LG Twins sign ex-MLB pitcher Tristan Beck

SEOUL, Nov. 5 (Yonhap) -- The LG Twins announced their signing of former major league pitcher Tristan Beck on Thursday.

The 2025 Korean Series champions said Beck, 30, agreed to a one-year deal worth US$878,000, with $578,000 in salary and $300,000 in signing bonus.

Beck was a fourth-round pick by the Atlanta Braves in the 2018 Major League Baseball (MLB) draft but was traded to the San Francisco Giants in 2019. He made his MLB debut with the Giants in 2023.

In 85 outings, including five starts, for the Giants, Beck went 5-3 with five saves and a 4.08 ERA in 176 2/3 innings. He appeared in 14 games this year.

The 30-year-old American also made 28 appearances in Triple-A this year, going 3-1 with a 4.54 ERA over 39 2/3 innings.

According to the statistics site Baseball Savant, Beck has a five-pitch arsenal of four-seam fastball, sweeper, slider, curveball and changeup.

Beck, who began his professional career as a full-time starter in the minors but gradually moved to a relief role, said he was looking forward to becoming a starter again.

"I think one of the big opportunities I was looking for was to be able to try to be a starting pitcher again and to just get out here and face some really good competition," Beck said in an interview posted on the Twins' YouTube page. "I throw a lot of breaking balls, a lot of offspeed pitches. I throw my fastball in the mid-90s (in miles per hour) and sweeper is my number one go-to pitch. So I like to mix it up. I like to try to keep the hitters guessing."

Beck said having pitched in different roles has been "a really valuable experience."

"Coming up, I was always a starter. And then as I got to be with the San Francisco Giants, I played every role. I was a closer at times, starter at times and pretty much everything in between," he said. "I feel like I know how to get hitters out in different ways. I feel like I know how to help the team in different ways, which is always the most important thing."

As for his goal in 2027, Beck said, "Just doing anything to help the team win and hopefully pitching a lot of innings for the team. That is something that I did a lot earlier in my career that hasn't been required recently. So I am excited to get back to that and hopefully throw a lot of innings in route to a championship."

Teams in the Korea Baseball Organization can carry up to two foreign-born pitchers and can sign another non-Korean pitcher to fill their Asian quota. The Twins ended the 2026 season with Anders Tolhurst and Carlos Carrasco as their two foreign pitchers and Australian left-hander Jon Kennedy as their Asian quota pitcher.

"He throws a quality fastball and can get hitters out with his sweeper. He mixes in a wide variety of pitches, too," the Twins said. "He has a ton of experience pitching in many different roles in the United States and we expect him to make a smooth transition to the KBO."

The Twins added they may sign another foreign pitcher and replace both Tolhurst and Carrasco for the 2027 season.