Austin Voth's winding season just took him overseas for the first time in his career, signing with the Samsung Lions of the KBO.
The deal is a temporary six-week contract paying Voth, a client of THE TEAM, $150,000, according to Jeeho Yoo of Yonhap News.
He's stepping in as an injury replacement for right-hander Ariel Jurado, who's expected to be out for a while with shoulder inflammation.
Voth was granted his release from a minor league deal with Texas last week after just one Triple-A start, a move that hinted at overseas interest even before it became official.
This isn't entirely new territory for the 34-year-old. He spent last season in Japan with the Chiba Lotte Marines, posting a respectable 3.96 ERA over 125 innings.
That track record overseas likely made him an appealing option for a KBO club needing a quick, reliable fill-in.
It's been a genuinely eventful year for Voth, bouncing from a winter minor league deal with the White Sox to brief big league stints with both the Blue Jays and Twins, where he allowed 12 runs on 19 hits and six walks across just 10 combined innings.
Why his Triple-A numbers still show something usable
He was tagged for four runs in five innings during his lone start with Round Rock in the Rangers organization, the outing that preceded his release.
His overall Triple-A season has actually been fairly steady, though, sitting at a 4.01 ERA with a league-average 21 percent strikeout rate across 12 starts, even while averaging just over four innings per outing.
Across parts of eight MLB seasons, Voth carries a career ERA just under 5.00 over 370.1 innings, with a notable bright spot coming in 2024, when he posted a 3.69 ERA in 61 innings of relief work for Seattle.
It's a bit like a well-traveled musician taking one more overseas tour, still performing, just in a different arena than the one everyone associates him with.
Does a strong six-week stretch in Korea set up another affiliated ball opportunity back in the States, or does this mark the start of a longer international chapter for Voth?
For now, he gets a fresh start with the Samsung Lions, chasing steady results in a new league entirely.
Do you think Austin Voth ever pitches in the majors again after this KBO stint?
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