Baseball-starved fans in baseball finally have a way to watch their favorite sport. ESPN has reached a deal to broadcast Korean Baseball Organization games, which started on Tuesday morning, with Major League Baseball indefinitely sidelined due to the coronavirus pandemic.
Four former members of the Red Sox organization play in the KBO, with a few more currently playing in the Chinese Professional Baseball League in Taiwan.
Here are the four former Sox prospects you should watch for in the KBO:
RHP Casey Kelly (LG Twins)
Casey Kelly was Boston’s first-round pick in the 2008 draft and was traded to San Diego in December 2010. He also pitched for the Braves and Giants before going to Korea before last season. David Zalubowski/Associated Press
Perhaps the most prominent former Sox farmhand currently playing in Korea is right-hander Casey Kelly, the Florida native who was Boston’s first-round pick in the 2008 draft. The pitcher rose up prospect boards until the Sox dealt him to San Diego as the headliner in the Dec. 2010 trade that brought Adrian Gonzalez to Boston.
Kelly, who pitched for the Portland Sea Dogs in 2010, didn’t end up being San Diego’s best get in that deal, as Anthony Rizzo ended up being the best player of the trio the Sox sent to the Padres for Gonzalez. Kelly, who ranked among Baseball America’s top 100 prospects each season from 2010 to 2013, made 26 appearances from 2012 to 2018 with the Padres, Braves and Giants, compiling a 5.46 ERA before leaving for Korea before last season and working to a 2.55 ERA in 29 starts with the Twins.
Kelly, 30, is looking to follow the path of pitchers Merrill Kelly and Josh Lindblom, who both parlayed successful KBO stints into lucrative major league deals.
Kelly was selected in the same draft class that brought Christian Vazquez, Kyle Weiland, Ryan Westmoreland, Ryan Lavarnway and Travis Shaw to the organization.
RHP William Cuevas (KT Wiz)
William Cuevas, who pitched for the Portland Sea Dogs in 2015, has a World Series ring with the 2018 Red Sox. John Ewing/Staff Photographer
Cuevas has a World Series ring after tossing 17 innings for the 2018 Red Sox. The right-hander posted a 7.41 ERA in nine appearances (one start) that year, with the highlight coming in Cleveland on Sept. 23, when he allowed one run on two hits over 5 1/3 innings in an eventual 11-inning loss. The 29-year-old, who originally signed with the Sox as an amateur free agent in July 2008, spent time with the Tigers and Marlins and even reached the majors with Detroit in 2016 before returning to the Sox’s organization in Dec. 2017.
Cuevas was released from the 40-man roster to sign with KT in Nov. 2018. Last year, he made 30 starts for the Wiz, going 13-10 with a 3.62 ERA in 184 innings.
RHP Raul Alcantara (Doosan Bears)
Raul Alcantara originally joined the Red Sox as an amateur free agent in 2009 before being traded in December 2011. Paul Sancya/Associated Press
Alcantara, 27, originally joined the Red Sox as an amateur free agent, signing for $500,000 in 2009. He spent two years in the organization before being traded in Dec. 2011, being shipped to Oakland with Josh Reddick and Miles Head in an ill-fated deal that would net the Red Sox reliever Andrew Bailey and outfielder Ryan Sweeney.
Alcantara spent the next seven years with the A’s, making 13 major league appearances (including nine starts) in 2016 and 2017. He posted a 7.19 ERA in 46 1/3 big league innings before hitting free agency after the 2018 season and signing with the KT Wiz.
In 2019, Alcantara was 11-11 with a 4.01 ERA for the Wiz. He inked a one-year, $700k deal with the Bears in December.
RHP Seung Song (Lotte Giants)
Seung Song originally joined the Boston organization as an international free agent for $900k in 1999. Boston later traded him to Montreal in a package for Cliff Floyd. Gregory Bull/Associated Press
Song is perhaps the most obscure former Sox prospect, as he originally joined the organization as an international free agent for $900k in 1999. The 39-year-old was ranked as Baseball America’s No. 60 overall prospect before the 2002 season after going 8-4 with a 1.90 ERA in 22 starts split between Single-A Augusta and High-A Sarasota for the Sox and was used as trade bait at that year’s trade deadline, being shipped to Montreal along with fellow righty Sun-Woo Kim for outfielder Cliff Floyd.
Song bounced around the minors with the Expos, Giants and Royals until 2006, when he returned to Korea and settled in with Lotte. He has spent 13 seasons with the Giants, most recently appearing in 11 games (one start) with the club last year while posting a 4.40 ERA.
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