The Houston Astros have agreed to a contract with RHP Ryan Weiss, according to Brian McTaggart of MLB.com.
Weiss pitched the last two seasons in the KBO for the Hanwha Eagles. Eagles fans have nicknamed him “Daejeon Jesus”.
Last season, Weiss was 16-5 with a 2.87 ERA and 1.024 WHIP for the Eagles. He made 30 starts for Hanwha, throwing 178.2 IP and striking out 207 batters. He helped lead the Eagles to the Korean Series.
There have been several recent examples of American pitchers who went overseas to pitch in Japan and Korea, found success there, and then returned to find success at the MLB level. This list includes Erick Fedde (KBO, returned to MLB in 2024), Merrill Kelly (KBO, returned to MLB in 2019), Miles Mikolas (NPB, returned to MLB in 2018), and Colby Lewis (NPB, returned to MLB in 2010). The Astros are hoping they can find the next refined former American player to come back to the states and continue their newfound success from overseas.
This news follows our piece on the Astros and Weiss being close to a deal on November 28th, which you can read for more information on Weiss here: