The Lotte Giants said goodbye to Aaron Wilkerson (35), who led the mound this season as they recruited new foreign pitcher Tucker Davidson (28).메이저사이트
Lotte simultaneously announced on the 13th that it signed a contract with new foreign pitcher Tucker Davidson (28) for a total of $950,000 (guaranteed $850,000 and incentives $100,000) and renewed a contract with Charlie Barnes for a total of $1.5 million (guaranteed $1.35 million and incentives $150,000).
"He is a left-hander who is 188 centimeters tall and weighs 97 kilograms. He played in more than 600 innings in the Minor League, and posted 30 wins and 44 losses and an earned run average (ERA) of 3.22. "He has a high RBI, good Deception, and can throw fastballs, sliders, curves, and splitters."
He has decided to break up with Wilkerson. As a substitute for Dan Staley last year, he successfully renewed his contract with Lotte after completing 13 games with seven wins, two losses and an earned run average of 2.26.
His first full-time season this year was also top of the league. Wilkerson played in 32 games, the most among the league's starters, and posted 12-8 record with an ERA of 3.84. He gave up the fewest walks in the league (1.24 walks per nine innings, ranking first in the league), and played 196 ⅔ innings, the most in the league, to rank second (6.81) as a pitcher.
Despite his stellar performance, it is his age, who will turn 36 next year, that has hampered Wilkerson's renewal. For Wilkerson, who does not avoid competing with batters, the deterioration of ball power due to the aging curve can be fatal. In addition, Lotte, which has clearly watched Dan Staley suffer from a sharp decline in his skills in 2022 and 2023, cannot help but keep in mind his age.
The Peach Clock, which is scheduled to be officially introduced next year, also seems to have affected the failure of the contract renewal. Before joining the KBO last year, Wilkerson was sluggish in 14 games with three wins, two losses and an earned run average of 6.51, having difficulties adapting to new environments such as robot referees and pitch clocks in the minor league AAA.
In addition, the removal of the "Sungdam Stadium" at Sajik Stadium is likely to have adversely affected Wilkerson's renewal. To help young mid- to long-distance hitters who have burst their potential this season, Lotte decided to restore the Sajik Stadium fence, which had been expanded to 6 meters, to 4.8 meters ahead of the 2022 season.
Wilkerson was a typical fly ball induction type pitcher. This season's fly ball ratio was 55.3 percent, the fourth highest in the league, and the ground ball to fly ball ratio was 0.8, the fourth lowest among pitchers who played in the regular innings. Wilkerson has given up only four home runs (14 away) this year, but is more likely to suffer a loss when the fence at Sajik Stadium is lowered compared to Charlie Barnes, who had a grounder to fly ball ratio of 1.2.
Wilkerson will leave Sajik Stadium as various changes to be made next season serve as a negative factor for his renewal. It remains to be seen what results Lotte's decision to say goodbye to Wilkerson, who had a sense of stability and anxiety for next year, will bring next season.