SEOUL, The NC Dinos have made a lucrative offer to keep American right-hander Erick Fedde following his most valuable player (MVP) season in South Korea, their general manager (GM) Lim Sun-nam said.
Lim told Yonhap News Agency on Tuesday evening that the Dinos had sent to Fedde “the best offer we could have made within the rules” of the Korea Baseball Organization (KBO).
Lim made the remark some 24 hours after Fedde was named the MVP of the 2023 regular season, following his historic debut season in the KBO. Fedde led the league with 20 wins, 209 strikeouts and a 2.00 ERA to become the first foreign pitcher to capture the pitching Triple Crown.
NC Dinos pitcher Erick Fedde poses with the trophy for the most valuable player award at the Korea Baseball Organization Awards ceremony in Seoul on Nov. 27, 2023.
“His camp told us they would think about the offer, and we asked them to make their decision, one way or another, as soon as possible,” the GM added. “Under the current rules, teams can sign foreign players to multiyear contracts beginning in their second season. But we didn’t make a preposterously long offer.”
Fedde, represented by the uber-agent Scott Boras, made US$1 million in 2023, the maximum amount allowed for any first-year foreign player. And the return on that investment was huge, as Fedde won the MVP award in a landslide, garnering 102 out of 111 votes from the media.
After receiving his MVP trophy Monday, Fedde said there are “so many unknowns” ahead of him this offseason and added: “I have a great agent. They’re going to work it out, and I’m excited to see what happens. I’m going to try to do what’s best for me and my family for my career.”
KBO clubs can each sign up to three foreign players, but they can’t spend more than $4 million on the trio in their combined salary. However, if a team re-signs a foreign player, the cap increases by $100,000 for every extra year. In Fedde’s case, the Dinos would get that extra $100,000 if he decides to come back for his second season here. The LG Twins recently signed American pitcher Casey Kelly for his sixth season in the KBO, and because it will be Kelly’s fifth new contract after his initial deal back in 2019, the Twins had their foreign player salary cap go up by $500,000.
NC Dinos pitcher Erick Fedde kisses the trophy for the most valuable player award in the Korea Baseball Organization at the KBO Awards ceremony in Seoul on Nov. 27, 2023.
Fedde, a former starter for the Washington Nationals, is said to be drawing interest from teams in Major League Baseball (MLB) and Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB), the top Japanese competition. Two former KBO MVPs, Eric Thames and Josh Lindblom, returned to MLB after winning their big prizes in South Korea. And three others, Tyrone Woods, Daniel Rios and Mel Rojas Jr., landed in the NPB following their MVP campaigns in the KBO.
Prior to the 2022 season, the Dinos signed right-hander Drew Rucinski to a $2 million contract, then tied for the second-largest deal for a foreign player in the KBO. Fedde will likely command more money than that if he were to test the open market this winter.
Source: Yonhap News Agency