KIA foreign-born hitter Socrates Brito (31) re-signed with the club. The option percentage has increased again to 33.3%.
KIA officially announced on the 18th that it has re-signed outfielder Socrates for a total of $1.2 million. 300,000 in signing bonus, $500,000 in salary, and $400,000 in options. The guaranteed amount is $800,000.
The high percentage of options at 33.3% stands out. Most foreign players have options in the 20s. After Socrates, the next highest option value is LG pitcher Casey Kelly’s $300,000, which is 20% of his $1.5 million total. After Socrates, KIA’s newest signing, pitcher Enmanuel De Jesus, has $200,000 of his $800,000 in options, representing a 25% option rate.
Kia has options on $300,000 of Socrates’ $900,000 total through 2022, when they first signed him. After a rough start to the season in his first year, Socrates settled in in May and performed well, batting .301 (160-for-514) with 17 home runs, 77 RBIs and an .848 OPS in 127 games.
He re-signed with KIA in 2023.
The total went up by $200,000 to $1.1 million, leaving the option at $300,000. He lowered his option weight from 33.3% to 27.3% to eliminate league adjustment risk.
In his second year, Socrates put up respectable numbers, batting .285 (156-for-547) with 20 homers, 96 RBIs, and an .807 OPS in 142 games. 토토사이트 Socrates has been the centerpiece of the KIA lineup as the team has been plagued by injuries to key hitters like Na Sung-beom, Choi Hyung-woo, Kim Do-young, and Park Chan-ho.
This year was a two-hit season for most foreign hitters, but Socrates showed his power with over 20 home runs. Tied for sixth in the league. Among foreign hitters, he was second in home runs behind LG’s Austin Dean (23). RBIs were decisive, ranking second overall and first among foreigners.
However, his percentage records such as batting average and OPS declined slightly from the previous year. His weaknesses against left-handed pitching remained, and his outfield defense, despite covering three positions in center field, faltered with seven errors, the most of any outfielder.
Many foreign hitters hit a wall in their third year, like Jose Pirela, who was released by Samsung after this season.
At KIA, Brett Pyle (2014-2016) and Preston Tucker (2019-2021) were not re-signed due to declining performance in their third year.
With the market for proven foreign players in the league being so tight, there was no way KIA was going to give up on Socrates, so they increased his contract by $100,000 while also increasing his option to bring him back to 33.3%.
If Socrates performs well enough to fulfill his options, Kia will perform well. “I’m happy to be with the KIA Tigers next year,” Socrates said of his re-signing, “and I hope to prepare well for next season with my teammates and bring the Tigers fans a championship.”