Categories: News

Former Phillie Aaron Altherr re-signs with KBO club NC Dinos

In the summer of 2019, the Philadelphia Phillies moved on from six-year veteran Aaron Altherr.

Aaron Altherr has found success in the KBO. (Cheryl Pursell)

Since then, he has become a productive player with the NC Dinos of the Korean Baseball Organization. Now, according to the NC Dinos official Twitter account, he has signed a new one-year contract worth $1.3 million for the 2021 season.

Altherr helped lead the NC Dinos to their first Korean Series championship in 2020, hitting 31 home runs in only 136 games and slashing .278/.352/.541.

During parts of six seasons in Philadelphia, Altherr flashed enough talent that some thought he could be a starting outfielder for a contending team. In his 2015 rookie campaign, he slashed .241/.338/.489. In 2017, Altherr was again an offensive threat for the Phillies, hitting 19 home runs and slashing .272/.340/.516.

However, Altherr played poorly in 2016, 2018 and 2019, hitting just .175 with the Phillies over those three seasons.

When the Phillies signed Andrew McCutchen and Bryce Harper to free-agent contracts in 2019, Altherr saw his playing time slashed even further. He struggled as a fifth outfielder in April before being designated for assignment in May.

After being claimed off waivers, Altherr made one appearance for the San Francisco Giants before again being placed on waivers and claimed by the New York Mets. In New York, he appeared in 26 games, hitting only .129 over the rest of the 2019 season.