In November of last year, the LG Twins, under new manager Yoon Kyung-yeop, asked the KT Wiz to cooperate closely with them. The request was to release KT's hold on foreign player Mel Rojas Jr.
LG had been plagued by a string of foreign hitters failing to adjust in the 2021 and 2022 seasons. LG wanted to sign Rojas Jr, a former MVP who failed in Nippon Professional Baseball, but the deal couldn't go through unless KT released the holdback. LG asked KT to do so, but KT refused. LG moved on to other foreign batters.
On July 7, KT announced the signing of Rojas Jr. KT signed Rojas Jr. for a total of $900,000. The former MVP will return to the KBO after a four-year absence.
Rojas Jr. played for KT from 2017-2020, batting .322 with 132 home runs and 409 RBIs in 511 career games. He hit in the triple digits for four straight years and won the outfield Golden Glove for the second straight season in 2019 and 2020. In 2020, he had a breakout year, batting 30-for-47 with 47 home runs, 135 RBI, 116 runs scored, and a .680 slugging percentage. He led the league in home runs, RBIs, runs scored, and on-base percentage, and was named the regular season MVP.
At the height of his powers, Rojas Jr. was recruited by the Hanshin Tigers of Nippon Professional Baseball and signed a two-year contract to play in Japan. Despite the big paycheck, Rojas Jr. struggled in Japan.
His first year in Japan was delayed due to restrictions on work visas due to COVID-19. He arrived in Japan in April, and due to a lack of preparation for the season, he batted just .211 with eight home runs and 21 RBIs in 60 games. In 2022, he again fell short of expectations, batting .224 with nine home runs and 27 RBIs in 89 games.
Rojas Jr. is currently playing in the Dominican Winter League after playing in the Mexican League this year. As of July 7, he has appeared in 35 games and is batting .910 with five doubles, five home runs, 14 RBIs, 20 runs scored, and an OPS of .910.
KT general manager Nadahyun Nado expects Rojas, who is returning to the KBO after a four-year hiatus, to maintain similar skills as before. "I followed Rojas closely when he was playing in Japan, and he played in the Dominican Winter League (in 2022) and did well as a member of the winning team. This year, we followed the Mexican League and the Dominican Winter League closely. We gathered evaluations, videos, and data from local scouts and had one meeting with Lee. The assessment was that Rojas still has good bat speed and movement."
After signing with KT, Rojas Jr. said, "I'm happy to wear the KT uniform again. I have a lot of good memories of playing for KT, and I wanted to come back. I'm looking forward to seeing my teammates and fans again." After losing to LG in the Korean Series, KT will have its strongest lineup of foreign players next season. With the return of Rojas, the plan is to continue to use foreign pitchers Cuevas and Benjamin, who played well this year. 카지노사이트
Along with announcing the signing of Rojas Jr. on July 7, KT also announced that it had re-signed Cuevas for a total of $1.5 million. Negotiations with Benjamin are still ongoing.
Cuevas has appeared in 100 games over five seasons in a KT uniform since joining the organization in 2019, posting a 45-23 record with a 3.64 ERA. After leading KT to its first overall title in 2021, Cuevas left the organization in 2022 after pitching just two games due to an elbow injury. However, he returned in 2023 as Bo Schuler's replacement and went 12-0 with a 2.60 ERA in 18 games to win the winning percentage title.
"Cuevas has already proven his skills and is in good physical condition, so we decided to re-sign him," said KT President Nado Hyun. We are looking forward to having him as our ace next season."
Benjamin joined the team as a substitute last year and went 5-4 with a 2.70 ERA in 17 games. This year, he was second in wins with a 15-6 record and 3.54 ERA in 29 games. He was especially strong against LG, going 4-0 with a 0.84 ERA in five games.
A foreign lineup of Rojas Jr, Cuevas, and Benjamin would be one of the best in the 10 clubs.