Kiwoom Heroes announced on the 11th that they signed a 2024 season contract with Dawson, a foreign hitter, for a total of $600,000, including $550,000 in annual salary and $50,000 in incentives.
Dawson wrote a replacement success story.
Kiwoom hired Edison Russell as a foreign hitter for the 2023 season. He joined hands again after three years, but the results were not good.
Russell was drafted by the Oakland Athletics (11th overall) in the first round of the 2012 MLB Rookie Draft, and then transferred to the Chicago Cubs in a trade in July 2014. Since his Major League debut in 2015, he has displayed outstanding defense capability and became a leading player for the Cubs in 2016. He has excellent batting ability with 21 home runs in 151 games.
He wore a Kiwoom uniform as a foreign player for Taylor Motors in 2021, but he left 65 games batting .254 with two home runs, which was less than expected. Eventually, he failed to renew his contract and left the KBO League.
In three years, Kiwoom recruited Russell again. It was judged that he had grown further.
He had a batting average of 286 with four homers and 42 RBIs in 59 games this season, but fell short of Kiwoom's standard. What was achieved along with Russell's release was Dawson's recruitment.
Dawson, born in 1995, was born in Ohio, U.S., and wore a Houston Astros jersey in the second round (No. 61 overall) of the 2016 MLB Rookie Draft. Making his major league debut in 2021, he transferred to the Cincinnati Reds in 2022.
He played for Lexington Counter Clarks of the U.S. Independent League Atlantic League this year. He recorded a batting average of 282 with 13 homers, 39 RBIs and 13 stolen bases in 63 games.
"He is a right-handed, left-handed outfielder and is close to a five-tool player. He has talent in offense, defense, and base running. He boasts strong power from his 188 centimeter-tall, 90-kilogram muscular body, and strong ability to make good hits with fast swing speed. He also has a good sense of base and base running. He has a wide range of defense and good response speed to hits," said Kiwoom.
In the Major League, he played two seasons and recorded one hit in eight at-bats in four games, recording a batting average of 247 with 72 homers and 305 RBIs in 641 minor league games, 387 runs scored (on-base plus slugging) and 0.743.
At that time, Kiwoom General Manager Ko Hyung-wook said, "We replaced it as much as we could to increase our scoring productivity," adding, "I hope it will inspire positive energy with the performance of public orders."
Dawson quickly entered the KBO league with his signature positive image. He showed extraordinary adaptability by taking care of not only the players but also the front desk. A Kiwoom official smiled, saying, "I think the friendliness is the best ever."
In 57 games this season, he successfully finished the season with a batting average of 336 with three home runs and 29 RBIs, and Kiwoom listed Dawson as a target for renewal early on.
"Dawson is a five-tool player type and contributed to the team's victory by playing in various positions such as offense, defense, and baserunning. Thanks to his unique cheerful personality, he also had a smooth relationship with his teammates and instilled positive energy in the team with a sincere training attitude in everything," Kiwoom explained the background of the renewal of the contract.
Soon after signing the contract, Dawson said through his club, "I'm more than anything else happy to play in the KBO League again. I'm especially happy to meet the Kiwoom Heroes fans who gave me a lot of love. I'll do my best to help the team win more games next season."