The Samsung Lions replaced a foreign hitter.
Samsung announced on the 15th that it signed infielder David McKinnon for a total of $1 million, including a down payment of $100,000 and an annual salary of $900,000.
McKinnon, born in 1994, is a right-handed hitter with a sluggish physique of 188 centimeters tall and 90 kilograms.
He mainly played in the U.S. minor leagues and had a batting average of 0.140 and six RBIs in 22 games for two big league teams last year.
Triple-A in the minor leagues has a batting average of 0.318, 15 homers and 54 RBIs in 79 games.
In 2023, he played in 127 games for the Seibu Lions in the Japanese professional baseball league with a batting average of 0.259, 15 home runs and 50 RBIs.
"McKinnon is a player who can defend first and third bases and has a good batting eye and batting ability," the Samsung club said, adding, "He will be able to adapt quickly based on his Japanese baseball experience."
Samsung said goodbye to Jose Pirella, an existing foreign hitter who has been active since the 2021 season, when signing McKinnon.
Samsung is seeking to renew its contract with existing foreign pitcher David Buchanan, and Taylor Widener has been removed from the pending list.