If this is the case, I poured 4.4 billion won into seven magazines…Can he be a Mercedes of Kiwoom?

Jul 31, 2025

If this is the case, I poured 4.4 billion won into seven magazines…Can he be a Mercedes of Kiwoom?
C Mercedes playing in the Taiwan League. Photo =Union Lions



There are no more cards to change players. Kiwoom Heroes exhausted everything. Can the last card be a twist.

Kiwoom requested foreign pitcher Kenny Rosenberg to KBO on waivers on the 30th and officially announced the recruitment of a new foreign pitcher C.C. Mercedes (Christopher Mercedes). The conditions for the recruitment are 280,000 dollars, including the transfer fee.

Mercedes, a left-hander from the Dominican Republic, played for the Yomiuri Giants of the Japanese Professional Baseball (NPB) in 2017 after showing potential as a minor league prospect in the U.S. He is a pitcher who has experienced Japanese baseball for as many as seven seasons with the Yomiuri Giants and Chiba Lotte Marines. The NPB's overall record is 37 wins and 44 losses with a 3.10 ERA in 709 ⅓ innings in seven seasons. Ahead of this season, he moved to Taiwan and recorded 6 wins, 3 losses and an ERA of 2.57 in 14 games for the Uni Lions. WHIP is 1.06.




Mercedes, who also played for the Dominican Republic, can play various pitches such as fastball, curveball, slider, and change-up and has abundant experience. It is evaluated that the ball control is also good. Above all, I can't ignore my seven-season career in Japan. This is because he played as a key player for seven seasons in the GoTaser League. Baseball officials who have been watching Mercedes see Mercedes as a typical ball control pitcher. The fastball speed is in the late 140km range and the average is in the mid 140km range, which is not a fast ball compared to the recent KBO league trend. But I was able to survive because I had good control. NPB also received positive reviews, but failed to renew the contract ahead of this season due to the judgment that the ball power was a little disappointing. That's why he moved to Taiwan.

If this is the case, I poured 4.4 billion won into seven magazines…Can he be a Mercedes of Kiwoom?
A game between the Kiwoom Heroes and the Lotte Giants at Gocheok Sky Dome in Seoul on the 22nd. Kiwoom Cardines is getting ready for the game. Gocheok = Reporter Park Jae-man pjm@sportschosun.com /2025.07.22/
Mercedes will go through the process of issuing visas after entering Korea on the 31st. You can join the team as soon as your visa is issued quickly. Since I came to the KBO League while playing in Taiwan, there will be no problem with quick practical input.

Kiwoom is desperate for one foreign pitcher to handle the rotation right now. In this season alone, he poured $2.745 million (about 3.81 billion won) into a total of seven foreign players based on the guaranteed amount. There will be many players who have not achieved incentives, but based on the maximum amount including incentives, it will soar to $3.145,000 (about 4.4 billion won).




In fact, the initial plan for the season was a failure early on. Choosing a two-man and one-man pitcher system, he gave Yasiel Puig a $1 million guarantee, Ruben Cardinez a $450,000 guarantee, and $150,000 incentives. In addition, pitcher Kenny Rosenberg also made his own big investment with $700,000 in guarantees and $100,000 in incentives. Although it was unfortunate to say goodbye to Enmanuel de Heissus and Ariel Hurado, the focus was on strengthening their offense.

If this is the case, I poured 4.4 billion won into seven magazines…Can he be a Mercedes of Kiwoom?
Kiwoom-LG match held at Jamsil Stadium in Seoul on the 10th. Kiwoom starter Alcantara is pitching. Jamsil = Reporter Jung Jae-geun cjg@sportschosun.com /2025.7.10/
But the result was a failure. As the team plummeted to the bottom from the beginning of the opening, it eventually took measures and said goodbye to Puig first. In addition, he contacted Raul Alcantara, a KBO league experienced player, and recruited him on the condition of $250,000 in guarantees and $150,000 in incentives, returning to a two-man foreign pitcher system.

But it was not smooth. Two replacements had to be saved during the season as Kadinez and Rosenberg left with injuries.




Stone Garrett ($35,000) showed just that in offense and defense, but announced his retirement from active duty when his contract with Kiwoom ended, and showed quite compliance in four games of Lachlan Wells ($30,000), refusing to extend the club's contract and returning to his home country.

If this is the case, I poured 4.4 billion won into seven magazines…Can he be a Mercedes of Kiwoom?
The second game of the three consecutive weekdays between Kiwoom and Lotte will be held at Gocheok Sky Dome in Seoul on the 23rd. Before the game, Kiwoom Wells is saying goodbye to his teammates. Gocheok = Reporter Song Jeong-heon @sportschosun.com/2025.07.23/
Mercedes, who recruited in that way, is Kiwoom's last foreign player replacement card of this season. Kiwoom played 100 games until the 30th, and now only 44 games remain until the end of the regular season. He is at the bottom of the table, and the rebound in the rankings is also difficult, but that doesn't mean he can just spend the season, so he chose a pitcher who can play the rotation well.

As the defeat is repeated, the development of prospects is not smooth. With Mercedes' joining, more than half of the goals can be achieved by adding stability to the starting rotation.





This article was translated by Naver AI translator.