The KT Wiz announced their signing of former major league pitcher Matt Sauer for the 2026 season.
The Korea Baseball Organization (KBO) club said Sauer, 26, agreed to a one-year deal worth $950,000 — with $750,000 in salary and $200,000 in signing bonus.
The right-hander was a second round pick by the New York Yankees at the 2017 Major League Baseball (MLB) draft but made his big league debut with the Kansas City Royals in 2024.
He began the 2025 season with the Los Angeles Dodgers and pitched to a 6.37 ERA in 10 outings, including one start, with a 2-1 record over 29 2/3 innings.
In Triple-A this year, Sauer went 5-5 with a 5.86 ERA in 18 appearances, 17 of them coming in starts. The Dodgers released Sauer from his minor league contract on Tuesday.
According to Baseball Savant, Sauer had a six-pitch mix in MLB this year: four-seam fastball, cutter, slider, sinker, splitter and curveball. He averaged 94.2 miles per hour with his fastball.
Wiz general manager Na Do-hyun said the team will count on Sauer to be the new leader of the starting rotation, with his wealth of starting experience and deep arsenal of pitches.
In the KBO, teams can each sign a maximum two foreign-born pitchers, plus an additional player to fill the brand new Asian/Australian quota in 2026.
The Wiz started the 2025 season with Enmanuel De Jesus and William Cuevas as their two foreign pitchers, but replaced Cuevas with Patrick Murphy in July.
It wasn’t immediately clear which pitcher the Wiz will try to bring back for next year.