Kia released a press release on Monday, saying, "The KIA Tigers recruited Eric Stout (aged 31) as a substitute foreign player. Kia officially announced on Monday that it signed an annual salary of 45,000 U.S. dollars with pitcher Eric Stout (born in 1993) as a substitute foreign player. Stout will fill the void left by James Nail, who has recently been unable to participate in the regular season due to an injury. The team has used the short-term injury substitute foreign player system introduced in the KBO league this year. KIA had the history of using this system to recruit Cam Aldred (28) even when Will Crow was injured.
"Eric Stout, who is from Glen Elin, Illinois, USA, is a left-hander with a height of 188 centimeters and a weight of 98 kilograms, played for two seasons in the Major League, six seasons in the Minor League (triple A), and two seasons in the Taiwan Professional Baseball League (CPBL)," KIA said. "This season, he pitched in 20 games (19 starts) and 113.2 innings for the CPBL Jungshin Brothers, recording 10-5 losses and a 2.77 ERA."
"In the Major League, he pitched 24.2 innings, recording an ERA of one hold, one save, and 7.30 in the Major League, and in the Minor League, he recorded 16 wins, 12 losses, 14 saves and 12 holds with an ERA of 4.63 in 158 games (21 starts)." "Eric Stout plays fastballs, sweepers, cutters, and changeups in the mid to late 140 kilometers. He also has excellent strikeout capabilities, posting 8.4 strikeouts per nine innings in Triple-A and 9.3 per nine innings in the CPBL."
Eric Stout, who already had some communication with Kia, arrived at Incheon International Airport on Wednesday night. He is expected to join the team immediately and undergo medical tests and work visa issuance.
If the visa issue is resolved quickly, Kia is expected to join the starting rotation as early as next week. For now, there is no problem with the rotation itself this week. Kim Do-hyun is expected to be the starting pitcher at the match against Gwangju SSG on Friday, and Eric Lauer is scheduled to take the mound at the match against Gwangju SSG on Sunday. As there will be no match on Thursday, Hwang Dong-ha will play at the match against Samsung in Daegu on Sunday, and Yang Hyeon-jong, who took the mound on September 27, will be allowed to take a four-day break and return to the match on September 1. Chances are high that Stoute will join next week's schedule.
The reason Kia has visited foreign players again is because of Nail's injury. Nail, who signed a contract with Kia ahead of this season, showed good performance and supported its rotation as Kia's foreign ace. Nail pitched 149 ⅓ innings in 26 games this season, winning 12 games and losing five with an earned run average (ERA) of 2.53. After overcoming a crisis that he faced in the summer, he was on his way back to normal by cutting his ERA again. At a game against NC held in Changwon NC Park on Monday, he was cruising without allowing a run, as he overcame several crises until the fifth inning. However, he is in a dizzying situation as he was hit in the face by a pitch by Davison during the sixth inning when his team was leading 1-0.
The hit hit the nail on the chin, and the nail immediately ran into the dugout covering the injured area. Although it was hidden, it could not hide the bleeding. The nail moved to a nearby hospital for examination, but the result was not good. I was told that I had a broken jaw and needed surgery immediately. It was difficult to receive emergency surgery in Changwon, and the team immediately took the nail into an ambulance and evacuated after hearing that the surgery was possible at Asan Medical Center in Seoul. Nail underwent surgery on the morning of the 25th and is recovering.
"It's too early to judge the nails, but the surgery went better than I thought," KIA manager Lee Bum-ho said ahead of the match against Gwangju SSG on Wednesday. "I will be discharged from the hospital today (27th). I think I need to check the recovery period, and James' will is also very important," he said. "First of all, I think it will be too much to decide the date." He said, "After going through the recovery period for two to three weeks, he needs to see his condition and the player's doctor before deciding on the next step. He cannot eat normally for one to two weeks because of his jaw problem. He has no choice but to droop. Psychological trauma is also a problem. With the regular season out for now, there is no telling at this point whether he will be able to participate in the post season.
As a result, the team desperately wants to win the regular season title more. Once it wins the regular season title, it directly moves on to the Korean Series. The schedule for the Korean Series is expected to begin sometime between mid-October and the end of October. Only when it directly moves on to the Korean Series can it earn time for nails to recover. Kia plans to recruit Stout for three to five games after judging that it is highly likely to win the regular season title, 5.5 games ahead of second-ranked Samsung, but has no confidence yet. Although it is unknown whether Stout will succeed or not, since it has experience as a foreign player, it is highly likely that the team will be better than a Korean substitute.
For Kia, the team moved at the speed of light. It was on Wednesday that Nail underwent surgery. Kia searched the list of substitute foreign players right after Nail's injury. It needed a player who could come the fastest. It was a speed match. If a player is to be brought in from the U.S., it will take nearly 10 days to prepare. For this reason, Stout, who was playing as the starting pitcher for Taiwan this year, caught my eye. He had no problem with jet lag and had a short journey. I could immediately deploy him as the starting pitcher.
KIA has completed personal negotiations with Stout to some extent, and negotiations with Chongshin Brothers are also accelerating on the 27th, and it is on the verge of reaching a conclusion. At that point, Taiwanese media "Freedom Times" reported, "CPBL Zhongshin Brothers allowed foreign pitcher Stout to go to Korea through transfer fee negotiations, and registered Sean Morimando. Stout's destination will be the KBO League KIA Tigers, and Stout boarded a flight to Korea on the same day," raising the possibility of going to KIA.
BY: 토토사이트