Lions acquire U.S. pitcher Manning, Japanese pitcher Miyaji

New Samsung Lions pitcher Matt Manning poses in front of the team’s logo at Daegu Samsung Lions Park in Daegu on Dec. 1. [SAMSUNG LIONS]

 
The Samsung Lions added two new foreign-born pitchers to their staff on Monday, signing American right-hander Matt Manning and Japanese right-hander Yura Miyaji.
 
Lions said Manning, 27, agreed to a one-year deal worth $1 million. He has 50 major league games under his belt, all of them in starts for the Detroit Tigers from 2021 to 2024. A first-round pick in the 2016 draft, Manning has a career 11-15 record with a 4.43 ERA over 254 innings. He has 178 strikeouts against 85 walks.
 
 
Manning spent the entire 2025 season in Triple-A, first for the Tigers and later for the Philadelphia Phillies following a trade in July. In 33 outings combined, including six starts, Manning went 2-3 with a 6.47 ERA in 55 2/3 innings while recording 60 strikeouts and 44 walks.
 
The Lions said Manning averages 152 kilometers per hour (94.45 miles per hour) with his four-seam fastball and mixes it with a sweeper, curveball, splitter and slider.
 
Miyaji is the Lions’ Asian quota player for 2026 and will make $100,000 in salary with another $50,000 up for grabs in incentives.
 
Starting in the 2026 season, the KBO will allow clubs to sign an extra foreign-born player either from an Asian country or Australia in addition to their usual three overseas players.
 
Miyaji spent the 2025 season with the Kufu Hayate Ventures Shizuoka in the Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB) minor league. They are one of two clubs with no affiliation in the top NPB competition.
 
Miyaji has not pitched in the NPB, having instead worked his way up from amateur baseball to the independent league to the NPB minors.
 
Miyaji had a 0-2 record with a 2.88 ERA in 24 games covering 25 innings in 2025. He struck out 31 batters while walking 11, using a four-pitch mix of four-seam fastball, splitter, slider and curveball. The Lions said Miyaji can reach 158 kilometers per hour with his fastball.
 
The Lions, with Manning and the returning ace Ariel Jurado at the top of the starting rotation, said they expect Miyaji to strengthen their bullpen.

Yonhap