Professional baseball Lotte Giants concluded contracts for foreign players (two pitchers, one batter) for the 2023 season as soon as the last season ended.
During the season, he signed a seal with Dan Strayley, who returned Glenn Sparkman, for 1 million dollars, and Charlie Barnes, who had 12 wins and an ERA of 3.62 last year, for 1.25 million dollars. Expectations were raised that the two players would be responsible for winning 30 seasons together with a one-two punch on the Lotte mound this year.
However, at the beginning of the season메이저놀이터, the two are performing at their worst. As of the 17th, Lotte is the only team out of 10 teams that has two foreign pitchers each without a win. First starter Strayley started 3 games and recorded 2 losses and an average ERA of 5.74. In the opening game against Doosan Bears on the 1st, 3 runs in 5 innings, 5 runs in 6 innings against the KT Wiz on the 8th, and 4 runs in 4 and 2/3 innings against the Samsung Lions on the 14th.
Barnes, who comes out as a third starter, also has a 10.80 ERA in two starts and one loss. On the 11th, against the LG Twins, 4 runs were lost in 4 and 1/3 innings, and on the 16th, against Samsung, it collapsed with 8 runs in 5 and 2/3 innings.
It is natural to expect victory on the day a foreign pitcher comes out as a starter, but Lotte only recorded 1 win and 4 losses in 5 games with the two this season. It is all the more disappointing because Na Kyun-an, who has been transitioning from catcher to pitcher for 3 years, has become a domestic ace and has 3 wins and an average ERA of 1.45 in 3 games.
As of the 17th, Lotte is in 7th place with 5 wins and 7 losses in 12 games. However, the team’s on-base percentage is 0.343, which is second only to LG. The balance of the air defense is not right, so it is in the lower ranks.
In the long run, the bigger problem is that the two foreign pitchers are not able to handle many innings, putting a constant burden on the bullpen. Strayley and Barnes totaled 25 and 2/3 innings in 5 games, barely averaging over 5 innings. Fastball prospect Lee Min-seok, who was expected to be part of the bullpen’s winning team, has left the lineup due to elbow surgery, which inevitably increases the fatigue of the entire bullpen.
However, the situation of the Lotte pitching staff is not easy to send them down to the 2nd team to give them time to rest and maintain. In addition, it is difficult to find alternative resources because the American and Japanese professional baseballs are also in the early stages of the season.
In the end, there is no choice but to wait for them to solve the problem on their own and change. Lotte clubs and fans, who have memories of slipping at the threshold of fall baseball due to dragging the sluggish Sparkman last season, are deepening their worries and concerns.