Pitcher David Buchanan, 35, of the Philadelphia Phillies, who left the guaranteed salary and conditions in South Korea for the United States, saw some hope in his second start of an exhibition game.
Buchanan pitched two innings of one-hit ball with one walk and three strikeouts against the Minnesota Twins in a home game against the 2024 Major League Baseball team at BayCare Ballpark in Clearwater, Florida, on Wednesday.
In his first start, on March 27 against the Boston Red Sox, he struggled, allowing two runs on four hits with one walk and two strikeouts in two innings. His 6.75 ERA in exhibition games isn’t great, but it raised expectations for his next start.
After getting Willie Castro to pop out to third base in the first inning, Buchanan gave up a single to Alex Kirillov, but got Ryan Jeffers to ground out to third and Matt Walner to strike out the side to get out of the first inning unscathed. His command was on full display against Walner, 토토사이트 with his three- and four-pitch changeup and cutter both down and away.
In the second,
After getting Jose Miranda to ground out to third, he gave up his first run on a line drive to Trevor Ranacci in center field. The bases were loaded, but he got back-to-back strikeouts to end the threat.
He struck out Austin Martin on a full count on a six-pitch 92.1 mph (148.2 km/h) sinker and Emmanuel Rodriguez on a low 78.6 mph (126.5 km/h) fastball to end the inning.
Totaled 34 pitches, 21 strikes and 13 balls. His fastball topped out at 92.2 mph (148.4 km/h) and he used an even mix of six pitches: cutter (10), sinker (8), changeup (5), curve, four-seam fastball (4+), and slider (3).
After the game, Phillies manager Rob Thompson said, “Buchanan was much better than last time. I was wondering why he didn’t have command against Boston, but it was because he had a little blister on his finger.” “Today he had good command and a lot of weak pitches. I only had one hard hit, a double. I had good fastball location with a good curveball. He has a lot of experience, which is a good thing.”
“I think I pitched more competitively than my last start,” Buchanan said. “It was fun to pitch at home (in Clearwater) for the first time in a while. The fans were really loud, and the atmosphere was really good.” It had been nine years since Buchanan had pitched at Baycare Ballpark, the home of the Phillies’ camp, since April 5, 2015, when he pitched five innings of two-hit ball with two walks and four strikeouts against the Pittsburgh Pirates.
Drafted by the Phillies in 2010,
Buchanan has two years of big league experience in 2014 and 2015. He spent four years as the longest-serving foreign player in Samsung Lions history, pitching for the Yakult Swallows in Japan from 2017-2019 and then for the Samsung Lions from 2020 to last year, compiling a career record of 54-28 with a 3.02 ERA, 539 strikeouts, and a 1.27 WHIP in 113 games (699⅔ innings). During that time, he led the KBO in innings pitched, wins, quality starts (80), ERA, and strikeouts, and was second in the league in strikeouts.
However, after last year’s season, his contract talks with Samsung broke down. Samsung offered Buchanan a two-year, multi-year contract, but the two sides were unable to agree on a price. Due to the KBO’s foreign salary cap, the maximum amount Samsung could offer Buchanan was $2.4 million in 2024 and $2.5 million in 2025. It was difficult for the team to match that amount, as they would not have enough salary cap space to re-sign another foreign player next season. In the end, the team parted ways with Buchanan in favor of Connor Seabold and Denny Reyes.
Buchanan had another option: the Cincinnati Reds.
A major deal seemed to be in the works, but Cincinnati’s signing of Frankie Montas to a one-year, $16 million deal in late December of last year derailed Buchanan. He eventually signed a minor league deal with his hometown team, the Phillies, and has been playing in invitational games. In his mid-30s, Buchanan is in a fight for survival as a minor leaguer. In many ways, Buchanan’s decision is a regrettable one, as he would have been guaranteed two years and a high salary had he stayed in Korea.
But the water has already been spilled. After a rough first start, Buchanan showed his strengths today with command stability, raising hopes for a return to the big leagues. 파워볼실시간 The Phillies have a steady five-man starting rotation of Zack Wheeler, Aaron Nola, Taijuan Walker, Ranger Suarez, and Christopher Sanchez, but Buchanan is looking for a spot in the big leagues as a backup starter and long reliever. Spencer Turnbull, Colby Allard, Nick Nelson, and Dylan Covey are among Buchanan’s competitors.