Samsung officially announced on Monday that it signed a contract with right-hander Reyes worth 100,000 dollars in down payment, 500,000 dollars in annual salary, and 200,000 dollars in option. After signing right-hander Connor Seabold (28) for a total of 1 million dollars (down payment of 100,000 dollars, annual salary of 800,000 dollars, incentives of 100,000 dollars), the team filled the remaining foreign player spot with Reyes. It meant that the team failed to renew contract with Buchanan.
When announcing the recruitment of Reyes, the Samsung club said, "Bucannon, who has been on the Samsung mound for the past four years, unfortunately broke down negotiations on the renewal of his contract as he recently rejected the club's final proposal in the process of considering entering the Major League." Samsung made its best effort by proposing a multi-year contract as the first KBO foreign player, but it was difficult to reach the maximum amount due to the foreign salary cap, and in the end, it failed to reach an agreement with Buchanan.
Buchanan, who first connected with Samsung in 2020 after playing for the Philadelphia Phillies (2015-2016) and the Yakult Swallows (2017-2019) in the Japanese professional baseball league, played for the longest four years as a foreign player in the club. He led the mound as Samsung's longest-serving foreign player, surpassing first baseman Darin Ruf, who has worked for three years between 2017 and 2019.
Buchanan started 113 games over the past four years, and pitched 699 ⅔, recording 54 wins and 28 losses with 3.02 strikeouts and 539 strikeouts. He pitched two shutouts and four complete games to support the mound. During the period, he pitched 11,375 pitches and the most innings in the entire KBO league.
Excluding the second place in the regular season in 2021, Samsung had been hovering around the bottom for four years, but Buchanan struggled as an ace in the dark ages. Along with LG Casey Kelly, he tied for the first place in the league in wins, and was ranked second in both ERA and strikeouts. He had 80 quality starts, the most in the league.
Samsung players were also highly respected for their unique desire to win, affinity, thorough routine and exemplary self-care. As Buchanan's renewal of his contract became official, Won Tae-in (24), who followed Buchanan as if he were a role model, and Kang Min-ho (39), a veteran catcher who has been working with the battery, all said goodbye on social media.
Won Tae-in, who posted photos with Buchanan, said, "I've always been busy following after him. A player who has taught me so much over the past four years and has had the biggest impact on my growth. I'm very sad to leave, but I'll be a player who finishes well without injury and shows more than what I expect when we meet again." Won also wrote in English, "I will miss you. Let's meet again."
Along with a two-shot photo with Buchanan, Kang said, "You were the best pitcher for me. Let's meet again someday. I will miss you a lot. My friend," in Korean and English. Buchanan played with Kang in 104 out of 113 games during his four years with the Samsung Lions. He boasted a perfect match with Kang with an ERA of 2.93 over 633 ⅓s. In his 21st year in the team, Kang is also a foreign pitcher with the most batteries.
Meanwhile, Reyes, who replaced Buchanan, is a right-hander from the Dominican Republic who is 193 centimeters tall and weighs 115 kilograms. Last year, as a member of the New York Mets, he pitched in nine games (three starts, 19 ⅔ innings) and recorded two losses with an ERA of 7.78. Since his debut with the Baltimore Orioles in 2022, he has recorded two losses and an ERA of 6.26 in 12 games (four starts, 27 ⅓ innings) in the Major League. Last year, he recorded a record of 2 wins, 3 losses with an ERA of 5.79, in 20 games (18 starts, 91 ⅔ innings).
While his objective performance is not noticeable, Samsung is considered to be a competitive pitcher in the KBO League. He throws fastballs, sliders, changeups, and cutters that range in average from 147 kilometers to 150 kilometers. "He also throws high-quality pitching, which is optimized for robot referees," he said. "In particular, he has excellent WHIP (allowed on-base per inning), which is a representative record showing a pitcher's stability, and walks per nine innings. He displayed stable game management with a career WHIP of 1.13 and stable ball control with 1.6 walks per nine innings in the Minor League," he said in expressing expectations.
BY: 스포츠토토핫