The LG Twins are playing the foreign player replacement card. No player has been struggling, but sixth-year starter Casey Kelly is on the chopping block again.
LG manager Cha Myung-seok traveled to the United States on Sunday. To see foreign players. The LG club admitted it, and manager Yoon Kyung-yeop met with the press on the 17th and said, “He went in a hurry because one of the players on our list came out. He said he would check him out,” he explained.
However, he cautioned that the manager’s trip does not necessarily lead to a replacement. One of the foreign players on LG’s list has recently entered the market, and the trip is to see what the current status of the player is, and what level of coordination would be if a contract is signed.
If LG’s foreign players excel in the meantime, there may be no reason to make a change, or if the negotiations don’t go as planned, it may not happen at all.
However, with the clear reason for manager Cha Myung-seok’s trip to the U.S. being made public, it’s inevitable that it will also be made public to the players. In the end, two foreign pitchers will be replaced. Kelly and Dietrick Enns, and if you were to compare their recent form, Kelly would be the one to replace.
Kelly is in his sixth season with the LG.
This isn’t the first time he’s been talked about as a possible replacement. Last year, his declining power and increased walks led to calls for a change, and there was even talk of exploring the possibility of replacing him specifically. But in the end, they didn’t, and the second half of the season was dominated by Adam Plutko, not Kelly.
It’s fair to say that Kelly’s performance this season hasn’t been overwhelming. In 19 games, he’s 5-8 with a 4.51 ERA. His home runs allowed (13) and batting average (.290) 안전놀이터 are undeniably his highest since joining the KBO. Opposing hitters know Kelly all too well, and his age is a reality, as he’s in his mid-30s, born in 1989.
That doesn’t mean he’s been performing poorly enough to warrant immediate replacement, and objectively, he hasn’t. Of his 19 starts, he’s had 11 quality starts (6+ innings and 3 earned runs or less). That’s not low. It was less than a month ago that he threw a one-hit shutout that could have been a perfect game. Since then, Kelly has had two six-inning, one-run games and one five-inning, five-run game in three games.
In the end,
The move, which manager Yoon Kyung-yup said, “If we change the pitcher to a foreigner, this season will be the last chance for us,” is a reflection of the team’s desperation for a more reliable, more fearsome ace.
For LG, which is trying to win the championship for the second year in a row, it means that neither Enns nor Kelly can be expected to be the clear-cut No. 1 starter and ace. The diminished contributions from domestic pitchers this year, unlike last year, is also a starting point for concern.
However, there have already been rumors of a replacement this year. In the first half of the year, Cha Myung-seok’s departure to the U.S. fueled speculation of a foreign pitcher, and he returned home without any tangible results. Surprisingly, the replacement theory was confirmed when Enns and Kelly began to relay back-to-back strong pitches.
This is the second time this year. This time, the process was made public before the details of the contract were revealed. Foreign players can’t be unaware of this atmosphere. They can’t help but feel a sense of urgency, which is reflected in their teammates.
Will this be the end of the road for the team, or will it be the beginning of the end for the team?