David Buchanan, known as the 'ace of blue blood' with 54 wins in Korea, ultimately failed to create a 'reverse export myth' and is heading back to the Asian stage. This time, it is not Korea but Taiwan.

CBS Sports reported on the 1st (Korean time) that Buchanan has signed with the Fubon Guardians of the Chinese Professional Baseball League (CPBL). Taiwanese reporter Wang Yisuan also noted through his SNS account that 'David Buchanan, who had a successful career in Japan and Korea in the past, was released by the Texas Rangers. According to sources, he is returning to Asia to join the Fubon Guardians, who need a foreign starting pitcher.'

Buchanan is already familiar with the Asian stage. He played for the Yakult Swallows in Nippon Professional Baseball from 2017 to 2019, recording a performance of 20 wins, 30 losses, and an earned run average of 4.07 over 71 games and 433⅔ innings in three years. From 2020 to 2023, he played for the Samsung Lions in the Korea Baseball Organization (KBO) League.

In particular, he not only had tremendous success as a foreign ace for Samsung but also received great love from the Samsung fans as the team leader. Over four seasons with Samsung, he appeared in 113 games, pitched 699⅔ innings, and recorded 54 wins, 28 losses, and an earned run average of 3.02.

However, ahead of the 2024 season, Buchanan may have set out toward his last American dream. Although Samsung made a multi-year contract offer and made efforts to keep Buchanan, he aimed for a major league comeback with his family.

However, Buchanan failed to complete the 'reverse export myth' over two years. He couldn't even get a proper start. Last year, he signed a minor league contract with the Philadelphia Phillies. However, he remained in the Triple-A level, recording a performance of 9 wins, 3 losses, and an earned run average of 4.82 in 22 games (16 starts) with the Triple-A Lehigh Valley Iron Pigs.

In Philadelphia, he did not step onto the major league stage and was traded to the Cincinnati Reds at the end of August. On September 1, he had an emotional major league comeback game in Cincinnati. It was his first time on a major league mound in nearly nine years since October 2015. He pitched as the team's third pitcher against the Milwaukee Brewers, throwing 3⅓ innings with 2 hits, 2 walks, 1 strikeout, and 1 earned run.

However, the joy of returning to the major leagues was short-lived; he was placed on waivers and went back down to Triple-A, ultimately receiving a release notification after the end of the season.

This year, he signed a minor league contract with the Texas Rangers and dreamed of returning to the major leagues once again. However, during the early part of spring camp, he suffered an ankle injury and could not properly take steps toward a major league comeback. Beginning his season with the Triple-A Round Rock Express, Buchanan recorded 6 games, pitched 29 innings, and finished with no wins, 1 loss, and an earned run average of 5.28.

In the first 4 games, he didn't secure any victories but had a decent earned run average of 2.49 (21⅔ innings and 6 earned runs). However, he struggled in the following 2 games. In the game on the 21st, he was hit hard with 3⅓ innings, allowing 11 hits (1 home run), 1 walk, 3 strikeouts, and 5 earned runs, and in his appearance before being released from Triple-A, he pitched 4 innings, giving up 8 hits, 2 walks, 3 strikeouts, and allowing 6 earned runs.

Ultimately, he was released on the 29th of last month and is now set to take on new challenges in Taiwan. If Buchanan wishes to continue his career in Korea, the intentions of Samsung, which holds his rights, are crucial. He must either return to the Samsung uniform or have Samsung release his rights to contract with other teams. Under current regulations, a foreign player’s rights are held by their original team for five years.

Meanwhile, the Fubon Guardians are currently led by pitchers who have experience in the KBO League. Roenis Elías, Shawn Morimando (both formerly of SSG), and Anderson Franco (formerly of Lotte) are among those wearing the Fubon uniform.

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