The KIA Tigers traded for two foreign pitchers on June 6. They acquired Mario Sanchez, who was playing in the Taiwanese League, and Thomas Pannoni, who played for KIA last season.
They had already released Adonis Medina on April 4 and parted ways with another pitcher, Shawn Anderson, on the same day.
In his 12 appearances, Menida had a 6-1 record with an ERA of 2.05. The move was expected. Anderson’s story is a little different. He struggled in May, posting a seven-run ERA in four starts, but the team found issues with his mechanics and took him off the active roster once to allow him to recover. In his three starts since being recalled, he has thrown a quality start (6+ innings – 3 earned runs or less).
So Anderson’s release is a bit of a surprise. KIA had parted ways with Pannoni last winter in an effort to acquire a right-handed pitcher with a fastball.
Manager Kim Jong-kook explained the background when we met with him before the SSG Landers game on June 6. “Anderson is a pitcher with a good work ethic and a good delivery,” Kim admitted, “but he was a bit lacking in game management skills. Overall, it was monotonous. I thought Panoni was a little more reliable.”
Kia came into the season touted as a championship contender. However, they lost their top hitters, Na Sung-bum and Kim Do-young, to injuries and were unable to farm foreign pitchers. They dropped to ninth place.
In the end, they had a super rainy season before the All-Star break. They traded veteran infielder Ryu Ji-hyuk to the Samsung Lions to bolster the infield, which was a weakness, and brought in Kim Tae-gun, a starter with national team experience. They also changed all of their foreign pitchers. Na Seong-beom and Kim Do-young returned to the team, hoping to take advantage of the improved offense.먹튀검증
Captain Kim Sun-bin, who suffered a fractured thumb on his right hand while fielding, will also join the first team on May 8. The team will be at full strength in three months.
“I, the coaching staff, and the players all have to take responsibility,” said Kim Jong-kook. We had a poor first half, but we need to show that we can win,” he said. The support from the front has reached a new high. Now it’s up to the field.
KIA won 7-6 against SSG on the 6th. Ace Yang Hyun-jong pitched five innings of one-run ball and No. 4 hitter Choi Hyung-woo led the offense with a multi-homer game. Kim Tae-gun, making his first start since his transfer, had a multi-hit game, including the game-winning hit.