The Cardinals announced theyve transferred the contract of right-hander to the Kia Tigers of the Korea Baseball Organization. The move clears a spot on the 40-man roster, which now sits at 39. This transaction is made with Nailes consent. Hell lock in a $550K guarantee taking the form of a $200K signing bonus and a $350K salary with an additional $150K available in incentives, reports Jeeho Yoo of Yonhap News ( ). The Kia Tigers are also paying the Cardinals a $250K release fee. Its a beneficial transaction for all involved. Naile, who turns 31 next month, secures the strongest contract of his career to date. Selected by the As in the 20th round of the 2015 draft Lowell Narcisse Jersey , the 64 hurler spent seven years in the Oakland farm system. He never got a big league call and landed with the Cards in minor league free agency over the 2021-22 offseason. That resulted in a long-awaited MLB look for the UAB product. Naile was called up for seven relief outings in 2022. St. Louis ran him through outright waivers last offseason, keeping him in the organization in a non-roster capacity. They reselected his contract in early May and bounced him on and off the MLB roster throughout the summer. Naile made 10 more big league appearances but surrendered 19 runs in 15 1/3 innings. With a 7.40 ERA in 24 1/3 career MLB frames, Naile wasnt a lock to hold his spot on the 40-man into next season. Even if he kept his position on the 40-man, he mightve spent most of next year on optional a signment to Triple-A Memphis. Spending the majority or entirety of the season in the minors wouldve been le s profitable than the guarantee he inked to jump to the KBO. In addition to the final security, Naile will likely get a rotation look in Korea. He has pitched in relief for the past four years but worked out of the rotation up through 2019. He pitched in a multi-inning bullpen capacity a season ago, logging 59 frames over 31 Triple-A appearances. Naile posted strong numbers in the minors, turning in a 3.66 ERA while striking out over 26% of batters faced. He kept the ball on the ground at a robust 53.2% clip, a trait hes shown throughout his minor league career. KBO teams are allowed to carry two foreign-born pitchers on their roster. They tend to use those players out of the rotation as a result. Naile joins former Pirate as the Tigers foreign pitchers. Outfielder is their position player. Theyll add a player with an impre sive Triple-A rsum, while the Cardinals receive some cash for someone they mightve placed on waivers eventually anyway. If Naile pitches well as a starter in the KBO, he could elevate his stock for major league clubs an offseason or two from now. Giovani Bernard Jersey