1 HR/9 in 68 1/3 innings of work. That strong bounceback season netted him $500K worth of incentives on top of his $1.75MM base salary and made his 2019 option look to be a considerable bargain for a Rockies bullpen that saw high-priced offseason acquisitions Bryan Shaw and Jake McGee both flounder in the first season of matching three-year, $27MM pacts. Beyond that, Colorado is also slated to lose standout late-inning reliever Adam Ottavino to free agency, making the potential loss of Oh an even greater problem.

While Oh now has more security, it seemed very likely that the Rockies would exercise their club option anyways given how well Oh has pitched both since coming to Denver (in a July trade from Toronto) and as a whole in 2018.  Oh has a 2.73 ERA, 10.23 K/9, and 75 strikeouts against just 17 walks over 66 total innings for the Rockies and Blue Jays.  It has been a very nice bounceback year for the veteran following a rather shaky, homer-prone 2017 campaign as a member of the Cardinals bullpen.  Oh hasn’t entirely rid himself of his home run issues (1.09 HR/9), and ERA predictors (3.44 FIP, 3.98 xFIP, 3.17 SIERA) are a bit more pessimistic about his performance this year, though overall, Oh has been a thoroughly solid contributor.

Oh’s presence has helped stabilize a Rockies bullpen that has been average at best this season, and disastrous at worst.  Colorado spent $106MM last winter on three-year contracts for Wade Davis, Jake McGee, and Bryan Shaw, only to see Davis have a down year by his high standards, and McGee and Shaw both post ERAs north of 6.00 (though Shaw has pitched better over the last couple of months).  The less-heralded trio of Oh, Adam Ottavino, and Scott Oberg have all pitched very well, however, allowing the Rockies to stay in the postseason race.  With so much money already committed to the bullpen, Colorado faces a tough decision this winter about Ottavino, who will be a free agent.

That swap has already paid dividends for the Rox, who have received 8 2/3 innings of 2.08 ERA ball from Oh. On the other side, the Jays had already welcomed youngsters Chad Spanberger and Forrest Wall into their system under the pact.

Baker becomes the third and final piece of the trade. Now 23, he came to the professional ranks as an 11th-round pick in the 2016 draft. Baker has worked as a reliever  for the past two seasons, so it seems likely he’ll be developed as a potential future bullpen asset.

Though he showed quite well in 2017, Baker has had some struggles this season. He has allowed a palatable tally of 19 earned runs through 45 innings, and compiled a healthy 11.6 K/9, but has seen a whopping 17 unearned runs cross the plate as well. There are obviously a variety contributing factors to that, but one of them is surely the fact that he’s exhibiting newfound command issues (6.8 BB/9).

YESTERDAY, 8:02PM: Another first base prospect, Sean Bouchard, is also heading to Toronto in the deal, as per Patrick Saunders of the Denver Post.

7:54PM: Minor league first baseman Chad Spanberger is expected to be heading to the Blue Jays as part of the trade, Sportsnet.ca’s Shi Davidi reports (Twitter link).  A sixth-round pick for Colorado in the 2017 draft, Spanberger is ranked 24th on MLB.com’s list of the top 30 Rockies prospects, with the scouting report noting Spanberger’s big power potential but also quite a few strikeouts.

7:22PM: The Rockies and Blue Jays have agreed to a trade that will see right-hander Seunghwan Oh join the Colorado bullpen, with The Athletic’s Robert Murray tweeting that the trade is “a done deal.”  Steve Phillips of MLB Network Radio on Sirius XM reported earlier today that an Oh trade was close to happening, with MLB.com’s Jon Paul Morosi later adding the news that Colorado was the team involved in the deal.

Oh’s stock was down in the offseason, following a somewhat rough 2017 campaign that saw him lose his closer’s job with the Cardinals and struggle with the long ball to the tune of a 1.5 HR/9 rate.  This led to Oh signing a low-cost one-year deal with the Blue Jays worth $1.75MM in guaranteed salary and a $2MM club option ($250K buyout) for the 2019 season.

That signing ended up being a nice bargain for the Jays, culminating in this flip of the 36-year-old for some prospect capital.  Oh has posted a 2.68 ERA, 10.5 K/9, and 5.50 K/BB rate over 47 innings for Toronto, looking far more like his “Final Boss” form from the 2016 season (his first year in Major League Baseball) than his less-impressive 2017 edition.  The advanced metrics have been pretty sold on Oh’s performance, as his .266 wOBA is nearly identical to his .264 xwOBA, and ERA predictors (3.03 FIP, 3.77 xFIP, 2.91 SIERA) mostly back up that impressive 2.66 real-world ERA.

