NEWSLETTER
Today the Chicago Cubs officially announced the signing of Korean reliever Chang-Yong Lim, a sidearmer who most recently pitched in Japan, and who is coming off of Tommy John surgery in July. He gets a split minor league deal, and, under that agreement, will not be added to the 40-man roster until he’s actually brought onto the big league team. The Cubs also announced the Ian Stewart re-signing, and the Jeff Beliveau DFA, but you already knew about those.
Lim is expected to rehab for most of this season, with a possible appearance in the second half of the season. His agreement is for two years, so the signing is clearly made with an eye toward 2014, rather than 2013. The deal was originally reported to be worth $5 million, depending on when he makes it to the big leagues.
I shared more thoughts on Lim back when the original reports of his signing surfaced, and you can check them out here. The short version? There’s clear upside, but a 36-year-old coming off his second Tommy John surgery is not likely to become a dominant piece. I still like the signing, though. A lot of teams were interested, for whatever that’s worth.
Here are a couple videos on Lim, which I’d been saving for the official announcement of his signing – gotta love that arm action (the first is a highlight package, while the second is a longer look):
