The Samsung Lions of the KBO League in South Korea announced that they have signed right-hander Chris Paddack. Ilyo Shinmun (Korean link) reported the transaction prior to the official announcement.
Paddack, 30, expands the scope of his journeyman season. He signed a $4MM deal to join the Marlins this offseason. He made seven appearances with that club before being designated for assignment and then released. He was scooped up by the Reds and made six appearances for that club before he was cut loose again. He signed with the Rangers and pitched in one game for them before being bumped off their roster.
Put together, Paddack logged 57 innings for those three clubs, with uninspiring results. He allowed 6.79 earned runs per nine. His 7.1% walk rate was better than average but he only struck out 15% of opponents.
His prospects have been trending down for a while. He posted an excellent rookie season with the Padres in 2019, pitching 140 2/3 innings with a 3.33 ERA, 26.9% strikeout rate an 5.5% walk rate. But over the next two seasons, his ERA hovered around 5.00 as his strikeout rate dipped to the low 20s. After a trade to the Twins, Tommy John surgery wiped out most of his 2022 and 2023. Since then, his ERA has continued to be around 5.00, or sometimes well above, as the strikeouts have vanished. He only punched out 16.7% of hitters last year before dropping to 15% this season.
Arms are always in demand but it’s possible that Paddack was limited to minor league offers since hitting the open market last week. Instead, he’ll opt for this overseas opportunity. That will come with a small financial boost for him. Signing with another MLB club wouldn’t give him any extra cash. The Marlins are still on the hook for the remainder of his $4MM salary. Other big league clubs can sign Paddack and only pay him the prorated league minimum. That amount is subtracted from what the Marlins pay and therefore doesn’t put any extra money in Paddack’s pocket.
By joining the Lions, he is presumably getting a few hundred thousand bucks. He is also potentially setting himself up for next year. Had he continued to bounce around MLB in 2026, he probably would have gone into 2027 on a minor league deal somewhere. But if he has a good few months with the Lions, perhaps that will lead to him re-signing with that club or another team in the KBO or perhaps another league like Japan’s Nippon Professional Baseball.
Photo courtesy of Rhona Wise, Imagn Images
