Per multiple reports, including one from Jeeho Yoo of Yonhap News on Twitter, ex-Milwaukee Brewers prospect Dylan File has been released from his contract with the Doosan Bears of the Korea Baseball Organization, or KBO.
#KBO: Doosan Bears have released RHP Dylan File. Went 0-1 with an 8.00 ERA in two starts.
File missed the first month of the season after getting hit in the head by a comebacker during spring training in late February. After 2 starts, he started experiencing elbow problems.— Jeeho Yoo (@Jeeho_1) June 8, 2023
File, a 21st-round pick by the Brewers in the 2017 MLB Draft, was in the organization all the way through the conclusion of last season. He had been the club’s No. 24 prospect in 2020 and the 25th in 2021. The right-hander had made himself into a fairly decent pitching prospect before the missed 2020 season thanks to COVID. In each year after Minor League Baseball resumed, he seemed like a completely different pitcher.
Former Brewers prospect Dylan File released from contract in Korea
In 2021, he made 13 starts with a 5.36 ERA across three different levels. He was a consistent presence in the Triple-A Nashville Sounds’ pitching staff last season, contributing to a team that wound up being the best in all of Triple-A baseball. At the time, File said that the clubhouse was “all around the best I’ve ever been a part of in all my years of baseball.” He goes on to say that while the season didn’t end the way they wanted it to, it “will always be the best clubhouse to be in”.
At the conclusion of last year, File became a free agent for the first time in his professional career. This led him to sign a $550K contract with the Doosan Bears, presumably a one-year pact.
Unfortunately, things didn’t work out for anyone involved in this deal. The right-hander was struck in the head by a comebacker early on in KBO Spring Training that led to him missing the first month of the season. As Yoo notes, File returned to make just two starts before once again being placed on the injured list. In a DM with Yoo, he mentioned that Bears manager Lee Seung-yuop determined the Bears couldn’t wait anymore for contributions out of File’s spot in the rotation. Once the player began feeling discomfort while playing catch, the decision was made final.
Yoo also notes that File is the fourth foreign player to be released from the KBO this year as he joins former big leaguers Burch Smith, Enny Romero and Brian O’Grady.
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