Former Guardians postseason hero closes off stateside return with new KBO contract 

At this time two years ago, Pedro Avila came out of the Guardians’ bullpen and covered four innings in the ALCS against the Yankees. 

This October is a bit of a different story for the 29-year-old, as he signed a two-year contract extension with KBO’s SSG Landers after pitching with them during the 2026 season. Most of the time players use those kinds of international contracts as an attempted springboard back to MLB, but it seems like Avila is comfortable pitching overseas — so much so that he decided to sign a multi-year deal with the Landers. 

Pedro Avila is sticking in KBO thanks to new multi-year contract 

Avilia was outright dominant in his inaugural season in the KBO, posting a 1.44 ERA in 92 2/3 innings (14 starts). He allowed just one home run over that time while striking out 25.5% of the batters he faced off against. 

That ace-like performance is a far cry from his 2025 showing when he had a 4.04 ERA in 14 appearances with the Tokyo Yakult Swallows of Japan’s Nippon Professional Baseball that led to him returning to Cleveland on a minor league contract. 

He didn’t make Cleveland’s roster out of spring training and had a 7.50 ERA in 60 innings at Columbus before leaving the Guardians for the KBO. 

While his departure came at a time when the Guardians desperately needed pitching depth, they were able to navigate his loss by adding Foster Griffin at the trade deadline. The rare win-win for all sides. 

Avila first joined Cleveland fan’s radar in 2024 when the Guardians acquired him from the Padres that April. He ended up having a 3.25 ERA in 74 2/3 innings with the Guardians while pitching in a variety of roles and eating innings at every point while Cleveland navigated a variety of pitching injuries. 

He was initially left off Clevleand’s postseason roster but was added to the ALCS roster and immediately tossed 2 2/3 scoreless innings in Game 1 in his first appearance in nearly three weeks. 

Avila was never the biggest name on the Guardians’ roster, but his quiet contributions helped keep Cleveland’s season alive at multiple times. 

Avila eventually got bumped off the Guardians’ roster the following offseason and has yet to pitch in MLB since. 

But even if his new contract means he won’t be returning to MLB any time soon, there’s always the chance that he could make a big league return once his contract is up. He did well in his first KBO showing, and two more dominant years could force some club’s hand to roll the dice on him for a big league contract. 

Add us as a preferred source on Google

Follow