Bears sign Japanese pitcher Shirakawa to temporary contract

The Doosan bears announced Wednesday they have signed Japanese pitcher Keisho Shirakawa as a temporary replacement for injured starter Brandon Waddell.

The Bears said Shirakawa agreed to a deal worth 4 million yen ($24,764).

The Bears are Shirakawa’s second team in the Korea Baseball Organization (KBO) this season. He made five starts for the SSG Landers in June, filling in for starter Roenis Elias on a temporary deal worth 1.8 million yen. And once Elias recovered from his oblique injury, the Landers decided to reinstate him and let go of Shirakawa last week.

And the Bears, seeking a starting pitcher to hold down a rotation spot while Waddell recovers from a shoulder injury, pounced on Shirakawa.

Starting this year, KBO teams are allowed to sign foreign players to short-term deals if incumbent players suffer injuries that require at least six weeks of recovery time. Shirakawa was the first foreign player to sign such a deal, and he will now get another run in the KBO.

With the Landers, the right-hander went 2-2 with a 5.09 ERA, while striking out 27 and walking nine in 23 innings. He quickly became a fan favorite and also a popular teammate with his work ethic and professionalism. The Landers showered him with gifts on July 2 before he left them.

The Bears had also considered former Kiwoom Heroes ace Eric Jokisch for the temporary spot and invited him to a tryout late last month. But the American left-hander would have required an extra week or so to get his work visa processed, and 한국을 would have needed some time to build up to a full starter’s workload after not pitching for any team since the Heroes released him in June last year.

Shirakawa, on the other hand, has the paperwork taken care of and could jump right into action. He is scheduled to join the team Thursday and make a start sometime on the weekend.

“I am happy to join such a great team,” Shirakawa said. “I will give my best on each and every pitch and try to help the team win every game I start.