I threw 60 and disappeared… Million Dollar Ace, how to break up like this?

 “There is no progress.”

The Hanwha Eagles signed a contract with Birch Smith (33) for a total of 1 million dollars ahead of this season. Full amount of foreign player cap in Year 1.

Hanwha’s expectations for Smith, 메이저놀이터who throws a fastball at 155 km/h, were high. He played 5 seasons in the major leagues and even gained experience on the Asian stage while playing in Japanese professional baseball. He hoped to settle down as an ‘ace’ as he quickly adapted.

The starter for the opening game was also dropped as Smith. Hanwha coach Carlos Subero has entrusted Min-woo Kim with the selection while considering the symbolism of the opening match. However, this season, the idea was to put the ace in the forefront.

Smith ‘betrayed’ from the first game. In a match against Kiwoom Heroes held at Gocheok Dome, he threw 60 balls in 2⅔ innings, complained of pain in the shoulder area, and voluntarily gave up.

He was worried because the area was not good, but the hospital examination showed muscle microdamage. He looked forward to not needing a lengthy rehabilitation.

It has been more than 15 days since the opening, but there was no news about Smith. He went to the hospital on the 17th, but his condition did not improve.

Coach Subero expressed his frustration ahead of the match against the Doosan Bears on the 18th, saying, “There is no particularly updated news.” Coach Subero explained, “Even if I improved, it was a part of my daily life, not a part of being able to pitch dynamically on the mound.”

In the absence of Smith, Hanwha is in 9th place with 4 wins, 1 draw and 9 losses. Another foreign pitcher, Felix Pena, is also showing 1 win and 1 loss with an average ERA of 5.14 in 3 games, showing no power. Substitute starting pitcher Nam Ji-min seemed to fill Smith’s void with 5 scoreless innings against KIA on the 11th, but collapsed while giving up 7 runs on 7 hits in ⅓ innings against KT on the 16th. Moon Dong-joo’s growth in the ‘2nd year’ remains the only consolation thing, but the overall selection is not stable.

Hanwha has no choice but to deepen its concerns about Smith. As long as the annual salary alone is 700,000 dollars, the pain of not being able to spend it properly is huge. I can’t even wait that long.

Between the definite decision and the waiting, only the inside started to burn.