SEOUL, Dec. 12 (Yonhap) — The Kiwoom Heroes announced Monday they have reunited with former major league All-Star Addison Russell, while also bringing back pitcher Eric Jokisch for his fifth season in South Korea.
Russell previously played for the Heroes for parts of the 2020 season, as a midseason replacement for Taylor Motter. The 2016 National League (NL) All-Star for the Chicago Cubs batted only .254/.317/.336 with two home runs and 31 RBIs in 65 games, and the Heroes did not retain him after that year.
Unable to chart a path back to the majors, Russell, 28, spent the past two seasons playing in Mexico and the Dominican Republic. He had 24 home runs and a 1.120 on-base plus slugging (OPS) for the Acereros de Monclova in Mexico this past season.
Russell will replace another former NL All-Star, Yasiel Puig, who is gone after one season in the Korea Baseball Organization (KBO). The Heroes decided not to bring back Puig amid the Cuban player’s legal issues over illegal gambling charges.
Russell had arrived in the KBO in the summer of 2020 under the cloud of his own legal trouble, having served a 40-game ban in the majors for domestic violence charges.
Jokisch has been the Seoul-based club’s ace since first joining them in 2019. He has compiled a 51-33 record with a 2.71 ERA in that span. From 2019 to 2022, Jokisch ranks first in ERA, third in wins, second in innings pitched (707 2/3) and third in strikeouts (541) among all KBO pitchers.
The Heroes, who had earlier signed new right-hander Ariel Jurado to replace Tyler Eppler, have now completed their foreign player signings for 2023. KBO teams can each sign up to three foreign players, with a maximum of two pitchers.
The Heroes lost to the SSG Landers in six games in this year’s Korean Series.