Lotte Giants’ newly appointed manager Kim Tae-hyung’s plans for foreign players for the new season have been outlined. Both pitchers remained, and the batter was replaced.
Coach Kim revealed his plans for foreign players through an interview after his first meeting with the Lotte players at Sangdong Stadium in Gimhae on the 25th. Coach Kim gave a positive evaluation of Charlie Barnes and Aaron Wilkerson, saying, “First of all, these two players have control and are able to manage the game.”
Barnes, who spent two seasons in the KBO League, was the only player to be with Lotte from start to finish this season. While Dan Straily (16 games, 3 wins, 5 losses, ERA 4.37) and Jack Rex (55 games, 0.246 batting average, 4 home runs, 30 RBIs, 0.683 OPS) were replaced due to poor performance, there was also speculation that Barnes would be replaced at one point due to his pitching ups and downs until mid-season. This also came out.
Barnes, who failed to meet expectations in the first half with 5 wins, 6 losses, and an average ERA of 4.57 in 16 games, successfully rebounded in the second half with 6 wins, 4 losses, and an average ERA of 2.05 in 14 games. Following last year’s 12 wins (12 losses, ERA 3.62), Barnes recorded double-digit wins for the second consecutive year with 11 wins, 10 losses, and ERA 3.28 in 30 games this year. Although he is not an overwhelming ace, he has shown sufficient skills to be the second starter.
Wilkerson, who joined midway through the season as a replacement for Straley, performed at a league ace level, exceeding expectations. Wilkerson, who did not show a very impressive performance with the Japanese professional baseball Hanshin Tigers last year with 5 wins, 5 losses, and an ERA of 4.08 in 14 games, played the role of Lotte’s de facto ace in the second half of the year by recording 7 wins, 2 losses, and an ERA of 2.26 in 13 games in his first year in the KBO League. .
Coach Kim said, “I’ve seen countless foreign players so far, but no matter how much you look at the data and bring in good players, there are players who can’t adapt and if you take the wrong first step, their records are worse than expected.” (Barnes and “I think Wilkerson is the most stable. I don’t know if there are players who are much better than the two players, but first of all, these two players are going stably,” he said, expressing his intention to keep the foreign pitcher as is without replacement.먹튀검증
On the other hand, a clear line was drawn against foreign hitter Nico Goodrum. Coach Kim said, “I didn’t worry about foreign batsmen. I’m thinking of changing them right away,” and added, “First of all, Gudrum is not worth using because he can’t defend.”
Goodrum, who entered the KBO League as Rex’s replacement, appeared in 50 games and recorded a batting average of 0.295 (51 hits in 173 at-bats) with 28 RBIs and an OPS of 0.760. He improved his batting skills at the end of the season, and although his batting average was not bad, he did not hit a single home run. Goodrum, who was said to have strengths in defense as a utility player, recorded a whopping 13 errors, contributing to Lotte falling behind in the ranking race at the end of the season.
Coach Kim’s criteria for recruiting new foreign hitters is, “A hitter’s slugging power is the first thing they look at. For foreign hitters, slugging power is the first thing they look at,” and “When a pitcher comes, he throws with his own skill to a certain extent, but the hitter shows a very different side. That’s why. “It’s quite sensitive,” he said.
Meanwhile, Coach Kim has been leading the final training in Sangdong since the 25th and is concentrating on getting to know the players. As the coaching staff who will assist coach Kim, including coaches Kim Min-jae, Joo Hyung-kwang, and Kim Joo-chan, are gradually being outlined, preparations for the 2024 season of ‘Rot Tae-hyung’ are gradually speeding up.