Former Philadelphia Phillies Draft Pick and Top Prospect Signs Deal Overseas

One of the past Philadelphia Phillies pitchers is now continuing his career overseas after a signing a one-year deal.

Feb 27, 2020; Fort Myers, Florida, USA; Philadelphia Phillies starting Cole Irvin (47) warms-up before the fourth inning during the game against the Boston Red Sox at JetBlue Park / Jim Rassol-Imagn Images

The Philadelphia Phillies are searching for someone who can command the fifth spot in their rotation.

When they signed Taijuan Walker two years ago, they thought he would be someone who'd be a solid option for them behind Zack Wheeler and Aaron Nola, but after another disastrous season, he might not be a factor in 2025.

The only thing keeping him around is his contract.

He still has $36 million owed to him for the next two years, and while that is certainly an expensive reliever if he does get relegated to that role, there are also very few teams around the league who would be willing to pay Walker that much money considering how he's looked with the Phillies.

Someone they hoped would have been in their rotation when they selected him in the fifth round of the 2016 MLB draft was Cole Irvin.

Philadelphia picked him following his incredible amateur career, and after one season in the minors, the left-hander became a top 25 prospect in their farm system before he peaked at No. 16 in 2019 ahead of his Major League debut.

Unfortunately, his tenure didn't go quite as expected.

Irvin only appeared in 19 games with three starts during the 2019 and 2020 campaigns where he produced a 6.75 ERA across his 45.1 innings pitched that ultimately caused the Phillies to trade him to the Athletics ahead of 2021 for cash considerations.

It looked like Philadelphia might have made a mistake when he turned in a 4.11 ERA across his 62 starts in a two-year stretch, but after the Baltimore Orioles traded for him prior to the 2023 season, he struggled to produce consistent results.

Now, Irvin will look to continue his career overseas.

According to Jee-ho Yoo of Yonhap News Agency, he has signed a one-year, $1 million deal with the Doosan Bears of the Korean Baseball Organization.

That comes on the heels of him being designated for assignment twice this past campaign by the Orioles before the Minnesota Twins scooped him up late in the season. When he had major issues with them, he elected to become a free agent instead of accepting an outright assignment to the minors.

Irvin could follow in the footsteps of other pitchers who have gone overseas to get things fixed before coming back stateside and getting their Major League careers back on track.

At 30 years old, that is a real possibility for the former fifth-round pick of the Phillies.