72kg → 100kg Bulk Up Argument, Misunderstanding and Truth About Samsung Garabito Ahead of Official Announcement
Jun 16, 2025
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Texas Rangers right-handed fastball pitcher Kherson Garavito (30).
Samsung has finalized its contract with Garabito, including the transfer fee, and is only set to announce it. The recruitment was confirmed through the process of paying a transfer fee to Texas, a club belonging to the pitcher Ra Won, who was included in the 40-man roster.
After organizing the transfer fee, Texas officially announced the release of Garabito on the club's official website on the 15th (Hinguk time), making it a fait accompli to go to Samsung.
Samsung announced on waivers through KBO on the 14th that Reyes, who is rehabilitating due to a recurrence of a foot injury after agreeing to sign a contract with Garabito. Reyes said goodbye to the squad on the 15th.
As for the new foreign pitcher, who is set to make an official announcement, Samsung said "We are working on finishing the game with the weekend in the air."We will make an official announcement next week" he said.
Born in the Dominican Republic, Garabito entered the U.S. through the Kansas City Royals through an international amateur free contract in 2012, and is a fastball pitcher who measures 94 miles (151 kilometers) on average and 97 miles (156 kilometers) on average, although he is not tall at 1 meter 83 and 72 kilograms. He throws sliders, changeups, curves, and two-seam pitches to steal batters' timing.
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However, an official familiar with the foreign market said, "That weight was 10 years ago when we entered the U.S. in 2012." He is currently maintaining a muscular body weighing more than 100 kilograms" dispelled concerns.
A big league career is a world away. Garavito, who played in Kansas City, the San Francisco Minor League, and the Latin American Winter League until the 2023 season, only made his major league debut for Texas in May 2024. The annual salary for this season in Texas is 740,000 dollars (about 1.012 billion won).
Until this season, he played in 21 games (two starts) and 34 ⅓ innings in two major league seasons, recording a 5.77 ERA and a WHIP of 1.485 in two losses without a win. He struck out 30 and allowed 13 walks. Last year, he lost two games and had a 4.78 ERA in 26 ⅓ innings in 18 big league games.
This season has been sluggish. Mainly stayed in the minor leagues. On April 12, Kim Hye-sung, who played for Oklahoma under the Dodgers, was hit with a two-run home run as a member of Triple-A Round Rock. In 10 Triple-A games this season, he was not good with seven losses and an 8.53 ERA without a win.
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An official familiar with the local situation said "This year, I couldn't concentrate a little while going back and forth between the big leagues and the minor leagues, and coincidentally, I just didn't follow the luck of the game. Strong ball power is not much different from last year." The slump in Triple-A this season could be a good luck for Samsung. This is because young fastball pitchers, who are likely to be called up in the big league, are not promoted to the KBO League at a cheap price as substitutes during the season.
In fact, Samsung targeted Tyler Alexander (31), an active big leaguer who was released from Milwaukee before recruiting Garabito. It was released on the 6th after the assignment of the designation on the 1st local time, but the Chicago White Sox were intercepted on the 8th by the Major League Baseball's lowest salary contract.
Another official familiar with the foreign market situation explained that "Garavito was at the top of most KBO clubs' recruitment lists last year along with Hanwha Ponce and others. "A pitcher who was highly evaluated due to his good pitching." As he is a young pitcher who has not succeeded in the big leagues, he is expected to have a strong will to challenge the major leagues once again based on the success of the KBO league.
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He allowed 325 walks while striking out 654. He is a pitching pitcher who boasts strikeouts of about eight times per nine innings in both the Major League and Minor League. He is considered a suitable pitcher for the KBO League ABS system. It is expected that there will be an ideal harmony between the two foreign pitchers if they take the mound side by side as ace Furado, who plays long innings by cooking batters skillfully with colorful breaking balls and timing battles, and as a different style of fastball pitcher. He is about the same age as home run king Lewin Diaz and is from the same Dominican Republic, so foreign chemistry is also expected.
With strong ball power and colorful breaking balls, strikeout pitcher Garabito is expected to be an all-weather card on the mound that can be used as a convertible to play long innings in the bullpen like LG Eliaser Hernandez last year, depending on the situation if Samsung advances to the postseason.
Reporter Jung Hyun Suk hschung@sportschosun.com
This article was translated by Naver AI translator.
