The ‘V12’ victory is now a sand castle where waves have passed. KIA Tigers are already preparing for the ‘V13’ challenge in the 2025 season.
The most important task in the offseason is to renew the contract with foreign ace pitcher James Nail. As many Major League teams are already interested in nailing, staying at KIA will not be an easy task.
Nail is the biggest contributor who led the team to the combined championship of Kia in the 2024 season. Nail signed a contract with Kia on Jan. 18, a bit late ahead of the 2024 season. Bringing Nail, who was on the 40-man roster of Major League teams in mid-January, was a lucky contract for Kia as well.
Nail, who had already received on-site evaluation of first-line pitching from the spring camp, dominated the mound since the beginning of the regular season with a powerful combination of two-seam fastball and sweeper. Nail pitched in 26 games (149.1 innings) during the regular season, displaying 12 wins and five losses with a 2.53 ERA, 138 strikeouts, 35 walks, and WHIP 1.27. Nail was also atop in the ERA league.
Nail faced an unfortunate injury due to a broken jaw due to an opponent’s batting practice at the end of the regular season. There were concerns that Nail could be out for the season, but Nail has prepared to take the mound in the Korean Series by banking on her monstrous resilience. Nail also displayed overwhelming pitching in the Korean Series.
Nail started in the first game of the Korean Series and pitched well with four hits, six strikeouts, two walks and one run in five innings. Although he failed to become a winning pitcher because his team’s batting lineup did not score, Nail overwhelmed Samsung’s batting lineup with a sharp sweeper.
Due to the series’ schedule, which was postponed due to rain-suspended matches, Nail took the mound as the starting pitcher for Game 4 after resting for four days. In Game 4, Nail performed her role perfectly by allowing six hits, seven strikeouts, one out and two runs in 5.2 innings. As the team’s batters exploded, Nail won her first start of the Korean Series.
In both the regular season and the Korean Series, the process of winning was not easy without nails. Especially in the case of the Korean Series, the presence of nails was absolute. Nails were the driving force behind Samsung without losing ground in the starting lineup fight, which was considered weak.
Attention is now focusing on whether Nails will be able to play with KIA in the 2025 season. For one, Nails is drawing keen attention from Major League teams. As in the case of Eric Peddy last year, there is a possibility that Nails will be exported back to the Major League.
A baseball source said, “Many Major League teams have been interested in nail players just like Pedi did last year. Nail’s combination of two-seam fastball and sweeper is also sufficient in the Major League bullpen. If Nail puts priority on returning to the U.S., it will inevitably lead to a long-term battle. If so, Kia cannot afford to wait indefinitely.”
Kia’s team also held a meeting on Tuesday on its 2025 season and mid- to long-term team management. The team’s direction is that it will move while watching foreign players’ market conditions first when renewing contracts with the three existing players. Attention is focusing on what kind of worries and choices Kia will continue to make for its second consecutive win in the 2025 season. 메이저사이트
