Exploring the Cardinals' history of signing Korean and Japanese pitchers

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Recent rumors have indicated that the Cardinals are looking to the Asian leagues for bullpen help in 2024. Yuki Matsui, a thirty-year-old closer from Japan, and another mystery free agent (possibly Woo-suk Go) were in St. Louis for a meeting with the Cardinals. Either of these players would provide an immediate boost to a Cardinals' bullpen that blew forty-one saves in 2023.

While teams like the New York Mets, New York Yankees, Chicago Cubs, Texas Rangers, San Francisco Giants, Los Angeles Angels, and Seattle Mariners are most known for exploring players from Asia, the Cardinals also have a decent history of signing players from Korea and Japan. Perhaps the most famous of these players is So Taguchi. Taguchi was a fan favorite during his career, and he was one of the first Asian players the Cardinals signed for an extended period of time.

After Yoshinobu Yamamoto signed his record contract, it is more likely the Cardinals shy away from signing a starting pitcher and instead fill holes in the bullpen. Both Matsui and Go would provide strong support in the back end of the bullpen, and they would bolster Ryan Helsley, Giovanny Gallegos, and JoJo Romero.

The transition from either the NPB or the KBO is tough; the baseballs are different, the players are typically more talented here, and the cultural change alone would be challenging. Asian players will often see their stats slip a bit in their inaugural year in Major League Baseball.

I thought it would be wise to see how other pitchers from Asian leagues who have played for the Cardinals performed both in their careers in their former leagues and their inaugural season in the United States. While each pitcher is different, we can at least get an idea of what to expect should the Cardinals sign either Yuki Matsui or Woo-suk Go.

Seunghwan Oh

Seunghwan Oh played in the KBO for Samsung Lions for nine seasons. He then moved to the Japan Central League to play for the Hanshin Tigers for two seasons. After his eleven years in foreign leagues, the St. Louis Cardinals liked enough of what they saw that they extended him a one-year, $2.5 million contract with a club option for the second year that would keep him in St. Louis through the 2017 season.

During his time in both the KBO and JCL, Oh was primarily a closer. He averaged well over ten strikeouts per nine innings in those leagues, and he recorded a total of 357 saves in eleven seasons. Oh rarely pitched fewer than sixty innings in relief each season, and his ERA was below 2.00 in eight of his eleven seasons. He faced a suspension for gambling in 2010, limiting him to only fourteen innings that year.

When the Cardinals signed him, he was entering his age-thirty-three season. While he was a bit older than most free agents, he had plenty of great experience at the back of the bullpen. Oh's role was to be a setup man for Trevor Rosenthal at the time and to give rest to both Kevin Siegrist and Seth Maness.

Oh's first season in St. Louis was very strong. He pitched 79.2 innings (classic Matheny) with 19 saves, a 1.92 ERA, and 11.6 strikeouts per nine innings. Oh was exactly what the Cardinals needed out of the bullpen in 2016. His second season wasn't as strong; his ERA regressed to 4.10 in 59.1 innings. Perhaps Oh was worn out after pitching so many innings the season before, but his sophomore season in the majors wasn't as successful as his first. He went on to play for the Toronto Blue Jays.

Miles Mikolas

Miles Mikolas was initially drafted by the San Diego Padres in 2009, but he left Major League Baseball just six years later to play in Japan. He pitched in the Nippon Professional Baseball Organization for three years.

In his time in Japan, Mikolas pitched 424.2 innings with a 2.18 ERA, 0.994 WHIP, and he struck out eight batters per nine innings. He allowed a minuscule amount of hits and home runs, and his walk rates were very strong (1.5 BB/9). The Cardinals inked him to a two-year, $15.5 million contract after the 2017 season. He was in the rotation with Jack Flaherty, Luke Weaver, Carlos Martinez, Michael Wacha, and John Gant.

Mikolas's first season back in the United States was stellar. He finished the season with an 18-4 record. Mikolas pitched 200.2 innings with a 2.83 ERA, 1.071 WHIP, and he finished 6th in Cy Young voting. Miles had a complete game shutout against the Kansas City Royals on May 21st that year. He represented the Cardinals at the 2018 All-Star game as well.

While he has fallen a bit since his return to the United States, Mikolas didn't falter in his first year from Japan. His strikeout numbers dropped slightly, but he maintained a low home run and hit rate. He also led the league in walk rate that year. Mikolas has always been a workhorse, pitching in greater than 200 innings in three of his five seasons stateside (three of four if you remove the 2020 season). While he is much more prone to giving up hits now, Mikolas's transition from Japan to MLB was seamless.

