“We were Brandon from the beginning.”
Doosan Bears manager Lee Seung-yeop welcomed the arrival of substitute foreign pitcher Brandon Waddell (29) before the Changwon NC Dinos game on Wednesday. Doosan announced the signing of Brandon on the same day for a total of $280,000.
Lee said that he had been thinking of Brandon since he started thinking about replacing a foreign pitcher. Doosan spent $650,000 on Dylan Pyle as the No. 2 starter this year, but he struggled to regain his form after being sidelined with a bone spur injury during spring training. The club made Brandon, who had served as a backup foreign pitcher last season, a top priority, and Lee agreed.
“We had Brandon from the beginning. We’ve been watching him on video since last year. I thought he was a good pitcher, and I heard he made his first start last year (in Korea) after being a middle reliever. This year, I think he’s coming from a good situation, having been in the starting rotation in Taiwan from the beginning of the season. There are a lot of good left-handed hitters in the KBO, so I feel like he’s going to be a pitcher who can target lefties and shut them down.”
The left-hander went 5-3 with a 3.60 ERA in 11 games for Doosan last year. This year, he started 11 games for the Rakuten Monkeys of the Chinese Professional Baseball League (CPBL), going 5-4 with a 2.69 ERA in 67 innings pitched.
A Doosan representative said, “Brandon showed his competitiveness in the KBO last year with his hard-hitting fastball and big-angle changeup. This year, he raised expectations in the CPBL by ranking at the top of the league in ERA with his stable performance,” said a Doosan representative, explaining the reasoning behind the reunion.
Brandon will make one more appearance in Taiwan before flying to Korea on the 16th. Lee is also very positive about the situation.메이저사이트
“I think it went well. I heard that he has to get a visa now, so he can’t come in (to Korea) yet. If I was out of the team, I would have to do private workouts, but fortunately, if I throw one more game, I have another week, so I think one more game will put me in a good position to go straight into the starting lineup. I’m going to have to do my best in the game, but hopefully I’ll be able to do it without any injuries.”
Brandon is expected to pitch in the KBO by the end of next week, once his visa issues are resolved. “I’m hoping to have him pitch by the end of next week. Unless there are any unforeseen circumstances with the visa, I’m hoping he’ll be able to throw next weekend, and that’s what I’m anticipating.”