Dodgers News: Minor League All-Star Outfielder Heading to Korea to Continue Career

Outfielder Jason Martin, who spent 2022 in the Dodgers organization and made the Triple-A All-Star team for Oklahoma City, has signed with the NC Dinos of the Korean Baseball Organization, according to MLB Trade Rumors. Martin became a minor-league free agent at the end of the 2022 season.

December 8: The club has announced the signing, as relayed by Kurtz. Martin will make a $720K salary and $180K signing bonus, with $100K in incentives also available.

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December 4: The NC Dinos are working on completing a deal with outfielder Jason Martin, according to Dan Kurtz of MyKBO. This will be Martin’s first stint overseas after 10 seasons in affiliated North American baseball.

Martin played with the Pirates in 2019-20 and with the Rangers in 2021, hitting his first career homer in 2021 against the Dodgers off position player Andy Burns. Burns and Martin were teammates in 2022 with OKC, when Martin posted a .938 OPS with 32 homers and 107 RBIs in 544 plate appearances.

This is a great opportunity for Martin, who will get a chance to actually make a living wage in Korea after toiling for relative peanuts in the minors in the U.S. If he performs well in the KBO, he could earn a shot to play in the big leagues again in a year or two.

In 2018, Martin was one of four players sent from the Astros to the Pirates for Gerrit Cole, along with Colin Moran, Michael Feliz, and Joe Musgrove. In 2017, while playing for High-A Buies Creek, Martin homered in his first three at-bats in a game against the Myrtle Beach Pelicans, which I know because I saw it happen.

Jason Martin of the Buies Creek Astros is 3-for-3 with 3 HR today. Coming up in the top of the 6th now.

— Jeff J. Snider (@snidog) May 7, 2017

He ended up 3-for-6 on the night, but it was still cool. Hopefully the slugger can have more cool moments like that in the KBO.

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