The Toronto Blue Jays have signed Seojun Moon as an international free agent.
Moon pitched at Jangchung High School in Seoul, South Korea, and signed for $1.5 million per The Chosun Daily’s Yang Seun-su.
During the last offseason, the Blue Jays were in pursuit of Rōki Sasaki. The team acquired Myles Straw and $2 million in international bonus pool money from the Cleveland Guardians. The Blue Jays were unable to use that money on Sasaki like they intended, but now the extra funds have helped them ink a projected top pick in the upcoming KBO Draft.
https://x.com/BlueJays/status/1970972041030627464
Moon had a 2.18 ERA in high school and has a fastball velocity in the mid-90s, per KBO insider Daniel Kim.
The trade the Blue Jays made for Straw in hopes of landing Sasaki ended up being key in this signing. The club reportedly has $600,000 remaining after signing Moon, so without the trade for Starw, the team would not have had enough money in the international bonus pool to get Moon.
According to Seung-su, the Los Angeles Dodgers and New York Mets were interested in Moon as well. Moon will now join an organization that just saw Trey Yesavage debut and make an impact.
Moon becomes the second-highest paid signing by the Blue Jays in this year’s International signing period. The team signed shortstop Cristopher Polanco for $2.2 million in January.
Photo: Members of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police march in front of the Toronto Blue Jays logo before Game 4 of baseball’s American League Championship Series against the Kansas City Royals on Tuesday, Oct. 20, 2015, in Toronto. (AP Photo/Paul Sancya)
