Kiwoom Heroes’ new foreign hitter, Ronnie Dawson (28), can be Kiwoom’s hope.
Kiwoom announced Edison Russell as a waiver ahead of the match against KT Wiz in the ‘2023 Shinhan Bank SOL KBO League’ held at Gocheok Sky Dome in Seoul on the 13th and announced that it had recruited Dawson for $85,000 (approximately 108 million won). .
Russell, who was expected to have a good performance because he had the experience of winning the World Series and already played for Kiwoom in 2020, showed a strong appearance in the scoring situation at the beginning of the season and swept many RBIs. After that, even after the pace fell, his scoring position was good with a batting average of . 4.1 5 Lee (27 hits in 65 at-bats), 3 home runs and 38 RBIs. In the season, he recorded a batting average of .286 (63 hits in 220 at-bats), 4 homers, 42 RBIs, and an OPS of .739 in 59 games.
However, he suffered a wrist injury and has not played a single game since the match against Hanhwa on June 16th. Director Hong Won-ki announced on the 13th that Russell would return to the first team, but even this was canceled.
Ko Hyeong-wook, general manager of Kiwoom, said, “Russell suffered a wrist injury for almost a month. I’ve recovered to some extent, but I’m not currently training at all. There was also a risk of recurrence of the injury. He said he was fine, but if another injury occurred in the second half, a more embarrassing situation could come.”
General manager Ko Hyeong-wook emphasized, “It wasn’t necessarily because of an injury that the decision was made to replace him.” “Russell’s pace was gradually dropping. He judged that he could take another leap forward only when he gave new changes to the batting line. Dawson is a really good hitter. He will be able to energize everyone in Gongsuju.”
Kiwoom is currently in a situation where there is a big void in the shortstop position. Russell, who played as the main shortstop, eventually left the team, and substitute resources Kim Hwi-jip and Shin Jun-woo were both injured and eliminated from the first team entry. Director Ko Hyeong-wook said, “Once there is Kim Joo-hyung and the second half begins, Kim Hwi-jip can return after about 10 days. Lee Won-seok can also return, so I saw that there was no big problem in the infield,” he said, explaining the reason for recruiting an outfielder as a new foreign hitter.
Dawson has experience of being called up to the major leagues in 2021 and 2022. However, his major league career performance was insignificant with a batting average of 1.2 5 Lee (1-for-8) OPS of .347 in 4 games. In the minor leagues, he had a .742 OPS with 72 homers, 305 RBIs, 387 runs scored and 105 stolen bases in 641 games over six career seasons. 토토사이트
Dawson, who last season was not called up to a major league club after playing in Cincinnati, played in the independent league this season with a batting average of . 875 was active.
General Manager Ko Hyeong-wook said, “A lot of good players left the team due to Corona 19 and the reduction of the minor leagues. If you look for independent leagues, there are many good players. Of course, minor league players who play in Triple A are the top priority, but major league clubs do not let go of good players. We strategically watched the players in the independent league,” he said about the background of bringing Dawson.
Dawson is preparing with the goal of joining with the start of the second half. General Manager Ko Hyeong-wook said, “He is a player who has been playing in the independent league, so he doesn’t seem to need to improve his game sense. However, the visa issue needs to be resolved. The timing of joining the team will be determined depending on when the visa is issued.”
Kiwoom finished the first half with a 7-game losing streak. They started July in 5th place in the league, but fell to 9th place before they knew it. In order to rebound in the second half, the new foreign hitter Dawson’s performance is important.