Tim Adleman signs with Samsung Lions of Korea’s KBO

The record books will forever show that Tim Adleman led all Cincinnati Reds pitchers in both innings (122.1) and strikeouts (108) during the 2017 season, though hopefully nobody spends too much time staring at 2017’s pitching stats as a whole years down the road. Adleman, who just turned 30, has a story you’re familiar with by now, one that included being a 24th round draft pick and spending multiple years in independent ball before the Reds finally brought him into their fold, at which point he saw marked minor league success.

Though the bulk of Adleman’s 2017 numbers weren’t rosy, they were apparently good enough for the Samsung Lions of Korea’s KBO to take notice, as the club agreed to a $1.05 million contract with the righty early this morning, as Sung Min Kim of The Sporting News relayed.

That payday is easily the largest of Adleman’s career, one that included a stint working at a grocery after the Florence Freedom passed on signing him, as The Enquirer’s C. Trent Rosecrans documented last May. Given that he’s already 30 and was part of a packed house of pitching potential with the Reds, it’s quite fair to concede that Adleman’s decision to take his talents overseas might have been pretty damn prudent.

The Reds had maxed out their 40-man roster with the move to claim Kyle Crockett from Cleveland earlier this week, but shedding Adleman again means they’ve got a roster spot open for flexibility’s sake - including for early December’s Rule 5 Draft at the upcoming Winter Meetings. And since Adleman was a member of the 40-man roster when the Lions came calling, the Reds almost certainly received some cash as compensation for letting Adleman go.

Those Lions, by the way, have claimed 8 Korean Series Championships, 7 of which have come since 2002. Former St. Louis Cardinals reliever Seung-hwan Oh originally came up with the Daegu-based club, and former big leaguers Anthony Ranaudo and Darin Ruf played for the Lions in 2017.

Best of luck, Tim.