At the start of the 2023 season, only five of the 20 foreign pitchers were left-handed. But the 2024 season is different. It looks like it will be the ‘Age of the Lefty’. More left-handed pitchers have already signed contracts than last year.
As of today, there are 13 foreign pitchers signed by 10 teams, with seven left-handed pitchers accounting for more than half of the total. Each team is signing at least one left-handed pitcher.
The KT Wiz re-signed William Cuevas, the winningest pitcher in the league, for a total of $1.5 million, and then re-signed Wes Benjamin, a left-handed pitcher who finished second in wins with 15, for a total of $1.4 million, to provide a one-two punch for next season. Benjamin was particularly dominant this year, going 4-0 with a 0.84 ERA against the championship-winning LG.
SSG Landers also re-signed left-hander Roenis Elias, who came in as a replacement this year, for a total of $1 million. 안전놀이터 Elias appeared in 22 games (21 starts), going 8-6 with a 3.70 ERA.
Lotte Giants left-hander Charlie Barnes will also return for a third consecutive year.
Barnes, who went 11-10 with a 3.28 ERA in 30 games this year, was especially steady in the second half of the year, going 6-4 with a 2.05 ERA in 14 games. Re-signed for a total of $1.35 million.
The LG Twins, who ran a prolific Casey Kelly-Adam Plutko 1-2 punch this season, did not re-sign Plutko, who was out for the season with an injury in the second half, and instead signed left-hander Detrick Enns as their new pitcher. Enns, who won 10 games with the Seibu Lions in Japan last year, has just one win this season, but is considered to have good command of his pitches. LG hopes that Enns will be able to lead the team to a second straight championship alongside Kelly, who has been with the team for six years.
The Kiwoom Heroes, who are in talks to re-sign Ariel Hurtado, also brought in a new foreign pitcher in left-hander Enmanuel De Jesus. De Jesus is a young pitcher who stands at 1.90 meters tall, throws up to 150 kilometers, and will only be 28 years old next year. He might succeed in Korea and return to the major leagues.
With the departure of Eric Pedroia
Who became the first foreign pitcher to win the Pitcher’s Triple Crown and earn MVP honors, the NC Dinos brought in two foreign pitchers, both left-handed. They signed Daniel Castano for a total of $850,000 and then immediately followed it up with another lefty, Kyle Hart, for $900,000, with the possibility of bringing in left-handed ace Koo Chang-mo.
In addition, the Doosan Bears are also in talks to re-sign right-hander Raul Alcantara and left-hander Brandon Waddell, who both performed well this season. If Brandon is confirmed to stay with Doosan, seven teams will have left-handed pitchers. It is interesting to see if any of the pitchers brought in by the Samsung Lions, KIA Tigers, and Hanwha Eagles will be left-handed.
Of right-hander Mario Sanchez and left-hander Tomas Pannoni, who both pitched in relief this season, only Pannoni is up for re-signing. However, Panoni recently signed a minor league deal with the Chicago Cubs, leaving KIA with two new foreign pitchers.
Samsung is in talks to re-sign David Buchanan and is also looking for another new pitcher.
Hanwha re-signed Felix Peña, who won 11 games this year, and added a new slugger, Jonathan Peraza, and only needs to find a new pitcher to complete its foreign roster.
There’s a good reason why teams are looking to bring in left-handed pitchers. There are a lot of good left-handed hitters in the KBO. If you look at the batting order this season, all five of the top hitters, from No. 1 Son Asub (NC) to No. 5 Guillermo Heredia (SSG), are left-handed. Of the 14 players with a batting average of 3% or higher, 사설 토토사이트 8 were left-handed. When it comes to keeping left-handed hitters at bay, having a lot of left-handed pitchers is an advantage.
For the first time ever, every team has a left-handed foreign pitcher on its roster. We’ll see how the other three teams fare.