The Samsung Lions of the Korea Baseball Organization announced the signing of right-hander Matt Manning to a one-year, $1MM contract. Manning was outrighted off the Phillies roster in September, and he elected minor league free agency earlier this month.
Manning was once one of baseball’s top pitching prospects, and he was a fixture of top-100 prospect rankings in the years following his selection as the ninth overall pick of the 2016 draft. He posted solid numbers on his way up the Tigers’ minor league ladder until his MLB debut in June 2021, but the strikeout ability Manning displayed in the minors didn’t translate to his work in the Show. Over 254 innings and 50 starts with the Tigers from 2021-24, Manning posted a 4.43 ERA, 7.8% walk rate, and only a 16.4% strikeout rate.
More to come….
