Kia Tigers pitcher Adam Oller signs his contract with the Korea Baseball Organization club in this photo released on Wednesday. Courtesy of Kia Tigers
The Kia Tigers completed their foreign player signings for the 2026 season Wednesday by bringing back a starting pitcher and acquiring two new hitters.
The Tigers said they have re-signed right-hander Adam Oller to a new one-year contract worth up to $1.2 million. He will make $700,000 in salary and received a signing bonus of $200,000. He can earn another $300,000 in incentives.
Making his Korea Baseball Organization (KBO) debut in 2025, Oller led the Tigers with 11 wins and 169 strikeouts in 149 innings. He was the only Tigers pitcher to record more than 10 wins, as the 2024 Korean Series champions, held back by injuries to key players, missed the postseason entirely in 2025.
New Kia Tigers player Harold Castro signs his contract with the Korea Baseball Organization club in this photo released on Wednesday. Courtesy of Kia Tigers
The Tigers already re-signed Oller’s rotation mate, James Naile, for his third KBO season in November.
They will have a new foreign hitter in the lineup next year, as former major leaguer Harold Castro replaces Patrick Wisdom.
Castro, 32, signed for $1 million — the maximum amount for all first-year foreign players — with $700,000 in salary, $200,000 in signing bonus and $100,000 in incentives.
The Venezuelan has 450 major league games to his credit — with the Detroit Tigers from 2018 to 2022 and the Colorado Rockies in 2023. He has a career .278 batting average with 16 home runs and 156 RBIs.
He has spent the past two seasons in the minors, along with stints in the Mexican League and the Venezuelan Winter League. In Triple-A for the Kansas City Royals this year, Castro hit .307 with 21 homers and 65 RBIs in 99 games.
The Tigers described Castro as a good contact hitter with some gap power and a versatile fielder who can handle every infield and outfield position.
“He has also hit well in clutch situations and he showed some power in the minors this year,” the Tigers said. “We expect him to be a big part of our lineup.”
Over his time in the minor and major leagues, Castro has played every position except catcher, and has even pitched 8 2/3 innings across nine games for the Detroit Tigers between 2021 and 2023.
The Kia Tigers filled their new Asian quota spot with Australian infielder Jarryd Dale. The 25-year-old native of Melbourne will earn $150,000 — $70,000 in salary, $40,000 in signing bonus and $40,000 in incentives.
Starting in 2026, KBO teams can each sign an additional foreign-born player, from an Asian country or Australia, as long as they played the previous year either in an Asian league or in Australia.
The Tigers became the last team to sign an Asian quota player this offseason and Dale is the second Australian player, joining LG Twins pitcher Lachlan Wells.
New Kia Tigers player Jarryd Dale signs his contract with the Korea Baseball Organization club in this photo released on Wednesday. Courtesy of Kia Tigers
Dale, 25, has gone as high as Triple-A in the Stateside for the San Diego Padres, and has also spent time in his native Australia and in Japan.
Dale spent the 2025 season in the minor league for the Japanese team Orix Buffaloes, and batted .297 with two homers and 14 RBIs in 41 games.
Like Castro, Dale has played every position except catcher throughout his professional career.
“He is an excellent defender and he can create some synergy with our infield prospects,” the Tigers said. “He can be a stabilizing presence in our infield.”
Dale comes from a baseball family. His father, Phil, is a former pitcher for the Australian national team and in the U.S. minor leagues, and served as Australia’s pitching coach in its run to the 2004 Olympic silver medal. As an Asian regional scout for the Atlanta Braves, Phil signed Korean pitching prospect Jung Sung-ki in 2002.
Jarryd’s brother, Ryan, was once a first baseman in the Kansas City Royals organization, while his cousin Jon Kennedy previously pitched in the minor leagues for the Atlanta Braves.