The KBO's Lotte Giants cleared Sampson to return to North America on Tuesday to tend to his ailing father, Daniel Kim of MBC Sports+ reports.
One of the more prominent American pitchers in the KBO, Sampson joined Lotte after spending the 2019 season in MLB with the Rangers, tossing 125.1 innings and posting a 5.89 ERA. According to the report, Sampson will need to go through a mandatory two-week quarantine period once he returns to the South Korea. As a result, Sampson won't be available for the start of the 2020 KBO season, which begins next week.