Up until last month, I didn't expect such agony. SSG Landers are agonizing over the future of Keisho Shirakawa (23), the first foreign player to replace him in the KBO league.

SSG recruited Shirakawa on April 22 for a total of 1.8 million yen (15.7 million won based on the exchange rate at the time). The team attempted to fill the vacancy of Roenis Elias (36), who left the team last month due to injury of his left oblique muscle, for six weeks by utilizing the "alternative foreign player system," which was first introduced to the KBO league this year.퀸알바

The result was a huge success. Shirakawa not only gave two wins and two losses with a 5.09 ERA in five games, but also gave SSG two wins. Except for eight runs (seven earned runs) in one ⅓ against Lotte in Busan on Tuesday, he said he was nervous, his ERA would drop to 2.49. Due to his unexpected performance, SSG was agonizing over whether to return Elias or renew contract with Shirakawa until July 4, the expiration date of his contract.

Ahead of the match against Doosan Bears in Jamsil on Friday, SSG coach Lee Soo-yong said, "I had a 30-40 minute discussion with the front office after the match on Thursday, and I had a discussion with the coaches ahead of the match on Friday. I thought I would make a comfortable decision, but I have more worries than I thought. Listening to everyone's story makes my head more complicated," expressing his honest feelings.

In fact, the internal opinion of the SSG team is known to be tight with 5:5. According to an official of the SSG team, the opinion of the front office was split evenly, while the opinion of the coach and the team was split by just one vote. As the opinions of the pitcher's part and the fielder's part, the power analysis team and the conditioning team differ, Lee has no choice but to agonize.

Furthermore, it has been reported that Doosan Bears is considering Shirakawa as a substitute for Brandon Waddell, who was diagnosed with at least three weeks' absence due to injury to his shoulder shoulder shoulder. "As other clubs are interested in (the two players), we have to be more careful in choosing. If we choose from a team that has advanced to the postseason, we should also consider meeting him," Lee said.

Still, he weighs more on Elias. Elias is a veteran who has played multiple full-time seasons. Having joined the team in the middle of last year's season, Elias successfully made a soft landing in the KBO league with eight wins and six losses, an ERA of 3.70 and 93 strikeouts in 131 ⅓ innings. Notably, in the second half of the season after adapting himself to the team, he played more than six innings in every game, earning three wins and three losses and an ERA of 3.34. He also pitched well in the semi-playoff with NC, which was particularly difficult, by allowing two runs in eight innings.

This year, he was somewhat squeaky with two wins and three losses, an ERA of 4.73 and 34 strikeouts in 40 innings, but he showed off his robustness by throwing fast balls of up to 149 kilometers in the last two rehabilitation games. In the match against the Ganghwa Armed Forces Sports Unit (Sangmu) on the 26th, which was the last rehabilitation appearance, major figures of the team, including Min Kyung-sam, president of the baseball division of SSG, Kim Jae-hyun, and Lee Sung-yong, confirmed their condition in person.

The point that takes some time is recurrence of injury due to age (36). Elias had a history of elbow ligament joint surgery (Tommy John Surgery) and had not been free from injury throughout his career. The fact that he is a player who has been analyzed sufficiently by the KBO league based on his experience last year also makes it difficult to expect overwhelming performance for the rest of the year.

Even considering the recurrence of injury, Elias has the upper hand over Shirakawa in many aspects. Due to the nature of the Japanese baseball, Shirakawa is not familiar with the four-day rotation and has too many unverified aspects. Currently, SSG has no stable part from foreign starters to Korean starters, so it needs so-called "calculated" players to help center the rotation.

In addition, if Shirakawa is selected, the maximum number of foreign player replacements will be used, eliminating the chance to recruit players who will be released in July or August in the U.S. Major League. For a new foreign player to play in the post season, he or she needs to complete the official registration before August 15.

As such, the head points to Elias, but SSG is not willing to choose the option. It's because I feel that Shirakawa's charm is great, which has not yet been scratched. Shirakawa proved his value with a fast ball of up to 150km and a big curve. Concerned about whether he can strike out a lot of strikeouts in a safe combination of breaking balls, Shirakawa responded with a 10-strikeout performance in six ⅓ innings against Incheon NC.

Unlike his usual talkative and shy personality, he also received a pass for his strong mindset of bumping into his opponent on the mound. In the match against KT in Incheon on the 27th, he was hit by Kang Baek-ho in the top of the first inning, but since then, he has bravely struck out five to meet the winning pitcher's requirements. After hitting a home run after not hitting a single home run in three years of the Japanese independent league, he showed his pitching that he did not care about it even when his pitching was still unfamiliar. In addition, some officials are suggesting that there is no problem with the digestion of the rotation and physicality on the 4th, which is the most worrisome, so SSG is not willing to press the give-up button.

If Shirakawa ends up accompanying him, he is expected to take at least one bullpen session. With three consecutive games to be held against NC in Changwon from Friday to Sunday, chances are high that Shirakawa and Elias will start on Saturday and Sunday. "I have to make a decision, but if I use it (without extension), I think I could be in a 1+1 or hold situation on Sunday's game. If I decide to join him, of course, I will start on Saturday or Sunday," Lee said.