Could Alcantara become a hero?

As the Kiwoom Heroes are experiencing unprecedented poor performance, their newly acquired foreign pitcher Raul Alcantara will make his first start against his former team, Doosan Bears, on the 1st of next month.

Alcantara entered the country on the 29th after receiving a work visa in Japan. He will join the team ahead of the match against Doosan Bears at Gocheok Sky Dome on the 30th. He is also scheduled to have a team introduction meeting and participate in training and bullpen pitching.

It has not yet been decided how many innings or pitches he will handle in his first appearance. A decision will be made after observing the bullpen pitching. The team noted, "We will check the bullpen pitching and condition tomorrow and decide on the detailed operation plan such as pitch count."

On the 19th, Kiwoom waived foreign hitter Yasiel Puig and acquired Alcantara as his replacement. His salary totals $400,000, including a base salary of $250,000 and an option of $150,000 (about 500 million won).

He excelled as Doosan's ace, recording 46 wins and 24 losses with an earned run average of 3.12 in the Korea Baseball Organization (KBO) League. Notably, he won the Golden Glove award in the 2020 season with a remarkable record of 20 wins and 2 losses and an earned run average of 2.54.

He later joined the Hanshin Tigers in Japan but performed poorly, and after returning to Doosan last year, he was limited to 12 appearances due to a shoulder injury.

This year, he recorded 1 loss and an earned run average of 7.17 in 5 games in the Mexican League. Although Kiwoom's performance has been somewhat disappointing, they hold hope as he has shown similar pitch quality and velocity to his KBO League days.

With Alcantara joining, Kiwoom can deploy a 123 punch alongside Kenny Rosenberg and Ha Young-min. If Alcantara shows potential in his first game against his former team, Doosan, Kiwoom could end its slow progress with a win percentage below 20% and set the stage for a rebound. They are earnestly hoping he becomes a hero in this turbulent time.

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