ST. LOUIS — The Cardinals have officially signed lefthanded pitcher Kwang-hyun Kim to a two year contract.
The deal for Kim is the first notable move by the club this offseason.
Kim has a 3.27 ERA in 12 seasons in the KBO 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.
Kim is 31 years old, has already had Tommy John surgery and has pitched in the KBO for 12 seasons.
The Cardinals recently had some success with signing a pitcher 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.
Kim will wear number 33 for the Cardinals in 2020.
"When you think about our needs, especially on the left side, it made sense to do this," John Mozeliak said during the introductory press conference for Kim. "We felt like having somebody, especially from that left side that could start, had a lot of value for us."
"It is a very big honor to join the Cardinals," Kim said through an interpreter. "He said every single step he feels the big history (in the stadium)."