Henry Ramos of the Cincinnati Reds bats during the ninth inning against the Colorado Rockies at Coors Field on May 15, 2023 in Denver, Colorado. Ramos has signed with the Doosan Bears of South Korea’s KBO League for 2024. (Photo by Justin Edmonds/Getty Images)
Puerto Rican outfielder Henry Ramos signed with the Doosan Bears for the 2024 Korean Baseball Organization season, he announced on his X account on Friday.
Ramos’s contract with the Doosan Bears is worth $700,000, with a $50,000 signing bonus, $550,000 salary and $100,000 in incentives for the 2024 season.
The Doosan Bears also had a busy week, signing pitcher Raul Alcantara and pitcher Brandon Waddell as the other two foreign players for their 2024 roster.
The Doosan Bears clinched the fifth seed in the 2023 KBO Playoffs after going 74-68-2 in the regular season, and lost to the NC Dinos in the KBO Wild Card game 14-9.
Ramos, 31, was born in Maunabo, Puerto Rico, and has played in two seasons in Major League Baseball.
Ramos was drafted in the fifth round of the 2010 MLB June Amateur Draft by the Boston Red Sox and signed out of Alfonso Casta Martinez High School in Maunabo, Puerto Rico.
Ramos played in three games during the 2023-24 winter league season with Cangrejeros de Santurce in the Liga de Béisbol Profesional Roberto Clemente in Puerto Rico, and hit .167 over 13 plate appearances with two hits, one double, one RBI, one walk, and three strikeouts.
Last season, Ramos split time between Triple-A Louisville and the Cincinnati Reds. Ramos dealt with a right hip strain at the beginning of the 2023 season and landed on the 10-day injured list on April 24. On June 3, Ramos was sent on a rehab assignment by the Reds to Triple-A Louisville. The Reds activated Ramos on June 13 and optioned him to Triple-A Louisville on the same date.
Ramos played in 76 games with Triple-A Louisville in 2023, hitting .318 over 327 plate appearances with 89 hits, 18 doubles, 3 triples, 13 home runs, 55 RBI, six stolen bases, 41 walks, 65 strikeouts, and a .954 OPS.
With the Reds, Ramos played in 23 games with 86 plate appearances, batting .243 with 18 hits, three doubles, one triple, five RBI, 11 walks, and 21 strikeouts. He elected free agency on October 10.
In March, Ramos played with Puerto Rico at the 2023 World Baseball Classic. He had two pinch hit at-bats and did not record a hit during the tournament. Puerto Rico lost to Mexico in the quarterfinals of the 2023 WBC in Miami 5-4.
During the 2022-23 winter league season with the Indios de Mayaguez in LBPRC, Ramos played in 47 games, hitting .261 with 41 hits, eight doubles, two triples, three home runs, 18 RBI, five stolen bases, 16 walks, 23 strikeouts, and a .734 OPS. Mayaguez won the league championship to clinch their 19th title in the LBPRC and a berth in the 2023 Caribbean Series in Caracas, Venezuela. Ramos was not on the roster for Indios de Mayaguez during the 2023 Caribbean Series.
In 2022, Ramos played in his first season in the KBO with the KT Wiz in 18 games with 80 plate appearances he batted .250 recording 18 hits, one double, one triple, three home runs, 11 RBI, four walks, and 18 strikeouts before he broke his toe forcing him to miss the rest of the regular season.
Ramos made his MLB debut on Sept. 5, 2021, for the Arizona Diamondbacks. In 41 games in MLB, Ramos batted .226 in 141 plate appearances with 28 hits, five doubles, one triple, one home run, 13 RBI, 15 walks, and 33 strikeouts.
Ramos has played 14 professional seasons in the KBO and the LBPRC, and has a .256 lifetime average in 415 games, with 360 hits, 65 doubles, eight triples, 25 home runs, 147 RBI, 26 stolen bases, 141 walks, 253 strikeouts, and a .696 OPS.
All 10 KBO teams will open up their training camps during the middle of January prior to the start of the 2024 regular season. The 2024 KBO regular season will start on March 23.