The biggest spending ever, several 'MLB Big Names'...Snow on the Foreigners in 2025
The biggest spending ever, several 'MLB Big Names'...Snow on the Foreigners in 2025
Blog Article
The recruitment of foreign players by 10 professional baseball teams, which will mark the 2025 season, has been completed. In addition to spending the largest amount of money ever, there are many interesting factors more than ever, including the addition of several "big names" who played in the Major League.
On the 26th, when the KIA Tigers recruited foreign batter Patrick Wisdom, the composition of all 30 foreign players from all 10 clubs was completed.
The total ransom of 30 foreign players this year is 34.2 million U.S. dollars including the option, which is the largest since 2015 when the 10-team system was established. The ransom per person amounts to 1.14 million dollars.
As the ransom is all-time high, there are also "newcomers" who boast a brilliant career.
Wisdom, who was the last of the 30 foreigners to join the team, is a good example. Wisdom hit 88 home runs in the Major League, and in particular, he hit more than 20 home runs for three consecutive years from 2021 to 2023.
His performance dropped as he fell behind in the competition to become a starting pitcher this year, but he still played as a starting hitter in the Major League until recently. Despite his poor contact ability, his power has been recognized even in the Major League.
Cole Irvin, who joined the Doosan Bears as a new foreign pitcher, also has considerable major league experience.
Irvin has been a starting pitcher since 2021. Notably, when he was playing for the Oakland Athletics in 2021, he recorded 10-15 losses and 4.24 ERA, and 9-13 losses and 3.98 ERA in 2022. He played 111 innings in 29 games this year, recording six wins, six losses and one save and 5.11 ERA.
Pitchers who have been in the starting rotation in the major leagues, such as Hector Noesi (former KIA) and Eric Peddy (former NC Dinos), have come before, but it is difficult to find a case like Irvin who has been active until recently.
Doosan's foreign hitter Jake Cave is also notable. Cave survived the big leagues for seven consecutive years from 2018 to this year, and he was a "class backup" who played more than 50 games in all except for 2020, when the season was shortened.
In particular, this year, he played 123 games, a personal record, with a batting average of 0.251 and seven home runs and 37 RBIs for the Colorado Rockies.
In addition, Mitch White (SSG Landers), who is well-known as the "Park Chan-ho resemblance" and the third generation of Korean descent, and Cody Ponce (Hanwha Eagles), who performed well in Japanese professional baseball, are also considered noteworthy.
Among foreigners in 2025, only 13 players renewed their contracts, but if the scope is expanded to "old officials" with KBO league experience, the number is more than half, 17. They can be said to be players who can guarantee some performance. 메이저사이트
In particular, KT Wiz filled all three players with "Gugwan," including renewing contracts with existing foreigners Mel Rojas Jr. and William Cuevas and recruiting Enmanuel de Heysus, who broke up with Kiwoom Heroes.