The Toronto Blue Jays signed Korean right-handed pitcher Seojun Moon as an international free agent on Wednesday, according to Mitch Bannon of The Athletic.
Per Bannon, the Los Angeles Dodgers were “very interested” in Moon before he agreed to join the Blue Jays.
The 18-year-old pitched at Jangchung High School prior to signing with Toronto.
Moon will receive $1.5 million in international bonus money as part of the agreement with Toronto, according to Sportsnet’s Arden Zwelling.
The Blue Jays previously gained $2 million of international bonus pool space as part of a Jan. 17 trade in which the team acquired outfielder Myles Straw from the Cleveland Guardians.
As for Moon, he posted a 2.18 ERA in high school while recording 93 strikeouts in 66 innings of work without allowing a home run (h/t Brandon Holmyard of the Toronto Star).
While a potential MLB debut may take time, he should still become an intriguing piece of Toronto’s farm system.
The Blue Jays reportedly beat out the Dodgers to land Moon, which could be a promising sign for their success on the international free-agent market moving forward.
Toronto heavily pursued starting pitcher RÅki Sasaki in international free agency at the end of the 2024 season, although he eventually ended up signing with Los Angeles instead.
As the Blue Jays currently look to remain atop the American League East standings to close out the regular season, their future also looks brighter following Wednesday’s move.
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