There’s a long-standing adage in baseball that “baseball is a pitcher’s game.
However, in the free agent (FA) market, this doesn’t work so well. There’s a perception that pitchers are expendable due to their shoulder-heavy nature. This means that even if a pitcher gets off to a good start in the league, their future is not guaranteed.카지노사이트
In the free agent market last winter, most pitching free agents were not welcomed. While Won Jong-hyun’s move from NC to Kiwoom kicked off the first wave of free agent signings and Lee Tae-yang’s return to his parent team Hanwha from SSG, the rest of the pitchers didn’t find a destination until later in the year. There was Kang Ri-ho, who eventually went missing and announced his retirement.
Kiwoom Chung Chan-heon. By Jeong Ji-yoon
So how did they fare halfway through the 2023 season?
The best performing pitcher is Lee Tae-yang. Lee signed a four-year contract with Hanwha for a total of 2.5 billion won.
Working out of the all-weather bullpen, Lee pitched 43 innings in 31 games in the first half of the season, posting a 1-2 record with a 2.30 ERA. She logged the most innings on the mound outside of the starting pitching staff. During Hanwha’s eight-game winning streak, Lee had a 2.25 ERA in four games. In only one of those four games did he allow a run. As a result, the Hanwha bullpen has a 3.81 ERA, which ranks fourth among the 10 clubs.
Han Hyun-hee of Lotte. Jeong Jeong-yoon, Senior Reporter
Chung ended up signing a free agent contract with Kiwoom in late March ahead of the start of the season.
There were some concerns after he missed the spring camp and joined the team’s full squad late in individual training. However, Chung’s record did not disappoint.
He went 2-5 with a 3.94 ERA in 11 games in the first half. His last start of the first half, against Doosan on the 9th, saw him give up six runs (five earned) in 3.2 innings, but he achieved a quality start in seven of the 11 games, fulfilling the basic requirements of a starting pitcher.
Manager Hong Won-ki Kiwoom said, “He joined the team late in the winter under difficult conditions, but we believe he has done 120 per cent of his job in the starting role.”
Other free agent pitchers, however, did not fare as well.
Won Jong-hyun has accepted the consequences of being out for the season due to injury. In 20 games this year, Won posted a 5.79 ERA with 16 runs (12 earned) in 18.2 innings pitched, and went under the knife with a strained right flexor. He is expected to rehab for about a year.
Han Hyun-hee, who received 4 billion won (3+1 years), the largest contract among free agent pitchers, did not live up to his billing. After starting the season as a starter, Han failed to live up to expectations, going 3-7 with a 5.10 ERA in 11 starts. He was moved to a relief role in late June, but it wasn’t a solution. He gave up 11 runs in nine innings in 10 games, adding to the team’s woes.
Reporter Ha-jin Kim hjkim@kyunghyang.com