Worst nightmare: Phillies just Officially grabbed a charismatic runner Starter to Minor-League Deal after leaving….
One of the previous draft picks of the Philadelphia Phillies inked a contract in an effort to return to Major League Baseball after seven years spent in Asia.
According to the MLB Transaction wire, David Buchanan was signed by the Phillies to a minor-league contract, returning to the team that helped him make his Major League debut in 2014.
In 2010, the Phillies selected him in the sixth round out of Georgia State.
This week, Buchanan will report to Clearwater, Florida, for spring training with the Phillies.
In late 2016, Buchanan signed a contract with the Tokyo Yakult Swallows of Nippon Professional Baseball after being designated for assignment by the Phillies.
Before signing as a free agent with the Samsung Lions of the Korean Baseball Organization, he played for the Swallows for three years.
He developed into one of the KBO’s top pitchers with Samsung. In 2021, he set team records for wins and innings pitched by a foreign player, and he matched for the league-high in victories (16). Due to his $1.6 million contract, he played in the previous season and was named a KBO All-Star in both 2022 and 2023.
Following his 2014 signing with the Phillies, Buchanan saw action as a starter and went 6-8 with a 3.75 ERA in 20 starts, striking out 71 in 117.2 innings while walking 32. In 2015, he was unable to maintain that form, going 2-9 in 15 starts with a rising ERA to 6.99 while striking out just 44 in 72.2 innings. Finally, in 2016, Buchanan played the entire season with the Phillies’ Triple-A affiliate in Lehigh Valley before being designated for assignment.
