Less than a month after he got let go by the Chicago Cubs, veteran slugger Patrick Wisdom has opted to go overseas.
According to Yonhap News' Jeeho Yoo, the Kia Tigers – the defending champions of the Korean Baseball Organization – have agreed to a contract with Wisdom. The deal is still pending a physical, although Yoo speculates that it could just be a formality.
The Cubs designated Wisdom for assignment on Nov. 20, then non-tendered him two days later.
Wisdom, 33, just wrapped up his fifth season in Chicago. Across 75 games in 2024, he hit .171 with eight home runs, 23 RBI, five stolen bases, a .629 OPS and a -0.4 WAR.
The corner infielder got his start with the St. Louis Cardinals in the first round of the 2012 MLB Draft, eventually making his big league debut in 2018. He got traded to the Texas Rangers a few months later, only to get designated for assignment the following summer.
After latching on with the Seattle Mariners ahead of the 2020 campaign, Wisdom got cut loose before ever taking the field with the club. That led him to the Cubs, who inked the slugger to a minor league deal.
Wisdom suddenly broke out in 2021, when he finished fourth in NL Rookie of the Year voting. That season, he hit .231 with 28 home runs, 61 RBI, four stolen bases, an .823 OPS and a 2.3 WAR in just 106 games of action.
The following year, Wisdom racked up another 25 home runs and 66 RBI, followed by 23 home runs and 46 RBI in 2023. But despite averaging 37 homers per 162 games during that three-season span, Wisdom also posted one of the worst strikeout rates in all of baseball.
For his career, Wisdom has struck out in 36.7% of his MLB plate appearances. Joey Gallo, Miguel Sanó, Mike Zunino and Bobby Dalbec are the only players with at least 1,000 plate appearances to boast a higher strikeout rate in that time.
It remains to be seen how Wisdom's game will translate to a hitter-friendly league overseas. He is joining a Tigers team that already led the KBO in runs, hits and slugging percentage, all while striking out fewer times than any other team.
Former Chicago White Sox power hitter Matt Davidson led the KBO with 46 home runs in 2024, up from his 21 home runs in Nippon Professional Baseball in 2023 and his 32 homers in Triple-A in 2022. He had a 25.0% strikeout rate in Korea, compared to his 34.3% strikeout route in the big leagues.
