There is a lot of interest from foreign clubs in foreign pitcher Eric Peddie (30, NC Dinos).
Peddie is the best pitcher in the KBO League this season. He started 30 games and recorded 20 wins, 6 losses, and an ERA of 2.00. He pitched 180 and one-third innings, struck out 209, and became the fifth player in history to simultaneously achieve 20 wins and 200 strikeouts in the season. If he had caught one more out, he could have become the second pitcher in history to achieve ‘20 wins, 200 strikeouts, and an ERA in the 1-point range’ in the season, following Dong-yeol Dong-yeol in 1986. He is a strong candidate for the Golden Glove Award in the pitcher category as well as the regular season Most Valuable Player (MVP).
As his performance is outstanding, many clubs are drooling over him. As a result of this paper’s coverage, team officials from the San Diego Padres, Tampa Bay Rays, and New York Yankees of the U.S. Major League Baseball (MLB), as well as the prestigious Yomiuri Giants and Softbank Hawks of Japan Professional Baseball (NPB), watched Peddie’s pitching in person. He is a target of intensive recruitment by overseas clubs, along with Lee Jeong-hoo (Kiwoom Heroes), who will challenge the big league through the post-season posting system (private competitive bidding). NC general manager Lim Seon-nam said, “Many scouts from both the U.S. and Japan came (to the baseball stadium). Since Lee Jeong-hoo was injured and couldn’t watch him play (during his rehabilitation), I think all the local scouts flocked to Peddy.”
What is interesting is the interest of the NPB club. NPB has been intensively scouting foreign players in the KBO League for a while. Quite a few players, including David Huff (formerly LG Twins), Chris Sedon (formerly SK Wyverns), and Raul Alcantara (Doosan Bears), signed with NPB clubs using their domestic performance as leverage. But most of the results were not good.
In particular, the prevailing view was that love calls from NPB clubs would decrease after Alcantara’s failure. Alcantara achieved 20 wins (2 losses) in 198 2/3 innings in 2020, becoming the king of wins and winning percentage. He even received the Golden Glove in the pitching category and was given the title of ‘Best pitcher in the KBO League’ and signed a two-year contract with the Hanshin Tigers, but his performance was below expectations (4 wins, 6 losses, and an ERA of 3.96).
Peddie is an active big leaguer who played as a starting pitcher for the MLB Washington Nationals in the past two seasons. He was also drafted in the first round (18th overall) of the 2014 rookie draft. His career is more brilliant than that of any player who previously advanced from the KBO League to NPB. He expects the possibility of failure to be that small. He was hit in the forearm area by a batted ball and was unable to play in the wild card game against Doosan, but it is not expected to have a significant impact on his evaluation.스포츠토토
The key is ‘possibility of remaining’. General Manager Lim Seon-nam said, “Of course, if possible, we will renew the contract.” The reason for the premise of ‘if possible’ is because of the salary. In the KBO League, the total contract value of three foreign players cannot exceed $4 million (KRW 5.6 billion). The salary cap limit is increased by $100,000 (KRW 140 million) depending on the number of years a foreign player renews his contract, but the effect is minimal. The total amount of Peddie’s contract for this season is $1 million (1.4 billion won). The annual salary of Angel Sanchez, who transferred from SK Wyverns (now SSG Landers) to Yomiuri in the 2020 season, was 340 million yen (3.1 billion won). In reality, it is not easy to compete with NPB clubs.