For the second time this week, a former Red Sox pitcher elected to take his talents overseas for the 2024 season by signing with a team in the Korea Baseball Organization.
Just days after left-hander Kyle Hart joined the NC Dinos, the Samsung Lions announced on Friday that they signed right-hander Connor Seabold to a one-year contract. The deal comes with $900,000 in guaranteed money and an additional $100,000 in possible incentives.
Seabold, who turns 28 next month, spent the better part of four seasons in the Red Sox organization after coming over from the Phillies alongside fellow righty Nick Pivetta in the August 2020 trade that sent relievers Brandon Workman and Heath Hembree back to Philadelphia.
Added to the 40-man roster later that year, Seabold was regarded as one of Boston’s top pitching prospects and rotational depth options entering the 2021 season. The former third-round draft selection out of Cal State Fullerton debuted for the Red Sox that September, allowing two runs over three innings as part of a 9-8 win over the White Sox at Guaranteed Rate Field.
Seabold did not see any additional big-league action again until last June. He made three starts into the early summer before being sidelined with a right forearm extensor strain and optioned to Triple-A Worcester upon activation from the 15-day injured list in late July. He returned to the Red Sox’ rotation nearly two months later and surrendered nine runs (eight earned) in his final two outings (seven innings) of the year.
Carrying with him a 10.55 ERA in 21 1/3 innings in the majors, Seabold was designated for assignment by the Red Sox in January to accommodate the addition of veteran starter Corey Kluber. Five days after being removed from Boston’s 40-man roster, Seabold was traded to the Rockies for cash considerations.
In 27 appearances (13 starts) for Colorado this past season, Seabold struggled to a 7.52 ERA and 5.75 FIP with 67 strikeouts to 28 walks over 87 1/3 innings. Interestingly enough, one of his better performances of the year came against the Red Sox on June 12, when he struck out a season-high of six and walked only one across six frames of one-run ball at Fenway Park.
Ahead of the Rule 5 Draft earlier this month, the Rockies released Seabold to clear a spot on their 40-man roster for right-hander Anthony Molina, whom they plucked from the Rays. It remains to be seen if Seabold had drawn interest on the open market from other big-league clubs in the weeks since he was cut loose by Colorado, but the California native ultimately opted to go abroad to South Korea.
All told, Seabold owns a lifetime 8.12 ERA (5.96 FIP) with 86 strikeouts to 38 walks in 33 total appearances (19 starts) spanning 108 2/3 innings for his career at the major-league level. At the Triple-A level, he has produced a far more respectable 4.13 ERA with 177 strikeouts to 46 walks over 38 starts (172 inning) from 2021-2023.
Though a myriad of elbow and forearm injuries have all but hindered the likelihood of him being as a frontline starter in the big-leagues, Seabold could very well leverage his performance overseas into another opportunity with an MLB team at some point down the line.
In the more immediate future, Seabold joins infielder David MacKinnon as two of the three foreign players the Lions — and all KBO teams — are allowed to carry on their respective rosters. According to Jee-ho Yoo of South Korea’s Yonhap News Agency, the Daegu-based club is in talks to bring back righty David Buchanan, which would round out their foreign-born contingent heading into the 2024 season.
(Picture of Connor Seabold: Dylan Buell/Getty Images)