Seoul: The defending South Korean baseball champions, LG Twins, have made a strategic move to bolster their rotation by acquiring former major league starter Carlos Carrasco. The 39-year-old, once a contender for the Cy Young Award, is set to join the team for the remainder of the Korea Baseball Organization (KBO) season with a contract valued at US$360,000.
According to Yonhap News Agency, this acquisition follows the Twins' decision to release reliever Yacksel Rios. The team opted to replace Rios, known for his impressive fastball velocity, with Carrasco, a veteran starter who boasts 112 career wins in Major League Baseball (MLB). Carrasco's tenure in the MLB spans 17 years across four clubs, with his most recent engagements being with the Atlanta Braves in 2025 and 2026.
Carrasco's career highlights include his stellar performance with the Cleveland Indians (now Guardians) between 2015 and 2018, where he achieved a record of 60-36 with a 3.40 ERA in 119 appearances. During this period, he amassed 823 strikeouts over 722 innings. In 2018, Carrasco finished fourth in the American League Cy Young voting, leading the league with 18 wins, ranking fifth in strikeouts with 226, and holding a sixth-place ERA of 3.29.
This year, Carrasco's MLB appearances were limited to eight relief outings, during which he recorded a 5.94 ERA and no wins or losses. In Triple-A, however, he demonstrated effectiveness with a 2-1 record and a 2.55 ERA across eight games, including six as a starter. The Twins anticipate that Carrasco's wealth of experience and consistent command of his pitches will facilitate a swift adjustment to the KBO.
KBO regulations permit teams to sign a maximum of two foreign pitchers, alongside an additional pitcher from Japan, Taiwan, or Australia as their Asian quota player. The Twins had initially begun their title defense by retaining foreign starters Yonny Chirinos and Anders Tolhurst from the previous season and acquiring Australian left-hander Lachlan Wells as their Asian quota player. However, Chirinos was released in June due to elbow issues, prompting the signing of Rios to fortify the bullpen.
The Twins have recently encountered challenges with their bullpen, culminating in a six-game losing streak. By releasing Rios, who maintained a commendable 3.63 ERA with 17 strikeouts over 17 1/3 innings, and signing Carrasco, the Twins are taking a calculated risk to rejuvenate their lineup. Rios had the distinction of possessing the highest average fastball velocity in the KBO at 157.2 kilometers per hour. The Twins now hope that Carrasco, despite being four years removed from his last notable MLB season, will bring stability and experience to the team as they aim to reverse their fortunes.