Former Marlins, Red Sox Pitcher Enmanuel De Jesus Drawing Interest From MLB Teams

Enmanuel De Jesus, who came up through the Boston Red Sox's farm system and had a lackluster MLB debut with the Miami Marlins in 2023, became the a workhorse in Korea this past season.

Feb 22, 2023; Jupiter, FL, USA; Miami Marlins pitcher Enmanuel De Jesus (83) poses for a photo during photo day at Roger Dean Chevrolet Stadium. / Jim Rassol-Imagn Images

Enmanuel De Jesus didn't see much success when he finally made it to the big leagues in 2023, but he revived his career overseas in 2024.

The left-handed pitcher signed a one-year, $800K contract with the Kiwoom Heroes of the Korean Baseball Organization last December. After going 0-2 with a 6.81 ERA and 2.053 WHIP as a member of the Miami Marlins, De Jesus went 13-11 with a 3.68 ERA and 1.255 WHIP in the KBO.

According to MLB Network's Jon Morosi, however, the Heroes are not offering De Jesus a contract to return for the 2025 season as they plan to restructure their roster. While the southpaw could sign with another KBO team, Morosi reported that De Jesus has already drawn interest from two MLB clubs.

FA news: The Kiwoom Heroes won’t offer LHP Enmanuel De Jesus a contract to return for 2025 due to their plans to restructure the roster.

De Jesus (4.05 K/BB ratio this year) is a free agent and already has drawn interest from 2 MLB clubs. Could also sign in KBO.@MLBNetwork

— Jon Morosi (@jonmorosi) November 21, 2024

De Jesus got his start in professional baseball all the way back in 2013, signing with the Boston Red Sox as a 16-year-old. Over the next six seasons, De Jesus put up a 3.79 ERA and 1.334 WHIP as he climbed from the Dominican Summer League to High-A.

Coming out of the COVID-canceled 2020 season, De Jesus made it to Double-A and Triple-A for the first time. He went 5-3 with a 3.94 ERA, 1.516 WHIP and 10.4 strikeouts per nine innings, but elected free agency in November 2021.

The Giants gave De Jesus a shot in 2022, when he went 4-5 with a 4.51 ERA, 1.564 WHIP and 10.4 strikeouts per nine innings in Triple-A, but he once again hit the open market at the end of the year. That's when De Jesus landed with the Marlins, going 5-5 with a 4.70 ERA, 1.652 WHIP and 6.8 strikeouts per nine innings in their minor league system before getting called up to the majors.

De Jesus tossed an average of 105 innings a year from 2021 to 2023, including majors, minors and international winter ball. He then reached 171.1 innings across 30 starts in the KBO this year, proving that he could shoulder a serious load if need be.

It remains to be seen which clubs are looking at De Jesus, and whether or not they are willing to give him a guaranteed major league contract offer. Regardless, he seemingly rebuilt his reputation in Korea this year, breathing life into his career heading into his age-28 season.

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