SSG Landers of the KBO League sign Drew VerHagen

The SSG Landers of the Korea Baseball Organization announced a one-year deal with the right-hander Drew VerHagen for the 2026 season. VerHagen will make $800,000 in guaranteed money ($750,000 salary, $50,000 signing bonus) and another $100,000 is available to the 35-year-old right-hander in contract benefits.

A veteran of eight Major League seasons, VerHagen has a 4.98 ERA over 281 2/3 innings with the Tigers (from 2014-19) and Cardinals (2022-23), working primarily as a long reliever with a few spot starts. He also has a significant amount of experience as a pitcher in Japan, as VerHagen pitched in both the 2020-2021 season and the past two seasons with the Nippon-Ham Fighters of Nippon Professional Baseball.

Overall, VerHagen has a 3.68 ERA, 23.7% strikeout rate and 6.65% walk rate in 283 1/3 innings with the Fighters. However, his most recent season was his least successful in the NPB. VerHagen only delivered a 6.08 ERA over 26 2/3 frames with the Fighters in 2025, spending most of the season with the Fighters’ minor league affiliate.

VerHagen will now look to turn the page on a new league and a new country. He will take one of the Fighters’ allotted roster spots for foreign-born pitchers, essentially replacing them Drew Anderson (who returns to MLB on a one-year deal with Detroit).