All that remains is a medical check.

After winning their first title in 29 years, the LG Twins are looking to win their first back-to-back titles in franchise history. The most important part of the roster for next season is foreign players. Casey Kelly and Austin Dean were quickly re-signed. What’s left is a first-round pick to be the team’s ace.

We already know who that is. LG is in talks with left-handed pitcher Dietrich Enns, 32, who has spent the last two years with the Seibu Lions of the Japanese professional baseball organization. LG has identified Enns as its top priority and has been in talks since early December, when his contract with Seibu ended. The KBO’s first contract for a foreigner is worth up to $1 million, so there’s no room to argue over the details.

LG and the Enns have reportedly agreed on the terms of the contract. The announcement is expected to be made as soon as the medical checks come back clean.

Enns was drafted by the New York Yankees in the 19th round of the 2012 draft and reached the big leagues in 2017 after being traded to the Minnesota Twins. He has since bounced around to the San Diego Padres, Seattle Mariners, and Tampa Bay Rays for opportunities. He returned to the big leagues in 2021 as a bullpen arm for Tampa Bay, pitching in nine games.

After the 2021 season, he turned his attention to Asia. Signing with Japan’s Seibu, 카지노사이트 Enns started 23 games as a starter and threw 122⅓ innings, compiling a 10-7 record with a 2.94 ERA. It was only the third time in Japanese professional baseball history that a foreign left-handed pitcher had won 10 games in his debut season, and the first time in 69 years that a foreign left-handed pitcher had done so for Seibu. This year, however, he had his worst season, going 1-10 with a 5.17 ERA in 12 appearances.

“If you think of him as a healthy Suarez, it’s easy to understand,” LG said of Enns.

Andrew Suarez is a left-handed pitcher who spent a year with LG in 2021. He throws a fastball that sits in the low 140s, a slider, and a changeup, with good command and control. He went 10-2 with a 2.18 ERA in 23 games and 115 1/3 innings pitched. He pitched well, but the problem was that he had too many nagging injuries, especially in the second half of the year, and he struggled when his team was battling for first place. He struck out 9.8 batters per nine innings, which was very good, but LG wanted a pitcher who could go more than six innings consistently, so they brought in Adam Plutko.

If Enns can produce a “steady Suarez” type of performance in the first inning, it will take some of the pressure off of Kelly and allow the team to build a solid 1-2 punch. His two years of experience in Japanese baseball could help him pitch in Korea.

LG has closer Ko Woo-seok making a run at the major leagues through the postseason, and free agents Im Chan-kyu, Ham Deok-ju, and Kim Min-seong are in talks. Lee Jung-yong, who performed well as a late-inning starter and helped the team win the Korean Series out of the bullpen, is enlisting in the military, leaving LG with a minus-factor in its winning percentage this season, a situation that could get worse. The team will need steady performances from its foreign players to win back-to-back titles, and it is especially important for the new foreigners to adapt quickly.

One of the contenders to stop LG from winning back-to-back titles is KT, which has the strongest lineup of foreign players. The team re-signed William Cuevas, who is undefeated with 12 wins, and bolstered its batting lineup with the addition of Mel Rojas Jr. who won four MVP awards in 2020 for home runs, RBIs, runs scored, and on-base percentage. Re-signing Wes Benjamin, 스포츠토토사이트 who finished second in wins this year with 15, will allow the team to build a roster of successful foreign players who have acclimated to the KBO, greatly reducing foreigner risk.

LG took a chance on Enns. Can they be the ‘godsend’ for two straight losses?