The Hanwha Eagles will trade left-hander Koo Dae Sung to the Orix BlueWave of Japan's Pacific League, club officials said Monday.
Although financial details were not disclosed, South Korea's Yonhap News Agency reported that the deal on the 31-year-old pitcher surpasses 500 million yen, including a signing bonus and a salary for next year.
Koo impressed baseball scouts from Japan and the major leagues with a complete-game victory in South Korea's 3-1 win over Japan in the bronze medal game at the Sydney Olympics in September.
He led the South Korean league with a 2.77 earned run average this past season.
He has a 61-58 record with 151 saves and a 2.79 ERA in his seven-year career.
* The Pacific League champion Daiei Hawks on Monday signed outfielder Koji Akiyama to a new, 150 million yen contract, a 15 million yen pay raise from the 2000 season. The 38-year-old Akiyama finished the season with a .262 average, five homers and 48 RBIs and became the 28th player in Japanese baseball to reach the 2,000-hit plateau in August.
* The Nippon Ham Fighters, meanwhile, increased infielder Atsushi Kataoka's salary by 40 million yen to 180 million yen for a career-best 21 homers and 97 RBIs in 2000, with a .290 average.