Kwang Hyun Kim

Kwang Hyun Kim, more commonly known as "KK" to St. Louis fans, pitched twelve seasons in the Korean Baseball Organization before the Cardinals signed him in the 2019-2020 offseason. In order to make space for the left-handed starter, the Cardinals designated Adolis Garcia for assignment, a move that still haunts the team to this day.

At the time, St. Louis needed a left-handed starting pitcher to provide balance to a rotation that had Adam Wainwright, Jack Flaherty, Dakota Hudson, and Miles Mikolas. The team's reserve starters included Daniel Ponce de Leon and Johan Oviedo, both pitchers with minimal run in the majors. The hope was that Kim would provide not only depth but also raise the floor of the rotation.

Across Kim's twelve seasons in the KBO, he had an ERA in the low 3.00s, and he was coming off a season in which he pitched 190 innings with a 2.51 ERA when St. Louis signed him. Kim was thirty-one when St. Louis inked him to a two-year, $8 million contract that would keep him with the team through the 2021 season.

In his first season in St. Louis in 2020, Kim pitched thirty-nine innings (seven starts) with a 1.62 ERA, 3.88 FIP, and 1.026 WHIP. He had paltry strikeout numbers (5.5 K/9 innings), but he did a good job at limiting home runs and hits. Kim's second season in 2021 was also strong. He pitched 106.2 innings with a 7-7 record and a 3.46 ERA. His successful, albeit brief, stay in Major League Baseball launched him to a lucrative four-year, $12.3 million deal with the SSG Lancers in Korea.

Kim, despite the various complications with moving to the States, especially during COVID, pitched quite well during his time in St. Louis.

Aaron Brooks

Aaron Brooks worked his way up to the majors after being drafted in 2012. He made his major league debut in 2015 with the Kansas City Royals and subsequently played for the Oakland Athletics that same year. In 2020, Aaron Brooks decided to move to Korea and play for the Kia Tigers in the KBO. He played two years there as a starting pitcher.

Brooks pitched a total of 229 innings in the KBO between 2020 and 2021. The Tigers released him in 2021 after they found traces of marijuana in a vape pen that he owned. His release from the team aside, Aaron Brooks pitched quite well in Korea. He had an ERA below 3.00, didn't give up many home runs (0.4 home runs per nine innings), and finished his career overseas with a 14-9 record.

St. Louis signed Aaron Brooks to a minor league contract in late January of 2022. He didn't have the best strikeout numbers, but he was able to command his pitches and limit hits and walks in Korea. He did make the Opening Day roster, but he went on to pitch only 9.1 innings in five games. Brooks finished the season with a 7.71 ERA and was released from the team in October after spending time in Memphis.

Brooks is a good example of strong foreign statistics not translating to the majors. He even struggled in Memphis (5.56 ERA in 69.2 innings). He was never a strong player before he went to Korea, but St. Louis figured his command and control would translate back to the United States. That was not the case, though, and Brooks hasn't been back in the majors since his brief stint with St. Louis.

Drew VerHagen

Drew VerHagen started his career in the United States with the Detroit Tigers. He began his career as a starting pitcher, but he transitioned to the bullpen in 2015. Injuries and underperformance led to his demotion and eventual release. He then went to play in Japan and restarted his career.

St. Louis made the first signing after the MLB Lockout was lifted during the 2022 season when they gave Drew VerHagen a two-year, $5.5 million. He had spent the previous two seasons pitching in Japan for the Hokkaido Nippon Ham Fighters.

During his time in Japan, VerHagen pitched 217.1 innings to the tune of a 3.51 ERA. He struck out nearly 25% of the batters he faced, and his walk rate was better than the league average. VerHagen was a master at inducing ground balls, which is part of the reason why St. Louis signed him. Their Gold Glove defenders would help VerHagen readjust to baseball in the States, or so the Cardinals hoped.

VerHagen's final season in St. Louis was last year, and he is now a free agent. While with St. Louis, he pitched 82.2 innings with a decent 4.68 ERA. His walk rates skyrocketed in 2022 (13.7%) to go along with a 1.892 WHIP and 6.65 ERA. His first season back in the United States was uninspiring, but he did rebound slightly last year.

VerHagen's return from Japan started out rocky, but he wasn't terrible in the end. Should Yuki Matsui or Woo-suk Go perform similarly to VerHagen in their first years in Major League Baseball, fans would be disappointed; however, VerHagen's career for the Fighters wasn't as admirable as Matsui's or Go's.

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