Kwang Hyun Kim: Inks KBO deal

Kim signed Monday with the Korea Baseball Organization's SSG Landers on a four-year, $12.3 million contract, Jee-ho Yoo of the Yonhap News Agency reports.

After a two-year stint in the majors with the Cardinals, the 33-year-old Kim will return to his home country for what will presumably be the remainder of his playing career. Though Kim made good on the Cardinals' two-year, $8 million investment by submitting a 3.46 ERA across 145.2 innings, his advanced age and underwhelming peripheral numbers (9.1 K-BB%, 48.1 GB%) might have made it difficult for him to secure a significant commitment from an MLB team on the open market this offseason. Kim's shaky outlook along with MLB's ongoing lockout were likely motivating factors in him returning to the Landers, the team with whom he spent 13 seasons before making the jump to St. Louis.