Doosan Bears’ new foreign pitcher Jordan Balazovic has stepped foot on South Korean soil.
“New foreign pitcher Balazovic arrived in South Korea through Incheon International Airport this afternoon (Aug. 8),” the Doosan Bears announced on Monday, adding, “Balazovic will join the team as soon as administrative procedures such as visa issuance are finalized.”
Doosan announced the news of Balazovic’s arrival on April 4, along with the waiver claim of existing foreign pitcher Raul Alcantara. Alcantara headed to the Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB) in 2020 after going 20-2 with a 2.54 ERA in 31 games and 198⅔ innings as an ace, and returned to Doosan last year with a 13-9 record and 2.67 ERA in 31 games and 192 innings.
Welcoming the return of their ace, Doosan re-signed Alcantara ahead of the season for a total of $1.5 million per year. Doosan entered the season with the goal of reaching the postseason for the second consecutive year and hoped that Alcantara would be the anchor of the starting rotation for the second year in a row.
Alcantara did his part in the early part of the season, but after the April 21 game against Jamsil Kiwoom, he was sidelined for over a month. The reason: elbow pain. After undergoing a medical examination in Korea, Alcantara was convinced enough to travel to the United States to check his condition and made his comeback on May 26 against Gwangju KIA.
Alcantara’s return from injury was sobering, as he gave up five runs on four hits (three homers) and four walks in 3 1/3 innings in his comeback, and then went 1-0 with a 4.88 ERA in 27⅔ innings over five games in June. On July 3 against Jamsil Lotte, he gave up six runs on four hits (one homer) and three walks in two innings with three strikeouts, and was released from the team the next day.
Moving quickly to find a replacement for Alcantara, Doosan acquired Balazovic for a total of $250,000. The 6-foot-2, 196-pound Canadian was drafted by the Minnesota Twins in the fifth round (153rd overall) of the 2016 Major League Baseball First-Year Player Draft.
In his big league debut last year, Balazovic went 1-0 with a 4.44 ERA in 18 games and 24 1/3 innings. In his minor league career, he is 29-28 with a 4.40 ERA in 138 games (83 starts), seven 온라인카지노사이트 shutouts and one save.
Balajovic did not make a big league appearance this year, playing in Triple-A. In 24 games (1 start), he is 5-4 with a 5.60 ERA in 35⅓ innings pitched, with three saves and three losses.
A Doosan representative said, “Balajovic is a powerful pitcher with a fastball that comes out of the zone. His fastball tops out at 156 mph and averages 150 mph. He can put his changeup, splitter, curveball, and slider in the strike zone and has excellent strikeout ability.”
“I’m excited to come to Korea,” Balajovic told the club. “I’ve been a starter my whole career, except for last year and this year,” he said. “I have a mid-90s fastball with a good changeup. I would describe myself as a power-pitcher type of starter,” he said.
“I came to Korea to win a championship, and I’m ready to pitch as soon as the team gives me a date,” he said. “Every time I pitch, I’m just thinking about helping the team win. I will do my best to help the Doosan Bears bring back the championship trophy,” he said.
In addition to Balajovic, Doosan is expected to sign Keisho Shirakawa as an injury replacement for Brandon Waddell. Teams are allowed to claim Shirakawa in the reverse order of their team ranking at the time of the KBO’s waiver announcement, and Doosan’s team ranking was fourth on the third day of Shirakawa’s waiver announcement.
The club said, “After the waiver announcement, we communicated our intention to the KBO, and we will sign Shirakawa when our turn comes. We chose Shirakawa after considering various factors, such as visa issues, on-field experience, and the number of appearances made by substitute foreigners.”