The possibility of long-lived foreign pitcher Drew Luchinski (34) leaving the NC Dinos has surfaced.
Luchinski is currently not actively negotiating a renewal contract with NC. NC general manager Lim Seon-nam said in a phone call with Ilgan Sports, “It seems that the players are prioritizing the United States. It seems that they want to talk (negotiate) with them first.”
Luczynski has been active in NC since 2019. He won a total of 53 wins over four years, ranking second in the club’s history with the most wins by a foreign pitcher, following Eric Hacker (56 wins). This season’s record is 10-12 with an average ERA of 2.97. Although his individual victories decreased for three consecutive years, his detailed performance, including innings and strikeouts, reached a career high after advancing to the KBO League. NC classified Luchinski as a candidate for renewal and included it in the list of reserved players. The players also conveyed their intentions. However, the proper negotiation table has not yet been set.
The reason why the negotiations are not smooth is because of the interest of the American Major League (MLB) clubs. On the 2nd of last month (Korean time), The Athletic, an American sports media outlet, selected the top 50 MLB FA rankings and mentioned Luchinski’s name for the 33rd time. MLB columnist Keith Law, who wrote the article, 메이저사이트 said of Luczynski, ‘When he played in the bullpen in the United States, his fastball velocity was 92 to 94 miles (148.1 to 151.3 km/h), but in Korea he shot 94 to 96 miles (151.3 to 154.5 km/h). He said, “The walk rate this season is only 4%, and a quarter of the batters he faced were struck out.” Then, “During the 4 years I played in the KBO league, I played more than 177 innings every year without breaking away.”
In Korea, Luczynski was responsible for more than 30 starts each year. NC coach Kang In-kwon said, “Ruchinski’s preparation process is perfect. He seems to be working hard without missing a single routine. Thanks to that, there are no injuries and he can throw a good ball just as well.”
Law rated Luczynski higher than veteran starting pitcher Corey Kluber (43rd). Kluber won the 2014 and 2017 American League Cy Young Awards with a career record of 113 wins. He has been active this season as well, winning 10 victories in the Tampa Bay Race. You can guess how much interest is in Luchinsky. The Athletic predicted that Luchinski would be able to sign a contract ranging from 16 to 18 million dollars (21 billion to 23.6 billion won) in 2 years to 20 million to 22 million dollars (26.2 to 28.8 billion won) in 3 years.
The terms of Luchinski’s contract this season were a total of 2 million dollars (2.6 billion won), including a down payment of 300,000 dollars, an annual salary of 1.6 million dollars, and an incentive of 100,000 dollars. He was the highest level among foreign players in the KBO league, but the story changes when he succeeds in advancing to the MLB. As much as he can get his hands on an astronomical sum, his NC stay is bound to be pushed to the next best thing.
It remains to be seen whether local interest in the US will lead to actual recruitment. In some cases, players’ agents use the media to gain an advantage in negotiations with domestic clubs. However, Luchinski’s mood is slightly different. He is known to have an MLB club that applied for an identity inquiry through the Korea Baseball Organization (KBO). The identity check is a pre-procedure before signing the player. There are also cases where only an identity inquiry is entered and no contract is made, but NC is moving with the possibility of Luchinski leaving in mind.
NC gave up on renewing the contract with another foreign pitcher, Matt Dermody. If Luchinski leaves the team, both foreign pitcher positions will be vacant. NC is negotiating with multiple candidates, including a right-handed pitcher who played an active part in the big leagues this season. Lim Seon-nam, general manager, said, “Since I can’t continue to spend time like this, I think we need to talk (contract deadline, etc.).”