The Samsung Lions of the KBO League announced that they have re-signed the first baseman Levin Diaz and right-handed Denyi Reyesaccording to Dan Kurtz of MyKBO.net and Jiheon Pae (X Link). Díaz will receive a $100,000 signing bonus, $500,000 salary and $200,000 in incentives, while Reyes will receive a $200,000 signing bonus, $700,000 salary and $300,000 in incentives receives US dollars.
Díaz, now 28, was a very popular player during his time in North America, but was not given a longer chance in the big leagues. He began his major league career with the Marlins, but received limited appearances over the three years from 2020 to 2022.
After exhausting his options after this time, his place in the squad became increasingly weak and he was designated for assignment by the Fish. Before the 2023 season began, he was traded again to the Pirates, Orioles, Atlanta and Orioles via waivers or cash trades. The O's ultimately placed him on waivers and did not draft him again in 2023.
In general, Díaz has performed well everywhere except the majors. He hit .181/.227/.340 in his brief stints in the big leagues, but had a much better line of .258/.340/.479 at the Triple-A level during the 2021-2023 seasons. He is also considered a strong defender at first base, which made for an intriguing combination, which is probably why he continued to attract so much attention.
In 2024, he moved to the Mexican League and hit a massive .376/.452/.647 in 75 games. He then got a contract with the Lions in mid-August, posting a strong .282/.331/.518 line in 29 games in Korea, seemingly enough to convince the Lions to bring him back.
Reyes, now 28, was a similarly fringe player during his time in affiliated ball. He played three games for the 2022 Orioles and then played nine games for the 2023 Mets, posting a 6.26 earned-run average in his 27 1/3 innings.
He put up some interesting stats in the minors but fell victim to the long ball. From 2021 to 2023, he threw 209 1/3 innings on the farm with a strikeout rate of 21.4%, which was close to average, and a walk rate of 5.7%, which was quite high. But thanks to the fact that 47 balls left the court during that time, he had an ERA of 5.59.
Reyes signed with the Lions through 2024 and had a solid year after that, with the groundball-heavy league seeming to be a good fit for him. He logged 144 innings over 26 starts with a 3.81 ERA, 18.5% strikeout rate, 4.9% walk rate, 62.3% groundball rate and 15 home runs allowed. The Lions were apparently happy with this performance and will bring him back for 2025.
Both players are still relatively young and could look to return to the MLB in the future if they continue to perform well overseas as the players want Erick Fedde or Eric Thames have done. For now, they will secure decent money, close to the MLB minimum, which will be $760,000 next year.
