The Lotte Giants, who released their ace and brought in a special foreign pitcher for 400 million won, saw manager Kim Tae-hyoung unable to give a definitive answer when asked if the foreign pitching duo was reliable. He appeared to regret the inconsistency of existing foreign player Tucker Davidson.
Lotte Giants manager Kim Tae-hyoung met with reporters ahead of the KT Wiz game in Suwon on the 10th, smiling with satisfaction at the performance of new foreign pitcher Alex Gamboa, while not giving a passing mark to Davidson's pitching.
Last month, Lotte announced the waiver of ace Charlie Barnes and signed left-handed pitcher Alex Gamboa for an aggregate of $330,000 (about 400 million won). Gamboa had a harsh introduction on May 27 against the Daegu Samsung Lions, allowing a triple steal among 4 earned runs in 4⅔ innings, but he announced his successful landing in the KBO league with consecutive strong performances of no earned runs in 7 innings against the Sajik Kiwoom Heroes on June 3 and 2 earned runs in 6⅔ innings against the Jamsil Doosan Bears on the 8th, throwing fastballs that hit a top speed of 157 km/h.
Manager Kim Tae-hyoung noted, "Right now, it's not the time to monitor Gamboa's pitching closely. I can only pray that he pitches well," while smiling. "Gamboa's fastball itself is good. Of course, once he goes through a rotation, the opponent will analyze him, but since the quality of his pitches is so good, there doesn't seem to be much to analyze. As long as his quality doesn't drop, I don't think he'll be significantly shaken. He throws all his pitches similarly in the strike zone," he praised.
By bringing in a competent replacement foreign pitcher, Lotte secured a reliable foreign one-two punch with Gamboa and Davidson. However, manager Kim Tae-hyoung had a different opinion. This was because Davidson, who had acted as Lotte's ace following Barnes's retirement, had been in a downward trend recently. He struggled, allowing 6 earned runs in 5 innings against the Daejeon Hanwha Eagles on May 24 and 3 earned runs in 5 innings against the Sajik SSG Landers on the 30th, then bowed his head after a dismal outing against Kiwoom on June 5, allowing 9 earned runs in just 3⅔ innings.
Manager Kim Tae-hyoung diagnosed Davidson's situation, stating, "Davidson lacks experience. He doesn't have the ability to manage during difficult situations," and added, "There are players who can navigate tough times and those who struggle when things don't go well, and I think Davidson still needs to be watched a little longer."
Coincidentally, Davidson fell into a rapid slump after his primary catcher Jeung Bo-keun went down with an injury to the second team. Before Jeung was removed from the roster, Davidson showcased an impressive performance with 6 wins and 1 loss with a 1.96 ERA over 10 games, but after Jeung's disappearance, he lost his ace form with 1 loss and a 9.88 ERA in 3 games without a win.
Fortunately, Jeung recovered from his injury and switched places with starting catcher Yoo Kang-nam on the 8th, and Davidson will finally reunite with Jeung as his battery mate in the game against KT on the 11th. Manager Kim Tae-hyoung expressed, "Since the catcher has changed, we’ll have to see if Davidson will change or not," smiling as he hoped for Davidson's resurgence.
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