The Doosan Bears have signed outfielder Henry Ramos (31) from the KT Wiz. The Bears also signed Raul Alcantara (31) and Brandon Waddell (29), completing their roster for 2024.
Doosan announced the signings of the three foreign players on Nov. 21. The foreign hitters were replaced and the pitchers were retained. Ramos signed for a total of $700,000 ($50,000 signing bonus, $55,000 annual salary, $100,000 incentive), Alcantara signed for $1.5 million ($500,000 signing bonus, $800,000 annual salary, $200,000 incentive), and Brandon signed for $1.13 million ($250,000 signing bonus, $750,000 annual salary, $133,000 incentive).
In 2022, Ramos signed with the KT Wiz for a total of $1 million. He was touted as the “next Rojas” in the wake of Mel Rojas Jr.’s departure.
He started off strong. He hit a grand slam in an exhibition game, raising expectations for the season. In the 18 games of the regular season, he hit three home runs and showed extraordinary power.
He seemed to be on his way to the big time, 카지노사이트 but injuries slowed him down. On April 23, he was hit in the toe by a ball against the NC Dinos. A medical examination revealed a fracture. It would take four to six weeks to heal.
KT’s first option was to wait, but they changed their minds and signed Anthony Alford as a replacement foreign player.
Ramos, whose first attempt at the KBO was a “sandwich”, signed a minor league contract with the Cincinnati Reds ahead of this season. He earned a major league call-up in late April, batting 2-for-4 with five RBIs and two stolen bases in 23 games.
Doosan spent a season with Jose Rojas this season.
Rojas didn’t do too badly, batting 2-for-5 with three doubles and 19 home runs in 122 games. When he struggled a bit in the first half of the season, batting just 2-for-2 with 10 home runs in 65 games, Doosan manager Lee Seung-yeop decided to revive him by assigning him a full-time hitting coach, Lee Young-soo.
Rojas rebounded as he adjusted to the KBO. In the second half of the season, he bounced back with a batting average of .285 with nine home runs in 57 games. In particular, he went 2-for-2 with a double and a home run in the wild-card game against NC, which was exactly what Doosan was hoping for.
However, Doosan still needed a player to fill an outfield spot that was still unclear.
Center fielder Jung Soo-bin has done his job, leading the league in stolen bases this season, while left fielder Kim Jae-hwan, a former home run king, joined the final camp and traveled to the United States to train with Kang Jung-ho in an effort to regain his honor.
While there were some promising prospects in Kim In-tae, Cho Sung-ho, Kim Tae-geun, Kim Dae-keun, and Yang Chan-yeol, they were still far from being considered ‘constants’. The team needs help from foreign batters to fill one outfield spot. Rojas can defend the outfield, but he’s not exactly a reliable outfielder, so the team was looking for a replacement.
With Rojas as a Plan B, the calculation was to bring in a foreign hitter who could play both offense and defense. Initially, Ramos’ performance in 18 games was close to Doosan’s expectations.
“He is a right-handed hitting outfielder who can swing powerfully in both left and right field, and has strong shoulders and a good leadoff hitter,” said Doosan. “We were looking for an outfielder who can play defense due to the wide outfield of Jamsil Stadium. Ramos has MLB-average defense and strong shoulders. Ramos has a short bat to the ball and is a spray heater with an inside-out swing,” he explained.
The foreign pitching staff is complete. Alcantara will be spending his third season with the team.
Alcantara started his KBO career with the KT Wiz in 2019, going 11-11 with a 4.01 ERA in 27 games.
Despite the decent performance, KT did not re-sign Alcantara as the organization wanted to add a stronger foreign player. Instead, KT signed Odrisamer Despaigne.
Doosan kept Alcantara.
After signing with Doosan in 2020, Alcantara showed signs of growth.
He added a forked ball to his arsenal and turned into an ace with a 20-2 record and 2.54 ERA in 31 games. Alcantara won the Golden Glove for pitching.
Doosan prepared a big contract, but Alcantara left for the Hanshin Tigers in Japan.
After failing to establish himself as a starter in Hanshin, Alcantara returned to Doosan with a 4-6 record, one save, and a 3.96 ERA in 63 games over two seasons.
“I will be a filial son,” Alcantara said, declaring himself a Doosan man for life. Signed for $900,000, Alcantara was an ace this season. In 31 games and 192 innings pitched, he went 13-9 with a 2.67 ERA.
Of those 31 games, he had 22 quality starts (six or more innings and three or fewer earned runs).
Brandon has worn a Doosan uniform twice as a substitute foreign pitcher.
In 2022, he came as a substitute foreign pitcher for Ariel Miranda and went 5-3 with a 3.60 ERA in 65 innings pitched in 11 games. After failing to re-sign with the team and heading to the Taiwanese League, he received another offer from Doosan. The offer was for an alternate foreign player spot for Dylan Pyle.
Dillon was hit in the head in spring training and didn’t make the opening day roster. He returned a month later, only to be sidelined with an elbow injury.
Brandon, the new addition, has been Doosan’s trump card. In 18 games, he pitched 104⅔ innings with an 11-3 record and a 2.49 ERA. He is only the second foreign player in history to win 10 or more games in June after William Cuevas (KT) in 2023.
Doosan set its sights on re-signing the two players early on. There was an initial gap in the negotiations, 실시간 바카라사이트 but both players were keen on staying with Doosan, which made the negotiations easier.
After negotiations, the gap was narrowed and the players were re-signed within the year.