adminIn many ways, it makes sense. The Lotte Giants have made a foreign player change, but it’s likely to be a one-off.
Lotte made another foreign player move on Nov. 11. The Giants claimed outfielder Jack Rex off waivers and signed Nico Goodrum, 31, as their new foreign player. The total investment was $400,000.
Rex joined Lotte as a substitute late last year and finished with a .905 OPS in 56 games (218-for-72) with eight home runs and 34 RBIs. It was a small sample size of three months, but the performance was strong and impressive. Lotte spent a hefty $1.3 million to re-sign him, hoping to get an edge on major league clubs.
However, Rex’s time in the KBO started to go south in May. A tendon injury in his knee required rehabilitation, which could take as long as 10 weeks to get back to full strength, but it wasn’t an immediate exit. He chose to play while rehabbing and managing, but his knee wasn’t getting any better.
Lotte had been looking for a replacement, and when one became available, the decision was made. Rex ends his career in Korea after batting 2-for-46 (50-for-203) with four home runs, 30 RBIs and a .683 OPS in 55 games this year.
Goodrum, an infield utility player, finished his six-year major league career with a .688 OPS in 402 games, hitting .311 with 42 home runs, 46 doubles and an OPS of .688. This season, he’s been a solid producer for the Boston Red Sox minor league Triple-A Worcester Red Sox, hitting .218 (8-for-61) with eight home runs, 36 RBI, seven doubles and an .888 OPS in 65 games.
Sutton said of Goodrum, “He’s a guy we’ve been watching for close to a year and a half. He’s a switch-hitter who does a great job of controlling his zone. This year, he’s had more walks than strikeouts, so he’s got a good strikeout rate.” This year, Goodrum has 66 strikeouts and 60 walks in Triple-A.
“He’s also played four seasons in the majors. He’s got the athleticism to play a lot of different positions.” “He’ll be here this week. He’ll be here within the week, and we’ll give him plenty of time to work out and integrate during the All-Star break.”
Lotte has invested close to the maximum amount it can afford in Goodrum. He was released by the Worcester Red Sox on March 3 local time. More precisely, he exercised his opt-out right. “Goodrum exercised his opt-out clause and became a free agent,” explained Chris Cotillo of Boston’s MassLive. There was no transfer fee and the team could guarantee him a relatively large amount of money. The KBO has a $1 million salary cap, which means that when transfer fees are included, players are left with less money. Since there is only a limited amount of money that can be given to a player during the season, it is important to guarantee as much money as possible so that the player will choose to stay in the KBO.메이저사이트,
Lotte is also looking to make a pitching change. Straylor is a likely candidate. He can pitch five innings, but the priority for replacing him is Rex, who is struggling to get through games.
However, Straylor’s survival is not assured. He’s becoming a pitcher you can’t count on for more than five innings. He has four quality starts in 16 games. He hasn’t pitched more than six innings in six straight games since his last quality start on June 2 against the KIA (7 innings, 8 hits, 1 walk, 8 strikeouts, 2 earned runs). Lotte’s worries about Straily, who is doing the math but not the numbers, are deepening. For starters, Straylor was removed from the first team after his last start of the first half on April 9 against LG.
As with Goodrum, the timing of any decision on the pitcher’s part will likely be determined by how the U.S. market plays out. If he becomes a free agent through an opt-out soon, Lotte could make a decision right away. Last year, Straily was brought in as a replacement and signed in August.