Hyeon-jong Yang ends negotiations with Kia Tigers to pursue MLB deal

South Korean left-hander Hyeon-jong Yang has ended negotiations with his previous KBO team, the Kia Tigers, and is committed to landing a major league contract, reports Jeeho Yoo of Yonhap News. The Tigers had reportedly made Yang, 33 in March, a multiyear offer to return, notes Yoo, but he’ll instead continue to pursue an MLB deal.

Yang’s agent In-gook Choi told Yoo earlier this month his client was only interested in a guaranteed major league contract, saying he “(wouldn’t) take a split deal.” That’s no longer the case, as Yoo reports Yang would now be open to any contract that guarantees him a 40-man roster spot, even if he’ll have to start the 2021 season in the minors.

Finding a spot on a team’s 40-man could still prove to be a tough task, as Yang is coming off a disappointing 2020. Last season, he pitched to a 4.70 ERA over 172.1 innings, a far cry from his brilliant 2.29 mark the season before. Perhaps more worrisome, Yang’s swing-and-miss and control seemingly both went in the wrong direction last season. The southpaw’s strikeout rate dropped over two percentage points (20 percent in 2020, down from 22.2 percent in 2019), while his walk rate nearly doubled (up to 8.6 percent in 2020 from 4.5 percent in 2019).

Last year’s numbers belie Yang’s much stronger career track record. In fourteen KBO seasons, all with the Tigers, Yang has compiled a 3.83 ERA with a 19.8 percent strikeout rate against a 9.4 percent walk rate.