He has also largely gotten over his home run issues, with only an 0.96 HR/9 and 8.2% homer rate this season.  This will be particularly important for Oh as he shifts to Coors Field, though he has managed to success in another hitter-friendly ballpark (Rogers Centre) despite just a 29.8% grounder rate.

While Oh should help the Rockies’ relief corps, the fact that the bullpen was such a pressing trade deadline need represents a misfire for the team.  Colorado spent $106MM total in three-year free agent pacts for Wade Davis, Bryan Shaw, and Jake McGee, only to see all three fail to live up to expectations.  Shaw and McGee have particularly struggled, leading for the Rox to seek out another arm to bridge the gap to Davis in the ninth inning.  Oh will join Adam Ottavino (the pen’s one bright spot) as the Rockies’ chief setup options.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images

5:46PM: The Blue Jays are closing in on a trade involving right-hander Seunghwan Oh, according to Steve Phillips of MLB Network Radio on Sirius XM (Twitter link).  The deal could be completed as soon as today.  An Oh deal could make a very busy day for the Jays on the transaction front, as the club is also reportedly close to an even bigger trade of southpaw J.A. Happ.

Oh has been outstanding in his first year in Toronto, with a 2.68 ERA, 10.5 K/9, and 5.5 K/BB rate over 47 innings out of the Jays’ bullpen.  It has been a thoroughly strong rebound season for the 36-year-old, as home run problems led to Oh posting a 4.10 ERA for the Cardinals in 2017.  This year, however, Oh’s homer rate has settled back down to a much more manageable 8.2%.

Virtually every contender is looking for bullpen help, so any number of teams could be checking in on Oh.  The veteran is owed only around $500K for the remainder of the season, and he is controllable in 2019 via a very affordable $2MM club option ($250K buyout).

Elsewhere in the American League…

• The Orioles could be looking at an extended absence for pitching prospect Chris Lee, who pitched to one batter on Tuesday before exiting with an injury. Manager Buck Showalter told reporters after the game that Lee suffered a right oblique strain and is set for an MRI on Wednesday morning (link via MASNsports.com’s Roch Kubatko). Oblique strains often sideline players for a month or more, depending on the severity, and Showalter didn’t sound optimistic of a quick return. “There’s a pretty good pattern of the days it takes,” said the manager. “That’s one injury that pretty much runs its course. It isn’t earlier and it isn’t later.” Kubatko also notes that right fielder Austin Hays, who has been bothered by some lat soreness and was switched from right field to DH shortly before today’s game, will have an MRI on Wednesday as well. Lee wasn’t considered likely to make the Opening Day rotation, though Hays certainly projects as a possible impact piece for the O’s early in the 2018 season.
• An issue with Seung-hwan Oh’s physical in Texas didn’t cause the Rangers to pull their offer entirely, writes Sportsnet’s Arden Zwelling, but the Rangers did change their offer to Oh after his examination. That prompted Oh to further explore the market, at which point he latched on with the Blue Jays on a one-year, $2MM deal with an option for the 2019 season. GM Ross Atkins didn’t express any concern over Oh’s medical status, per Zwelling. “We feel really good about our process and about the information that we had prior to Texas and after Texas coming out,” said Atkins. “Our due diligence suggests that with his emphasis on strength and conditioning, his emphasis on how he takes care of himself, that he should be able to help us.”

12:08pm: Oh has passed his physical, tweets Nicholson-Smith. The move, then, should be officially announced in the near future.

Feb. 25: The Blue Jays have agreed to sign right-hander Seung-hwan Oh, FanRag Sports’ Robert Murray reports (Twitter link).  The deal is a one-year contract that will guarantee Oh $2MM in 2018, Sportsnet.ca’s Ben Nicholson-Smith reports (Twitter links), plus there is a vesting option for 2019.  Oh is a client of Rosenhaus Sports Representation.

The contract is contingent on Oh passing a physical, which could still be a notable obstacle given that a deal between Oh and the Rangers fell through earlier this month.  The Rangers’ deal with Oh called for a $2.75MM guarantee, plus a $4.5MM club option (with a $250K buyout) for 2019.  As per Sung Min Kim of the Sporting News (via Twitter), however, Oh’s MRI revealed some inflammation in his throwing elbow that wasn’t considered serious enough to scuttle the deal altogether, though the Rangers tried three times to re-work the terms.  Oh’s representation didn’t want to re-open talks, and thus no contract was finalized.

Oh came to Major League Baseball in the 2015-16 offseason after 11 seasons as a top closer in both the Korean Baseball Organization and Nippon Professional Baseball.  He made an immediate impact on the Cardinals’ bullpen, posting a 1.92 ERA, 11.6 K/9, and 5.72 K/BB rate over 79 2/3 innings and taking over the Cards’ closer job.  Oh’s follow-up campaign, however, wasn’t nearly as successful, as his troubles with the home-run ball (1.5 HR/9) led to his removal from ninth-inning duty last summer.  Beyond just the increase in homers, Oh also saw his grounder rate (40% to 28.7%), strikeout rate (down to 8.19 K/9), and swinging strike percentage (18% to 12.9%) drop from his 2016 numbers, and he posted a 4.10 ERA over 59 1/3 IP.

