Baseball’s NC Dinos have offered a multi-year contract to ace Eric Pedroia, 30, who won the Most Valuable Player (MVP) award in the 2023 season.
“After the award ceremony yesterday, we made the best offer we could to Pedi’s side,” NC general manager Lim Sun-nam told Yonhap News Agency on Monday, adding, “It’s the best deal we can make within the KBO league rules, including the salary cap.”
“They said they would think about it, and we asked them to decide as soon as possible,” he added.
“According to the foreign player contract rules, he can sign a multi-year contract from the second year,” he added, “but we did not make an offer with an unusually long time frame.”
NC signed Pedi last December for a total of $1 million, including a $200,000 signing bonus and $800,000 annual salary. It was the most they could offer a new foreign pitcher.
Pedi has exceeded expectations. He pitched in 30 games this season, posting a stellar 20-6 record with a 2.00 ERA to lead NC to the postseason.
He was overwhelmingly voted MVP at the KBO Awards ceremony on July 27.
NC made an early decision to re-sign him and offered him the best deal within KBO rules.
NC is expected to match or exceed the offer made to Drew Ruchinski, the highest-paid foreign player in KBO history.
NC signed Luchinski ahead of the 2022 season for a total of $2 million, including a $300,000 signing bonus, $1.6 million in salary, and $100,000 in incentives.
However, compared to Major League Baseball (MLB) or Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB), $2 million a year is not a lot of money.
Already, some Japanese clubs are eyeing Pedi. “The Orix Buffaloes are considering signing Pedi,” Japanese media outlet Nikkan Sports reported on March 28.
According to the KBO’s current foreign player contract system, each team can spend no more than $4 million on three foreign players per year, including salaries, options, and transfer fees.
However, the total amount may change slightly by increasing by $100,000 depending on the number of years the players are under contract.
From the second year, players can sign multi-year contracts, and there is no limit to the length of the contract. 메이저사이트