'I'm not going back to Korea' → KBO MVP contract fell, finally found a 'new destination'! Will 2026 be revived again

*This content was translated by AI.

Ace Eric Peddy (33), who dominated the KBO League in 2023, eventually chose to stay on the U.S. stage without returning to the Korean stage. He signed a one-year short-term contract with his former team, the Chicago White Sox, and is set to revive.

MLB.com , the official website of the U.S. Major League Baseball (MLB), said on the 10th (Korea time), "According to a source, the White Sox have agreed to a one-year contract with Pedi, a veteran starting resource."

Once detailed procedures such as medical tests are completed, an official announcement from the White Sox club will be made.

The media said, "Peddy has made 31 starts for the White Sox and St. Louis Cardinals in the 2024 season, with a 3.30 ERA. Then, in the 2025 season, the three teams marked an ERA of 5.60. "I hoped to achieve new success, but it didn't come true until the end of last season," he explained.

"Peddy had a very low strikeout rate of 13.3% last season. "On May 9, we had a shutout against the Washington Nationals, but we struggled for the most part in the first 25 games," he added.

Peddy wore a uniform for three teams last season. He moved to the Milwaukee Brewers after passing through the White Sox and Atlanta Braves. The media said, "The situation changed when we signed a contract with Milwaukee on August 27 (local time) last year, three days after he was released from Atlanta. He took the mound only as a relief pitcher and took the mound in seven games (16 innings) with a 3.38 ERA. The hit rate was only 0.186. The on-base allowance per inning (WHIP) also recorded 1.13, showing a reliable performance as a bullpen pitcher.

Regarding Peddy, the media said, "I use four pitches, including sinker, cutter, sweeper, and changeup. In the 2025 season, he showed success by spraying only sweeper and change-up. Sweeper's hit rate was 0.191 and the change-up's hit rate was 0.212.

Meanwhile, Peddy returned to the big league stage after dominating the KBO league in the 2023 season. At that time, he signed a two-year contract worth $15 million (about 19.69 billion won) with the Chicago White Sox. It was no exaggeration to say that it was Pedi's life of a big twist, who received an annual salary of only 1.3 billion won in Korea. NC even offered a multi-year contract, but it could not break his will to return to the U.S. stage.

Peddy started 30 KBO League games in the 2023 season and posted a 20-6 record (0.769 winning rate) with a 2.00 ERA. Unfortunately, Peddy, who missed the ERA of 1 point range, pitched a total of 180 ⅓ innings, making 137 hits (nine homers), 35 walks, 209 strikeouts, 46 runs (40 earned runs), WHIP (on-base allowance per inning) 0.95 and 0.207. The quality start (three earned runs or less in six innings as a starter) was successful 21 times.

Based on these strong performances, he won the ERA, multiple wins and strikeouts (209 strikeouts), achieving the much-awaited triple crown. It was the first time in 37 years that he achieved 20 wins and 200 strikeouts at the same time since Sun Dong-yeol (Haitai) in 1986, and he was the first foreign pitcher to write history. Previously, only Sun Dong-yeol (1986, 1989, 1990, 1991), Ryu Hyun-jin (2006), and Yoon Seok-min (2011) had achieved the triple crown of pitchers. In the end, Peddy won the ERA, multiple wins and strikeouts title, as well as the pitcher's defense award, the pitcher's Golden Glove, and the regular season MVP trophy.

Upon returning to the U.S. stage in the 2024 season, Peddy started 31 games and posted a 9-9 record with a 3.30 ERA. In a total of 177 ⅓ innings, he recorded 154 hits (20 home runs), 66 runs (65 earned runs) with five-bodied balls, 52 walks, 154 strikeouts, a 0.233 hit rate and WHIP 1.16. But the 2025 season collapsed. Last year, Peddy pitched in 32 games (24 starts) and lost 4-13 with a 5.49 ERA. While throwing 141 innings in total, he recorded 147 hits (19 homers) and 90 runs (86 earned) with three-body hits, 67 walks with 83 strikeouts, a batting average of 0.269, and WHIP 1.52.

In the end, Peddy suffered from release after the end of the 2025 season. NC moved again at the news of Pedi's release. He planned to recruit Peddy to reinforce the mound in the 2026 season and build a strong one-two punch with Riley Thompson. However, Peddy expressed his willingness to continue playing in the big leagues, and in the end, NC had no choice but to pull out. NC, which failed to rekindle its relationship with Peddy, signed Curtis Taylor, a new foreign pitcher with no big league experience.

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*This content was translated by AI.