While it was a tough year for Oh, his stats didn’t crater to the point that a turn-around isn’t out of the question, or that his problems weren’t due to a normal sophomore slump.  His hard-hit ball rate actually dropped from 2016 to 2017, for instance, even though his overall contact rates increased.  Moving to Rogers Centre and the AL East might not be much help to Oh’s home run issues, of course, and since he is 35 years old, there’s also the chance that Oh is simply starting to decline.

[Updated Blue Jays depth chart at Roster Resource]

Still, the reasonable $2MM price tag makes Oh a decent risk for a Jays team that was known to still be looking around for bullpen help.  Oh won’t be asked to be a “Final Boss” (his old KBO nickname) in Toronto with Roberto Osuna firmly holding down the closer’s job, though he’ll step right into the setup mix alongside Ryan Tepera and Danny Barnes (not to mention longer-shot non-roster invites like John Axford or Al Alburquerque).  Joe Biagini could also again step into a meaningful bullpen role, though the Jays are currently stretching the righty out as a starter in Triple-A to provide depth and occasional spot-start duty.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images

Feb. 17, 1:41pm: The Rangers have moved on from Oh, Wilson was among those to report (on Twitter).

Feb. 15: Rangers GM Jon Daniels told reporters today that there’s nothing imminent with Oh (Twitter link via Jeff Wilson of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram). Evan Grant of the Dallas Morning News tweets that it’s not clear yet if there was some sort of hangup with the contract.

It’s worth noting that the Giants reportedly made an offer to Oh as well before his reported agreement with Texas, so if talks between Oh and the Rangers have broken down, it’s possible that San Francisco could jump back into the mix.

Feb. 6: The Rangers have struck a deal with free agent reliever Seung-hwan Oh, according to Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic (via Twitter). If Oh passes his physical, he’ll stand to receive a $2.75MM guarantee, per Devan Fink of Beyond the Box Score (via Twitter). The deal also includes a $4.5MM option ($250K buyout) and $1MM in available incentives for the Rosenhaus Sports Representation client.

This makes for an interesting match given the open questions at the back of the Texas pen. Oh, a veteran Korean hurler, took over the closer’s role for the Cardinals during his debut MLB season of 2016. He opened the ensuing campaign with the same job after spinning 79 2/3 frames of 1.92 ERA ball, with 11.6 K/9 and 2.0 BB/9, but was not able to repeat his dominance.

In 2017, Oh wound up posting a 4.10 ERA in 59 1/3 innings. The fall-off was not only evident in the results; Oh’s peripherals suffered across the board. In particular, his swinging strike rate dropped from an outstanding 18.0% to a still-strong 12.9%, taking his strikeout rate down to 8.2 K/9. His home run rate nearly tripled to 1.52 per nine; his groundball rate plummeted to 28.7%; and he surrendered a batting average on balls in play (.319) nearly fifty points north of his 2016 level.

That said, there are some reasons to believe that Oh may have suffered some poor fortune. That BABIP jump came even as he induced more soft contact (15.3% in 2016 vs. 22.4% in 2017) at the expense of hard contact (34.2% vs. 28.1%). Statcast figures reflect that evident discord, with Oh’s .298 xwOBA coming in well shy of the .338 wOBA he actually surrendered. Interestingly, while hitters obviously had less trouble making contact, Oh got batters to chase outside the zone just as often in each of his two MLB seasons and his Brooks Baseball charts mostly show consistent movement on his pitches.

It’s tough to say what to expect. Regardless, given Oh’s background, it’s certainly fair to wonder whether the 35-year-old is slated to close for the Rangers. The team still employs several pitchers who have featured prominently in the late-inning mix in recent seasons, including righties Matt Bush and Keone Kela as well as lefties Alex Claudio and Jake Diekman. But Oh has fairly earned his memorable nickname, Final Boss, by closing down 396 total contests over his 13 seasons of action in the KBO, NPB, and MLB. He’ll likely at least have a shot at earning the closer’s nod in camp.

For the Rangers, this is the latest of many additions to the team’s pitching staff. As MLBTR’s 2017-18 Free Agent Tracker shows, the organization has steadily picked up arms throughout the winter. In addition to a variety of free agents, the club dealt for lefty Matt Moore. The Rangers’ updated depth chart lists six hurlers acquired this winter who currently project to make the Opening Day roster, with others (especially Bartolo Colon) potentially challenging for jobs in camp.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.