Will the KIA Tigers, who acquired Cho Sang-woo through a trade with the Kiwoom Heroes and quickly turned their power into a plus (+) player, start winning the Korean Series for the second consecutive year, which has not been released since 2016.
KIA officially announced on the 19th, “We made a trade with the Kiwoom Heroes to acquire pitcher Cho Sang-woo (30) by giving 1 billion won in cash and the first and fourth rounds of rookies in 2026.
Cho Sang-woo is one of the best finishers in the league with an outstanding record of 33-25 with 54 holds and an 88 save and an earned run average of 3.11 in 343 games during nine KBO seasons. In 2020, he became the relief king of the league with 5 wins, 3 losses, 33 saves and an earned run average of 2.15. He also played as a must-winner for the national team in international competitions such as the 2015 and 2019 World Baseball Softball Confederation (WBSC) Premier 12 and the 2020 Tokyo Olympics.
Rejoining the team this season after serving in the military as a social service worker, he ended the season early in August due to injury, but he was in compliance with a 3.18 ERA with one loss and nine holds in 39 ⅔ innings in 44 games.
By recruiting Cho Sang-woo, Kia has instantly turned the bullpen session void caused by internal FA Jang Hyun-sik’s leak into an upturn. Kia, which was engaged in the stove league by showing somewhat passive movements compared to its rival Samsung Lions and LG Twins, has completely turned the game around with this one stroke of trade.
Kia, which has taken one step further to the championship by strengthening its bullpen capacity, will take the Korean Series title for the first time in nine years. Since the Doosan Bears won the Korean Series trophy in 2015 and 2016, no team has won the title in a row. Moreover, Kia has regrettably failed to continue its mood for the next season (5th in 2010 and 5th in 2018), even though it won two Korean Series titles (2009 and 2017) in the 2000s.
At this point, the biggest question mark in KIA’s history is the newly joined foreign player. KIA excluded Eric Lauer, who had a disappointing performance this year after renewing his contract with “Ace” James Nail, from the list of players on hold, signaling that he has no intention of renewing his contract. And on the 16th, he formed a one-two punch for foreigners by recruiting Adam Oler, who has extensive starting experience in the U.S. 온라인바카라 Major League and Minor League Triple-A.
KIA’s official announcement is yet to be made, but Patrick Wisdom is likely to join the team as a new player instead of foreign hitter Socrates Brito, who recorded a career high this year.
U.S. media “CBS Sports” announced on the 15th that “Patrick Wisdom (33) has signed with KIA in the KBO League.” The media said, “The Chicago Cubs released Wisdom as a non-tender, who recorded eight home runs, 23 RBIs and five steals, a batting average of 0.171/on-base percentage of 0.237/base percentage of 0.392 in 75 games. Wisdom has recorded more than 20 home runs in the past three consecutive seasons, and he will head abroad to bat again.”
Socrates, who wore the KIA uniform for the first time in 2022, played in 409 games over the past three seasons, recording a batting average of 0.302 63 home runs, 270 RBIs, 40 steals, and an OPS of 0.843. This year, in his third year, he played in 140 games with a batting average of 0.310 26 home runs, 97 RBIs, and an OPS of 0.875, helping KIA to win the championship overall by breaking a career high in home runs, RBIs, and OPS records.
While the performance was somewhat disappointing compared to foreign hitters in other leagues and the sense of hitting ability was considered a disadvantage, Kia could have considered renewing its contract with Socrates, who can at least make a “half hit” if it focused on maintaining stable power. However, Kia has decided to take drastic measures to increase its performance.
Wisdom recorded a career batting average of 0.209 with 88 home runs and 207 RBIs and an OPS of 0.766 in 878 games in the minor leagues. Although lacking in accuracy, he is a slugger with a clear shot capability. KIA’s performance next year will be determined by whether Wisdom will adapt well to the Korean stage and show off his instincts as much as he can or will not adapt to the breaking balls of Korean pitchers and become a “bluff.”
