Why did KT suddenly choose to part ways with the icon of 7-year companionship commitment

Jul 10, 2025

Why did KT suddenly choose to part ways with the icon of 7-year companionship commitment
Park Kyung-soo hugs Cuevas at the match between KIA and KT at Suwon KT Wiz Park on the 1st and Park Kyung-soo's retirement ceremony after the match. Suwon = Reporter's wook@sportschosun.com/2025.06.01/



Why did KT suddenly choose to say goodbye to Cuevas.

KT Wiz will throw a winning move for the 2025 season. He kicked out Cuevas, a foreign pitcher whom he had become attached to, and effectively completed recruiting Murphy, a new foreign pitcher.

KT has almost reached a contract agreement with Murphy. Once the final contract details are coordinated and the medical test is completed, Murphy will wear the KT uniform and Cuevas will leave the KBO League.




KT was selected as the favorite ahead of this season with strong pitching staff. However, he is sixth as of the 9th. Of course, since there are only four games apart from the second-place LG Twins, there is no situation to give up joining the top-ranked fight beyond the possibility of entering autumn baseball.

One of the reasons why KT failed to use its strength is Cuevas' poor performance. In 18 games this season, he seemed to recover for a while, including 3 wins and 10 losses with a 5.40 ERA against the Samsung Lions in June, but he fell back down to five consecutive points against the Lotte Giants and Doosan Bears. His ball power has completely deteriorated this season. It was a disastrous performance with one win and eight losses in the last 10 games.

In fact, it should have been changed. I haven't used any strength since the beginning of the season. But there was a symbol of Cuevas. One family member, not a foreign pitcher, who has been together since 2019. His performance was also good, but he was loved by many fans for his dedication to the team. He was a difficult player to throw away because of his poor performance.




Why did KT suddenly choose to part ways with the icon of 7-year companionship commitment
Coach Lee Kang-chul comes to the mound to talk as KT and Hanwha faced a crisis at Hanwha Life Ball Park in Daejeon on the 3rd, and KT starter Cuevas allowed one run in the bottom of the first inning. Daejeon = Reporter's wook@sportschosun.com/2025.06.03/
Still, the most important thing in a professional league is his performance. In fact, KT was preparing to replace Cuevas from the beginning of this season. But there were no replacement players. In order to have a justification for the replacement, we had to bring in a player with better skills than Cuevas. But at the beginning of the season, it's hard to find such a player.

In addition, Cuevas' rebound in June also hurt KT's head. As mentioned above, it was a best scenario for KT to play with Cuevas if they pitched to a certain extent.

Why did KT suddenly choose to part ways with the icon of 7-year companionship commitment
Lotte and KT held at Sajik Stadium in Busan on the 29th. KT Cuevas is pitching as a starter. Busan = Song Jeong-heon Reporter's songs@sportschosun.com/2025.06.29/
Meanwhile, Murphy appeared. KT has constantly observed him. However, he had no intention of coming to Korea. He is a pitching pitcher who throws fastballs up to 157 kilometers per hour. He fits the recent KBO league trend similar to Gamboa (Lotte) and Garabito (Samsung). Last year, he played for Nippon Ham Fighters and finished adapting to Asian baseball, which is an attractive resource.




KT immediately began recruiting Murphy after obtaining information that he had recently been on the market. Murphy is known to want to play a stable starting role. Since he has such a good pitching style, he also played as a bullpen at Nippon Ham. Major League Baseball has played 25 games.

A KT official said, `First of all, Murphy's recruitment is not completely confirmed, but it is cautious to talk about Cuevas.' If the replacement is confirmed, we will discuss the farewell event with Cuevas.' It's a painful farewell, but the KT team is fully aware that it's not a player to just let go.





This article was translated by Naver AI translator.