Report: White Sox agree to 2-year, $15M deal with KBO MVP Fedde

The Chicago White Sox agreed to a two-year, $15-million contract with starting pitcher Erick Fedde, sources told ESPN's Jeff Passan.

Completion of the agreement is pending a physical, per Scott Merkin of MLB.com.

Fedde, 30, returns to the majors after a one-year detour to the Korea Baseball Organization with the NC Dinos. He morphed into a star with the Dinos, going 20-6 with a 2.00 ERA, 0.95 WHIP, and 209 strikeouts in 180.1 innings en route to winning the KBO's pitching triple crown. Fedde was presented with both the KBO MVP and the Choi Dong-won Award, the league's Cy Young equivalent, after the season.

Before rebounding in the KBO, Fedde spent parts of six seasons with the Washington Nationals after they selected him 18th overall in 2014. He was inconsistent with the Nats, failing to secure a rotation spot until 2021 and never posting an ERA below 4.29 in any one season. He owns a 5.41 ERA and 1.52 WHIP with 352 strikeouts across 454.1 big-league innings.

Fedde threw four pitches, including a cutter and sinker, during his most recent MLB season, per Baseball Savant. In Korea, he added a sweeper to his arsenal and began throwing his changeup more. Those changes, along with mechanical tweaks that came from working with Push Performance in Arizona last offseason, helped spur his renaissance with the Dinos, Jesse Dougherty of the Washington Post noted in September.

In Chicago, Fedde will likely slot into the middle of the White Sox rotation. He could also move into an ace role for the rebuilding club if Dylan Cease is traded this winter.

Fedde is the second new starter the White Sox added this offseason. They acquired Michael Soroka from Atlanta in a five-player trade last month.

The New York Mets were also interested in signing Fedde, according to Jon Heyman of the New York Post.