Will Ace's forgotten bridgehead to Taiwan, South Korea? The prerequisite for Samsung's return is to recover its restraint

May 01, 2025

Will Ace's forgotten bridgehead to Taiwan, South Korea? The prerequisite for Samsung's return is to recover its restraint
Buchanan fixing the spike string during his Samsung days. Reporter Jung Hyun-seok of Sports Chosun hschung@sportschosun.com



Is it the step to return to the KBO League.

David Buchanan (36), a former ace of the Samsung Lions, will go to Taiwan.

U.S. media, including CBS Sports, reported on the 1st that Buchanan has signed with the Taiwanese professional baseball (CPBL) Fubang Guardians.




Buchanan was released by Texas' Triple-A Team Round Rock Express on the 30th. I could find another major league club, but I chose to go to Asia again.

Buchanan's trip to Taiwan. It has two meanings.
Will Ace's forgotten bridgehead to Taiwan, South Korea? The prerequisite for Samsung's return is to recover its restraint
Buchan during Philadelphia. AP Alliance
First, it means the end of the big league challenge, which was the ultimate goal. Buchanan, born in 1989, is already in his mid-30s.

Buchanan, who challenged the major league stage through a minor league contract with Texas ahead of this season, did not make the opening roster. He suffered an ankle injury during camp and failed to show 100% of his ability in the aftermath. Once again, I tried to call up by starting in Triple-A, but I couldn't achieve an impressive performance. In six games and 29 innings, he allowed 21 runs on 38 hits (five home runs) and 12 walks. He has one loss without a win and an ERA of 6.52. Even considering the aftermath of the injury, the release of poor performance was shocking enough to break Buchanan's big league dream.
Will Ace's forgotten bridgehead to Taiwan, South Korea? The prerequisite for Samsung's return is to recover its restraint
Second, for Buchanan, Taiwan is a stopover, not the ultimate destination.

It is highly likely that it was judged as a bridgehead for the next stage, such as Korea and Japan. The best option for Buchanan at the moment is to return to the KBO League Samsung.

Samsung is a grateful team that gave Buchanan a second baseball life.

Buchanan, who played for Yakult in Japanese professional baseball for three years from 2017 to 2019, joined the Samsung Lions in 2020 and entered the KBO League.




Buchanan, who was a symbol of thorough routine and self-management, played as a Samsung ace with a steady performance of increasing double-digit wins every season for four years until 2023. He recorded 54 wins and 28 losses with a 3.02 ERA. He was responsible for more than 150 innings every season and played as the best foreign pitcher with an average of 175 innings per year.
Will Ace's forgotten bridgehead to Taiwan, South Korea? The prerequisite for Samsung's return is to recover its restraint
스포츠조선 정현석 기자 hschung@sportschosun.com
After the 2023 season, Samsung of course offered Buchanan to renew the contract. However, he left for the U.S. for the last major league challenge after showing disagreement on terms such as a multi-year contract. a parting from an unchanging ace. For Samsung, there was a lot of regret. Eventually, Buchanan broke up with Samsung leaving a five-year suspension right due to the collapse of the contract. Accordingly, when returning to the KBO League, he must return to Samsung only.

However, it is not easy for Buchanan to return to Samsung at the moment. This is because the Inning Eater Furado and the autumn man Reyes duo are in good shape. Reyes was mentioned as one of the alternative candidates for the worst when he injured his foot during camp, but Buchanan also left with the injury at the time. The recent decline in restraint is also a problem. The maximum speed is about 148 kilometers. Buchanan threw a ball over 150km at the time when he was active in the KBO League. It was possible to have high efficiency of various breaking balls enough to be called Palchaekjo because of its fast attack power. If he finds a lost ball in Taiwan, he can become the No. 1 candidate in the event of a gap such as a sudden injury to a foreign pitcher. It is true that the possibility of going to Korea has increased as much as the physical distance that has become closer.



This article was translated by Naver AI translator.