ST. LOUIS — The Cardinals look to be closing in on their first significant move of the offseason.
Multiple outlets are reporting that the team is close to a deal with left-handed pitcher Kwang-hyun Kim, who had been pitching in the KBO league in Korea.
News of the Cardinals' connection to Kim was first reported by the Yonhap News Agency. MLB insiders Ken Rosenthal of Fox Sports and Jon Heyman of MLB Network have also confirmed that Kim and the Cardinals are working on a contract.
The Yonhap News also listed the Padres, Cubs and Mets as teams interested in acquiring Kim, who scouts say has a "filthy" slider.
Kim is 31 years old, has already had Tommy John surgery and has pitched in the KBO for 12 seasons.
He has a 3.27 ERA in 12 seasons in Korea with 1456 strikeouts in 1673.2 innings. Last season, Kim went 17-6 with a 2.51 ERA and 1.240 WHIP in 190.1 innings.
The Cardinals recently had some success with a pitcher signing from the Korean League. Reliever Seung-hwan Oh signed with the Cardinals ahead of the 2016 season, and had a 2.85 ERA in two years in St. Louis.