The Hanwha Eagles have signed Venezuelan pitcher Wilkel Hernandez to a one-year deal and brought back outfielder Yonathan Perlaza for the 2026 season. The move addresses potential changes in the team's pitching staff. Both players bring substantial minor league experience to the KBO club.
On Saturday, November 29, 2025, the Hanwha Eagles, runners-up in the 2025 Korean Series, announced the signings of two Venezuelan players: newly acquired pitcher Wilkel Hernandez and returning outfielder Yonathan Perlaza for his second stint in South Korea. Hernandez, a 26-year-old right-hander with no major league experience, signed a one-year deal worth up to $900,000, including a $100,000 signing bonus, $650,000 salary, and $150,000 in incentives. In 2025, he appeared in 34 Triple-A games for the Detroit Tigers system, posting a 3-7 record with a 4.80 ERA over 114 1/3 innings, including 19 starts. Across his minor league career, he has 152 appearances with 124 starts, a 31-42 record, and a 4.07 ERA.
Perlaza, a switch-hitter, returns after batting .275/.364/.486 with 24 home runs and 70 RBIs for the Eagles in 2024. He signed for up to $1 million—$700,000 salary, $200,000 signing bonus, and $100,000 incentives—and will replace Luis Liberato in the 2026 lineup. In 2025, with the San Diego Padres' Triple-A affiliate El Paso Chihuahuas, he was named club MVP after hitting .307/.391/.510 with 19 home runs and 113 RBIs in 138 games.
KBO rules allow teams up to three foreign-born players, with no more than two pitchers, plus an Asian or Australian player starting in 2026. The Eagles previously signed Taiwanese pitcher Wang Yan-Cheng for their Asian quota. In 2025, the team's rotation featured Cody Ponce and Ryan Weiss as the league's top duo: Ponce earned MVP honors with the Triple Crown (17 wins, 1.89 ERA, record 252 strikeouts), while Weiss went 16-? with a 2.87 ERA and 207 strikeouts—the first teammates to each exceed 200 strikeouts in a season. With Ponce attracting MLB interest and possibly returning to the United States, the Eagles moved quickly to secure a new foreign starting pitcher.