The Kiwoom Heroes of the Korea Baseball Organization announced their four outfield players for the 2026 season, as reported by Yoo Jee-ho of Yonhap News Agency. They re-signed the right hand Raúl Alcantarawho pitched to the Warriors in 2025. They also added a first baseman Trenton Brooksthe right hand Nathan Wiles and the right hand of Japan Yuto Kanakubo. Alcantara will earn a salary of $700K with $200K in benefits available. Wiles earns a salary of $910K. Brooks gets $700K plus $150K in incentives. Kanakubo gets $100K with $30K in incentives available.
For many years, KBO teams were limited to three non-Korean players on their roster. From 2026, that number will jump to four, but one must be from another Asian country or Australia. Basically, KBO teams are still limited to three North American players, but the new rule allowed the Heroes to add Kanakubo.
Brooks, 30, has had major league success but has yet to translate to the big leagues. That’s a normal arc for a player going overseas. He had brief appearances in the majors with the Padres and Giants, making 72 plate appearances overall with a poor .136/.208/.212 line. But from 2021 to 2025, he made 1,994 plate appearances at the Triple-A level with a 13.9% walk rate and a 16.6% strikeout rate while hitting 66 home runs. His combined line of .279/.382/.472 translated into a wRC+ of 117.
Without a strong consistent offense, Brooks is stuck in Quad-A status for a while. That’s probably due to his limited defensive skills, as he’s often an experienced first baseman in the outfield. He didn’t make his major league debut until he was almost 29 years old. The Padres passed on him even though he was not picked up in August.
Had he stayed in North America through the 2026 season, he likely would have been limited to minor league deals. By heading to South Korea, he will guarantee a guaranteed salary that is much closer to the MLB minimum, which will be $780K next year. If he thrives with the Heroes, he could try to return to the top level or parlay his success into another deal in Asia.
Wiles, 27, recently made his major league debut by pitching one inning for Atlanta in April. He spent most of the season in an optional role. He pitched 112 2/3 innings at the Triple-A level with a 3.04 earned run average, a 22.2% strikeout rate and a 7.2% walk rate. He had good control throughout his minor league career but without any big hits or ground balls.
Atlanta released him in November. Like Brooks, he may have been looking at minor league deals if he stayed in collegiate ball. Heading overseas gives him a chance to step onto the big stage. Even if he got a major league contract, his salary would be less than this deal with the Heroes.
Pots from deep in Asia have become a popular route to take. During this time away, Cody Ponce, Drew Anderson, Anthony Kay, Foster Griffin again Ryan Weiss they signed multi-million dollar deals after working in Japan or South Korea. Wiles is still young and could follow in those footsteps.
Alcantara pitched in the majors in 2016 and 2017. He has been playing for various clubs in Japan and Korea since then. He spent 2025 with the Heroes and pitched 121 innings with a 3.27 ERA. Kanakubo is 26 years old and has spent his career with the Yakult Swallows in Japan’s Nippon Professional Baseball, but that team has kept him in the minors. He hasn’t gone over the Japan-high 14 innings over the past four seasons.
Photo courtesy of Denis Poroy, Imagn Images
