“I needed a stable starting pitcher.”
In two days, three players changed quickly. KIA laid the foundation for team reconstruction.
On the 6th, KIA successively announced the recruitment of Mario Sanchez and Thomas Panoni (29) with a time difference of about four hours. It is an aggressive move following the signing of catcher Kim Tae-gun through a trade the previous day.
KIA, which is dominated by left-handed pitchers, recruited two right-handed pitchers who throw fast balls ahead of this season. Adonis Medina was sluggish with an ERA of 6.05 with 2 wins and 6 losses, and was considered a candidate to be removed early. In fact, Anderson had a normal schedule, pitching in the bullpen ahead of the Munhak SSG match on the 5th.
However, KIA announced the signing of Sanchez in the morning of the same day, and revealed that it had signed a contract with Panoni in the afternoon. Sanchez is a pitcher who was in the starting rotation for Tungyi in the Taiwan Professional Baseball League. He pitched 62.6 innings in 10 games and posted an outstanding performance with an ERA of 1.44 with 8 wins and 1 loss. He is 185 cm tall and weighs 75 kg and has a slim physique, but is considered a player with excellent control and game management skills. In Taiwan, he ranked first in terms of wins and average ERA in the first half. He is known for throwing mid-140km/h fastballs, curveballs, sliders, and changeups.
Panoni, who boarded the plane to Korea this afternoon, is a so-called ‘re-employee’ who played an active part in KIA last year. In his debut season in the KBO League, he pitched 82.2 innings in 14 games and went 3-4 with a 2.72 earned run average. He has a variety of balls and good control. After failing to renew the contract with KIA, he joined Nashville, a triple-A affiliate of Milwaukee, and kept the starting rotation. He made 11 appearances in the minor leagues this year and had a decent record with 3 wins and 1 loss with an ERA of 2.70.
KIA coach Kim Jong-guk revealed the reason for replacing all foreign pitchers, saying, “We need a slightly stronger starting lineup” ahead of an away game against SSG held at SSG Landers Field in Incheon on the 6th. He said, “The replacement of Madina has already been decided, and Anderson is not bad, but it is true that there was a sense of stability that was lacking.”오래된 토토사이트
Although they are in 9th place, they are only 4 games behind Doosan in 3rd place. KIA did not even play half of the regular season schedule. This means that there is ample room for a rebound. Baseball is a game of pitching, and the flower of pitching is selection. It plays the role of starting the game and creating the flow. The replacement of foreign pitchers and the recruitment of veteran catchers are read as meaning that they are aiming for more than a simple top-five.
If you play 7 games, including the game on this day, you will have a week-long All-Star break. This means that the new foreign pitcher and catcher have enough time to match and form rapport. Quiet but impatient KIA sharpens his claws.