By Chris Brown / STL Baseball Today | @cbrown_STLBBT | Jan. 11, 2016, 12:25 pm CT
Oh pitching for the Hanshin Tigers in 2014
Updated 7:37 pm CT with reported contract details:
Still looking to improve the bullpen, GM John Mozeliak turned to the international market for his next offseason move.
After news of the impending deal first broke on Sunday, the Cardinals announced the signing of veteran Korean reliever Seung-hwan Oh to a one-year contract with a club option for 2017 at a press conference on Monday at Busch Stadium.
[VIDEO: Cards introduce Oh at press conference Monday]
Financial terms of the deal were not announced by the team, although a source told Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch that the total value of the contract, including the option, could reach around $5 million.
Oh, 33, established himself as an elite closer during his eleven-year career with in the Korean Baseball Association and Japan’s Central League, posting a 1.81 ERA, 0.85 WHIP, and 10.7 K/9 in 646 1/3 career innings while earning the nicknames “The Final Boss” (for his prowess as a closer) and “Stone Buddha” (for being unshaken and maintaining his composure on the mound).
Last season, in his second year with Japan’s Hanshin Tigers, Oh pitched to a 2.73 ERA over 69 1/3 innings while tallying 41 saves to bring his career mark to an impressive 357.
Unlike many other Asian players who’ve come to play Major League Baseball in the United States, Oh did not have to go through the posting process because his contract with Hanshin had expired, making him a free agent. Oh was thus free to sign with any team, and that team was not required to pay a posting fee.
Seung-hwan Oh is introduced by the Cardinals Monday
“We were going to spend some energy and some resources trying to get a better understanding of the Asian market,” Mozeliak told reporters, including Goold, at the press conference. “I think a lot has been made of Mr. Oh’s success and that is obvious one of the things that attracted us. A lot of people are speculating on how he’ll be used and what his role will be. We’re going to bring him into camp, it’s going to be a competitive camp, and having his arm and what he’s capable of doing competing for hopefully a late-inning role. As of today, and as of what I imagine for the season, Trevor Rosenthal will be our closer.”
Oh will join a promising Cardinals bullpen which is also expected to include Kevin Siegrist, Seth Maness, Jordan Walden, and Jonathon Broxton (who was signed to a two-year deal in December), among others.
Here is a video of Oh pitching for the Hanshin Tigers of Japan in 2014.
Oh will wear uniform No. 26, while manager Mike Matheny will go back to wearing No. 22.
More from STL Baseball Today:
Mozeliak addresses hack of Astros database, confident no other team employees will be charged
Feature image used under Creative Commons by user とらせん. No changes made. Image license.
Press conference image via KTVI Fox 2 on Twitter.
