Former Guardians pitcher Adam Plutko signs with LG Twins of KBO

Another former Cleveland player is heading to the KBO, as pitcher Adam Plutko recently signed a deal with the LG Twins.

It’s been a huge week for former Cleveland players signing with the Korea Baseball Organization. First it was former outfielder Yasiel Puig signing with the Kiwoom Heroes, and now it’s former pitcher Adam Plutko signing with the LG Twins.

Plutko signed a $500,000 contract with an additional $300,000 in incentives. In the KBO, teams are only permitted to have two foreign pitchers at a time, meaning the Twins will have to drop either Casey Kelly or Andrew Suarez from the roster to make room for Plutko.

Plutko, 30, spent parts of four seasons with Cleveland (2016, 2018-20), putting together a 5.05 ERA in 217 1/3 innings. He was used in pretty much every possible situation, eating up innings as a starter, reliever, and mop-up man – a valuable commodity to any team over the course of a long season. He even threw a no-hitter down at Triple-A Columbus in 2018.

Plutko most recently pitched with the Baltimore Orioles in 2021, putting up a 6.71 ERA in 56 1/3 innings.