SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — Daniel Mengden is set to pitch in South Korea next season after agreeing to a $725,000, one-year contract with the Kia Tigers.
The right-hander spent the past five seasons with the Oakland Athletics, going 17-20 with a 4.64 ERA in 48 starts and 12 relief appearances.
He was 0-1 with a 3.65 ERA in four games, including one start, during the pandemic-shortened 2020 season. Mengden struck out 10 and walked seven over 12 1/3 innings for the AL West champions after returning from surgery in February to shave a small spur off his pitching elbow.
Mengden, who turns 28 next February, gets a $300,000 signing bonus from the Kia Tigers and a $425,000 salary with the chance to earn $275,000 in bonuses.
The club announced the deal last Friday.
Mengden tested positive for the coronavirus last season and was quarantined at home in Houston in September. He was designated for assignment by the A’s later that month and sent outright to Triple-A Las Vegas. He became a free agent in October.
Mengden was a fourth-round draft pick by the Houston Astros in 2014 out of Texas A&M. He was traded to Oakland in a July 2015 deal for left-hander Scott Kazmir.
—
More AP sports: https://apnews.com/apf-sports and https://twitter.com/AP-Sports
