Is the time for William Cuevas to part ways drawing near? Or, as it has been every year, will he regain his ace's stature through a meeting with manager Lee Kang-cheol? The professional baseball team KT Wiz is in a major dilemma regarding the future of the seven-year veteran foreign player who is struggling.

On the 28th, Cuevas started the eighth game of the season against the Doosan Bears at Suwon KT Wiz Park in the 2025 Shinhan SOL Bank KBO League, pitching 5 innings, allowing 6 hits (1 home run), issuing 2 walks, striking out 7, and allowing 6 runs (5 earned), resulting in his fifth loss of the season (2 wins).

He was heavily shaken from the first inning. After consecutive hits by Jeong Soo-bin and Jake Cave, he committed a balk during a pick-off attempt, allowing the runner on third, Jeong Soo-bin, to score. In the meantime, Cave advanced to second.

Cuevas struggled to find stability after walking Kim Jae-hwan with one out on third and one out due to Yang Eui-ji's groundout. Eventually, manager Lee Kang-cheol went up to the mound to calm the player down, but Cuevas allowed a 1-run double to the next batter, Kim In-tae, followed by an error on a throw by shortstop Kwon Dong-jin, resulting in both runners on base scoring.

The brief peace of a three-up, three-down inning in the second was disrupted when he allowed a solo home run to Yang Eui-ji, who lead off the third. After a ball on the first pitch, the second pitch was a low changeup at 129 km/h that became a 123.4 meter home run to left field. This marked his fourth consecutive game allowing a home run.

Cuevas retired the side again in the top of the fourth inning but found himself in a scoring position after allowing a single to Cave with one out in the fifth. He was able to stifle Yang Eui-ji with a swing and miss strikeout but allowed a 1-run single to Kim Jae-hwan, resulting in another earned run.

Having fallen behind 0-6 in the top of the sixth inning, Cuevas handed the baton to Ju Kwon and ended his game with disappointment. His pitch count was 93. KT suffered a complete defeat against Doosan, 3-12, ending their recent four-game winning streak.

Cuevas, who re-signed with KT for an aggregate of $1.5 million (about 2 billion won) for the 2025 season, began his seventh season in the KBO League. Although KT planned to use him as a number two starter rather than an ace due to his underwhelming performance last year of 7 wins, 12 losses, and an earned run average of 4.10 over 31 games, the results since the opening day have been disappointing. His stats resemble those of a resource competing as a fifth or sixth starter rather than a number two.

Until April, Cuevas recorded quality starts in 5 of 7 games, giving him a stronger reputation for being unlucky than struggling. However, in May, he completely lost his dominance as an ace, suffering three losses without a win and accumulating an alarming earned run average of 8.25 (24 innings, 22 earned runs), causing his season ERA to soar from 3.28 to 6.12. His loss to KIA on the 22nd, where he allowed 7 runs over 5 innings, halted the team's three-game winning streak, and he also disrupted the team's five-game winning streak with another poor performance of 6 earned runs over 5 innings.

If Cuevas's struggles continue, KT will have no choice but to consider a replacement. KT, which has successfully reached the postseason for five consecutive years, set its season goal for a V2 title after four seasons since 2021. To win, a strong foreign one-two punch is essential, but Cuevas's record in May is not suitable for the title of such an ace. His strong will not to accept what the manager, coaches, and teammates say also limits his potential for change.

Before the game, manager Lee Kang-cheol noted, "Our team seems more comfortable in games with local starters, while games with foreign players make us uneasy. Whenever the foreigners are on the mound, we are tense on the bench about what might happen today."

However, by normal standards, a foreign player brought in for a substantial amount should make the game comfortable. The trust that the KT organization has in Cuevas is gradually diminishing.

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