Merrill Kelly (Arizona Diamondbacks) is a “wait-and-see” pitcher.
He spent four years in the KBO 먹튀검증 without any big league experience before being exported to Major League Baseball (MLB).
Arizona liked his consistency and signed him to a 2+2 year deal before the 2019 season. He earned $2 million and $3 million in 2019 and 2020, respectively, with a team option for 2021 and $5.25 million in the final year of the deal.
Kelly has been steady each year in Arizona, especially in his role as an “innings eater”.
Last year, Arizona signed him to a two-year, $18 million extension through 2024, with a $7 million club option for 2025.
Since then, Kelly has been on a Cy Young-caliber run this season. As of Aug. 12, he was 8-3 with a 2.92 ERA. He has won five straight starts. According to ESPN, Kelly is in second place for the Cy Young Award.
Meanwhile, Chris Flexen, another St. KBO reverse export success story, seems to have run out of gas.
A highly touted prospect, Flexen played for the New York Mets from 2017 to 2019, but struggled.
He tried his luck in the KBO in 2020. After one year, he signed a two-year, $4.75 million guaranteed contract with the Seattle Mariners. He had an $8 million vesting option that would be automatically exercised if he logged 300 innings over the two years.
Flexen fulfilled that option by throwing 317⅓ innings over two years, earning $8 million this season.
However, he became embroiled in endless trade speculation late last year when he was relegated to the bullpen instead of starting.
Seattle, however, did not trade him.
This season, he’s split time between the bullpen and the rotation, going 4-0 with no wins and a 7.23 ERA.
While Kelly continues to evolve, Flexen has been a liability for the team with a minus-0.7 WAR. This is why his trade rumors are resurfacing.