This Star KBO Pitcher Could Be a Hidden Gem for the Salary-Restricted Twins

The year is 2018. (Not now, don't freak out. I'm setting a scene.) After posting four strong seasons in the Korea Baseball Organization (KBO), then-30-year-old right-handed starting pitcher Merrill Kelly has been rewarded for his efforts, signing a two-year, $5.5-million contract with the Arizona Diamondbacks. It's a leap of faith on both sides.

Six seasons later, Arizona and Kelly have reaped the benefits of this once trivial signing. Kelly has generated 12.8 Wins Above Replacement at Baseball Reference (rWAR), with a 3.82 ERA over 824 1/3 innings pitched for the club while also playing an integral role in guiding Arizona to a World Series appearance in 2023. Arizona rewarded him for his accomplishments along the way, signing him to a two-year, $18-million extension after the 2022 MLB season.

The year is 2023. (Again, figuratively.) Then-30-year-old right-handed starting pitcher Erick Fedde is looking to make the same transition, after generating an excellent 2.00 ERA season over 30 games started with KBO's NC Dinos. Several teams wooed the once-failed Washington Nationals starter, and he found a fairly lucrative landing spot, inking a two-year, $15-million contract with the Chicago White Sox. He excelled with the lowly White Sox, posting a 3.11 ERA and 108-to-34 strikeout-to-walk ratio over 121 2/3 innings pitched. His performance with the South Siders led to him getting shipped off to the St. Louis Cardinals at last season's trade deadline. He is now ensconced at the top of St. Louis's rotation, with playoff-hopeful franchises seeking a trade for the now-valuable mid-rotation arm.

The year is now 2025 (for real!), and 32-year-old left-handed starting pitcher Kyle Hart is trying to make the same jump. Like Kelly and Fedde, Hart was once also a failed MLB starter. He mustered a mere 11 innings pitched for the Boston Red Sox during the 2020 COVID-shortened 60-game season. Hart never made it back to the majors, but instead of fizzling out in the high minors, the soft-tossing southpaw decided (like Fedde) to join the KBO's NC Dinos. Hart excelled with the Dinos, posting a 2.69 ERA and a 28.8% strikeout rate over 26 starts, leading to him winning the Choi Dong-won Award (KBO's equivalent to the Cy Young Award) last season.

According to The Athletic's Will Sammon and Katie Woo, the Twins are among the teams most interested in signing Hart. In the article, Sammon and Woo noted that teams are mulling over signing Hart as a starting pitcher or multi-inning reliever due to concerns over his limited repertoire. Now, it is unclear which role Minnesota is interested in Hart fulfilling. Presumably, though, the number of teams vying for him means that Hart will land with someone who views him as a starter.

Despite being an exceedingly effective starter with the Dinos, there is merit to the idea of Hart becoming a reliever, evidenced by his performance trends last season. When looking at Hart's starts, there is a stark contrast in effectiveness as the game progresses. Here are his opponent's batting averages over the first five innings:

• First inning - .184
• Second inning - .232
• Third inning - .304
• Fourth inning - .157
• Fifth inning - .212

In terms of opponent average, Hart's second-best inning is the first. That's pretty typical, since starters are fresh in the first and opponents haven't gotten a long look at them. As illustrated, his performance dips in the second and third frames, even though the opponent's best hitters usually come up in the first. Again, Hart excelled as a starter in the KBO and deserves a chance as a fifth starter in the majors next season. However, if he were to join the Twins, he could be best suited usurping Funderburk and Headrick and being the club's sole left-handed reliever on the 26-man roster to begin the 2025 campaign.

Further evidence to support the claim Hart would be an effective left-handed reliever resides in his splits with the Dinos. Here is how he performed against same-handed and opposite-handed batters last season:

• Against left-handed batters - .193 AVG, 44 hits allowed, three home runs allowed, 77 strikeouts, seven walks
• Against right-handed batters - .229 AVG, 80 hits allowed, eight home runs allowed, 105 strikeouts, 31 walks

Hart excelled against lefties. Despite still performing well against right-handed batters, he struggled with control, evidenced by a much less impressive strikeout-to-walk ratio. Hart performs well against right-handed hitters, and with MLB's three-batter minimum, he would inevitably have to face right-handed hitters during appearances even in the pen. Still, there is reason to believe he could excel against same-handed batters, a phenomenon those who follow the team have grown accustomed to watching with the recently-departed Caleb Thielbar over the previous five seasons.

When discussing any potential Twins free-agent acquisition, one must note the ownership-imposed payroll limitations. Now, despite being roughly $12 million over the expected $130 million limit set for next season, the front office could still theoretically sign players before reaching the arbitrarily set limit. Hart could sign at any moment, meaning the team is unlikely to shed the $12 million necessary before the southpaw comes off the market. Still, with the Twins being genuinely interested in signing Hart, his price tag is projected not to be too substantial, meaning the club could sign him and still shed the money necessary to meet the ownership-imposed salary restrictions far before Spring Training begins.