"Bae Jihwan is nervous, too."Pittsburgh releases Korean infielders...We lost ground in recruiting veteran pitchers
"Bae Jihwan is nervous, too."Pittsburgh releases Korean infielders...We lost ground in recruiting veteran pitchers
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Pittsburgh Pirates where Bae Ji-hwan plays for has beefed up its pitching staff by recruiting Tim Meijah, 33, a left-handed bullpen pitcher. However, Korean infielder Alika Williams was hit by a stray bullet to make her place on the 40-man roster of Major League Baseball players.
Pittsburgh announced in a press release distributed on the 4th (Korea time) that it signed a one-year contract with left-handed pitcher Tim Meijah for the 2025 season. In addition, he added, "We have assigned infielder Alika Williams (DFA) to make Meijah's place on the 40-man roster of the Major League."
The 40-man roster of the Pittsburgh Major was full due to the transfer of players.
A native of Pennsylvania, the U.S., Mayza entered the professional league after being nominated by Toronto in the 12th round of the 2013 MLB Rookie Draft when he was a college student. As his nomination ranking suggests, he was not a pitcher who stood out when he was an amateur. However, he grew up well after becoming a professional enough player to make his Major League debut in 2017, just four years after entering the professional league.
Having played as a bullpen pitcher since his first year in the big league, Meijah played in a total of 19 games in his first year, and was sluggish with one win and no loss with an ERA of 6.88. However, in 2018, he pitched in a total of 37 games, showing his potential with two wins and no loss with an ERA of 3.28. However, he was out for the season due to injury in 2020, and did not play a single game.
Meijah, who returned to the field in 2021, proved by numbers that she is still competitive, recording 5 wins, 2 losses, 1 save and a 3.40 ERA that year. Last year, she played in a total of 50 games for both Toronto and New York Yankees teams, but was significantly sluggish with two losses and a 6.33 ERA without a win. It was her worst record since her big league debut in 2017.
Nevertheless, Pittsburgh reportedly recruited Meijah under the judgment that he is still competitive with the hard-to-find left-handed pitcher.
Williams, who suffered a stray bullet by recruiting Meijah, has been a shortstop in the spotlight since his amateur days, as he was nominated 37 times in the first round of the Major League Rookie Draft in 2020. He is also well-known as a Korean-born player born to a Korean mother and an American father.
Williams made his Major League debut in 2023 after being traded from Tampa Bay to the Pittsburgh Pirates. It was a valuable achievement just three years after he became a professional. However, he played in a total of 46 games in his first year in the big league, showing poor performance with a batting average of 0.198 and six RBIs. His OPS, which combined on-base plus slugging percentage, only amounted to 0.518.
He played in a total of 37 games last year, posting a batting average of 0.207 with five RBIs, one stolen base and an OPS of 0.541. Without protective shield as a player from the first round, he would have had nothing to say.
Alika's allocation of designation has significantly narrowed Bae's position. The 40-member roster of the Pittsburgh Major League is currently full. Therefore, if a player is hired through a major contract, another player has to give up his position immediately. 먹튀검증
Since his Major League debut in 2022, Bae appeared in a total of 10 games in his first year with a batting average of 0.333 and a six-run OPS of 0.830. However, in 2023, when he was able to play full-time in the big leagues, he showed poor performance with a batting average of 0.231 and two homers and 32 RBIs. His OPS was also sluggish with 0.608.
Bae had expected to make up for it last year, but it got worse. He played in a total of 29 games, posting a batting average of 0.189 and six RBIs and an OPS of 0.463. It was even worse than his teammate Williams. If Bae had not had the utility advantage of being able to watch outfield, it would not be strange at all if he had joined the DFA instead of Williams.
If Pittsburgh reinforces its power again with a major contract in the future, this is why Bae Ji-hwan's name is mentioned as a candidate for the next DFA.