A foreign player has already exited the 2023 KBO League No. 1. Issue 2 is likely to be SSG Landers. Direction is more important than speed.
SSG is spending the beginning 먹튀검증of the 2023 season without one out of two foreign pitchers. Kirk McCarty seems to have made a soft landing in the KBO League by pitching 3 games and 20 consecutive innings without an earned run after a slump against the KIA Tigers on the 2nd. However, another player, Annie Romero (32), is not even on the mound. He complained of shoulder pain while pitching at the second spring camp held in Okinawa, Japan, and has since been receiving only rehabilitation treatment. That’s in the US, not in the country.
SSG is considering replacing Romero. However, it is difficult to recruit replacement players because the American, Japanese, and Taiwanese leagues are all in the early stages of the season.
SSG has a wide pool of domestic starters. Even rookie Song Young-jin joined the team. Romero’s vacancy isn’t big yet.
However, from the point of view of the command tower, it is regrettable that one foreign pitcher is left empty. Head coach Kim Won-hyung, who has kept his poker face sparing his words, also said, “There are people available in the starting lineup, but there is not enough space,” ahead of the home Kiwoom Heroes game on the 23rd, and said, “I hope to recruit good players as soon as possible.”
First of all, it is a suggestion that the search for a replacement foreign player is in progress, and it is good to join quickly, but there was a glimpse of the desire for a player with proven skills to come. SSG is a team with a solid bullpen, but its strength is starting baseball. The depth (player base) of domestic players is thick, and no command tower is relieved.
Hanwha Eagles ‘former’ foreign pitcher Birch Smith was released on the 19th. On the 1st, in the first game against Kiwoom, there was no improvement after voluntarily giving up due to right shoulder pain. Hanwha immediately recruited Ricardo Sanchez.
Last season, the KT Wiz moved quickly and signed Wes Benjamin after William Cuevas was injured. The KIA Tigers also recruited Thomas Panoni as a replacement for Ronnie Williams, quickly erasing the foreign player vacancy. The same goes for other sports. The number of players that can be recruited is limited, and situations change, so quick decisions and movements are needed.
SSG won against Kiwoom on the 23rd and won 4 consecutive victories to regain first place. The firepower is top-notch, and the back door through which Seo Jin-yong has grown is also solid. Hwaryongjeonjeong is expected to be a new foreign player. We need to recruit good players quickly. Attention is focusing on whether SSG will be able to accomplish a mission that is not as easy as it sounds.