Kiwoom Heroes announced a waiver for longevity foreign pitcher Eric Yokishi.
On the 16th, Kiwoom announced the waiver announcement for Yokishi, saying, “Yokishi, who complained of thigh pain after starting against Gocheok LG on the 6th, was diagnosed with a partial tear in the left adductor muscle and was informed that it would take about six weeks to return. “he explained. After appearing on the 6th, Yokishi was removed from the first team entry for a break on the 7th, but did not return.
Kiwoom said, “As the team has only about a month left in the regular season schedule, it is an important time to raise the team’s rankings, so it is necessary to minimize the power gap caused by the long absence of foreign pitchers. We have decided to recruit a new foreign pitcher to replace the city.”
Ko Hyeong-wook, general manager of Kiwoom, met with Yokishi and explained the background of the club’s decision, and Yokishi also understood and accepted the club’s position. Kiwoom said, “The club will not spare support until Yokishi’s personal affairs are finalized. I admit, I plan to set aside time to say goodbye to my fellow players as well as to the fans.”
Yokishi served as the team’s ace pitcher for five seasons, appearing in 130 games, recording 56 wins and 36 losses with an ERA of 2.85. He had the lowest average earned run average and the most innings pitched (773⅔ innings) among league pitchers who filled regulation innings during that period. A model foreign player who has never caused trouble even in terms of his self-management. His performance this season was 12 games, 5 wins, 3 losses, an average ERA of 4.39, and Choi Won-tae tied for the most wins in the team.
The fact that Kiwoom decided to announce the Yokishi Waver announcement and announced a new foreign pitcher within an hour was that until the 15th, “no specific diagnosis was made” to the outside, but as he endured the game on the 6th, the injury may have been before that. . And it is interpreted because he was actively listing candidates for substitute players before the injury. Because there were specific candidates, it would have been possible to actively promote contracts with specific players as soon as injury issues arose.
In the end, it was said that there were problems with performance before the injury. Although Kiwoom constitutes the most stable starting lineup in the league this year, Yokishi’s performance did not match the ace modifier he has shown so far. Yokishi achieved 6 quality starts in 12 games, recording 65⅔ innings, averaging less than 6 innings per game. Except for 2019, his first year in the team, it was a card that gave predictable pitching with an average ERA of 2 points every year, but this year the pitching was inconsistent.
Although he achieved 5 wins, he was rather good at winning, ranking 4th in scoring assistance (7.13) in the league. Until May, Kiwoom struggled with the sluggish overall team batting line and had a lot of worries about the bullpen enough to change the finishing position in the middle, so the foreign player’s short innings digestion and unstable pitching were a big concern. Since Kiwoom is giving starting pitchers a 10-day break from first-team erasure each time, replacement starting pitchers are constantly needed, so another alternative starting pitcher to throw until Yokishi returns is not appropriate.
In addition, since the adductor muscle is a lower body muscle that has a great influence on pitching, it is not certain whether Yokishi will be able to show a better pitch than before, even if he returns in the second half of the year after taking a break for six weeks. Kiwoom had no choice but to part with Yokishi, who played for the team for more than four years and led the team to the Korean Series last year, full of regret.
Kiwoom explained, “With only about a month left in the regular season schedule, we need to raise the team’s rankings,” but there is another Asian game in the second half. Lee Jung-hoo, Kim Hye-seong, and second catcher Kim Dong-heon, who account for the majority of the team’s strength, will have to play the season while away for about a month from mid-September to early October. The club’s urgent situation, which had to accumulate as many victories as possible before that, also hastened to say goodbye to Yokishi.안전놀이터
Kiwoom filled the vacancy of Yokishi by quickly confirming the replacement selection. The replacement player was left-hander Ian McKinney, who was acquired for a total of $185,000. General manager Koh explained, “If we had considered it carefully, we could have recruited better players, but we picked the best among the players who could be recruited quickly.”