The LG Twins of the Korea Baseball Organization are bringing back a right-hander Elieser Hernández and first baseman Austin Dean in 2025. Per Jeeho Yoo of Yonhap News (X link), Hernández will make $1.3MM while Dean will get $1.7MM.
Hernández, 30 in May, was a reliever for the Twins during the season. Once a versatile building block with the Marlins, he missed significant time due to injury, including the entire 2023 season. He returned in 2024 for limited appearances with the Dodgers and Brewers before heading overseas to join the Twins in late July.
He went on to pitch 47 innings in 11 games, including nine starts. He allowed 4.02 earned runs per nine innings with a 28.2% strikeout rate, 8.2% walk rate and 51.2% ground ball rate. Yoo added that Hernandez also threw 11 scoreless innings in the postseason. The team clearly likes what they saw and will bring Hernández back for another season.
For Dean, 31, this will be his third season as a Twin. He played five MLB seasons from 2018 to 2022 but never had more than a part-time role. He got a regular gig in Korea and has been making the most of it. He hit 23 runs last year and hit .313/.376/.515, and followed that up with 32 runs and a .319/.384/.573 line in 2024.
MLB’s minimum salary will be $760K next year, so both players have elevated themselves to a higher level of earning power, and possibly more job security. The twins also signed the one on the right Yonny Chirinos this week, so this fills their quota for foreign-born players. Each KBO team is allowed three such players, with a maximum of two pitchers.
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