Roenis Elías of Chicago Cubs reached an agreement with the Korean Baseball Organization’s defending champions SSG Landers as reported by the colleague Francys Romero on Tuesday.
Late yesterday the team made official the inking of the ex-big leaguer for the rest of the season and fortified a staff that already includes Oh Won-seok, Kirk McCarthy and Kim Kwang-hyun.
Roenis Elías who was the ace for Cuba in the World Baseball Classic had a 2-0 record and 5.48 ERA this year in four starts with the Iowa Cubs. (AAA). The lefty joins his countrymen Guillermo Heredia on the Landers’ roster.
Official: El zurdo guantanamero @EliasRoenis firma con los SSG Landers de la @KBOleague .@francysromeroFR first to report.#pelotacubana #KBO pic.twitter.com/RWbIjNTBr0
— Yusseff305 🇨🇺🇺🇲 (@yusseff305) May 4, 2023
When the Cuban Baseball Digest reached out to the lefty he had this to say about the situation, ” I am super happy with the opportunity that the Landers have afforded me. I am looking forward to helping the team defend their league title. This is league full of talented hitters, but I believe I can compete. I am going to leave it all on the field and with grace of God I can help the Landers repeat as champions. ”
Elías is also coming off a dominant season in the best Winter League in the Caribbean, the LIDOM. With the Águilas Cibaeñas of the Dominican circuit the native of Guantánamo, Cuba sported a 4-0 record, 0.92 earned run average, a 0.77 WHIP and fanned 38 batters in 39 innings pitched. The only reason the hurler did not win the pitcher of the year in the league was because he was an inning short of qualify the minimum amount of IP for the prize.
Scouts believe that Elías can have a similar season to fellow Cuban Ariel Miranda’s 2022, when the left-hander was the pitcher of the year in the league.