Wow, Lotte is scary. Third place is not satisfied...Will ML's 38th win recruitment be able to break up the 10-win pitcher

Aug 07, 2025

Wow, Lotte is scary. Third place is not satisfied...Will ML's 38th win recruitment be able to break up the 10-win pitcher
Lotte Giants new foreign pitcher Vince Velazquez. AP Yonhap News



Wow, Lotte is scary. Third place is not satisfied...Will ML's 38th win recruitment be able to break up the 10-win pitcher
Lotte Giants Vince Velazquez. Photo courtesy = Lotte Giants
Lotte Giants were cold-hearted. Although he achieved 10 wins, he broke up with a foreign pitcher who had not been good at pitching in the last two months, showing a more upward-looking game.

After winning 7-1 against the Busan KIA Tigers on the 6th, Lotte notified foreign pitcher Tucker Davidson of the breakup. Davison had to face a sad ending on the happiest day of his professional career, achieving his first 10 wins with six innings of one run.

Lotte signed a $950,000 contract with Davison this year. He invested a lot, and anyway, since he is a 10-win pitcher, even if the club accompanied him until the end of the season, he was not at the level of being criticized. It seems that the club's patience was tested by staying 3 wins and 4 losses, 47 ⅔ innings, 50 strikeouts and an ERA of 5.66 in nine games in June and July.




The club showed its determination not to be satisfied with third place by breaking up with a 10-win pitcher. The new foreign pitcher is right-hander Vince Velazquez. This year, he played for Triple-A team in the Cleveland Guy's Minor League.

Lotte recruited Velazquez for an annual salary of 330,000 dollars (about 400 million won) on the 7th' announced.

Velazquez has a much richer major league career than Davison. He played for nine seasons from 2015 to 2023, recording 191 games (144 starts), 38-51, 763 ⅔ innings, 822 strikeouts and a 4.88 ERA.




This year, Cleveland was called up to the big league at the end of April, but the transfer of designation (DFA) was imposed without playing, and he was maintaining a minor league contract with Cleveland after the waiver announcement. This year's Triple-A record is 18 games, 5 wins, 4 losses, 81 ⅔ innings, 95 strikeouts, and a 3.86 ERA.

Wow, Lotte is scary. Third place is not satisfied...Will ML's 38th win recruitment be able to break up the 10-win pitcher
The game between KIA and Lotte was held at Sajik Baseball Stadium in Busan on the 6th. Lotte won the game 7 to 1. Davison, who finished his last appearance on the day, is taking a commemorative photo with his teammates. Busan = Reporter's wook@sportschosun.com/2025.08.06/
Wow, Lotte is scary. Third place is not satisfied...Will ML's 38th win recruitment be able to break up the 10-win pitcher
The game between KIA and Lotte was held at Sajik Baseball Stadium in Busan on the 6th. Lotte won the game 7 to 1. Director Kim Tae-hyung and Davidson share their joy of victory. Busan = Reporter Huh Sang-wook wook@sportschosun.com/2025.08.06/
Lotte is "Belazquez is a right-hander who is 1 m 90 and 95 kg tall and was selected by the Houston Astros in the second round of the 2010 draft. Based on fastballs, sliders, knuckle curves, and changeups of up to 153 kilometers, he has played nine seasons in the Major League and pitched more than 760 innings. In particular, with his experience in 144 Major League games, he decided that he would play a necessary role for the team in important games by having excellent game management capabilities" he said.

Velazquez is expected to stand in front of Lotte Giants fans who are enthusiastically cheering for him"As I join the team at an important time, I will do my best in every game to advance to the postseason with responsibility."




A bold decision means Lotte's will. Lotte ranks third with 58 wins, three draws and 45 losses in 106 games. It is currently four games apart from the first-place Hanwha Eagles and the second-place LG Twins, but Lotte will have a chance to look at the higher rankings when the top teams slip once on the winning streak. By widening the gap between the fourth and fifth places by more than five games, it is now possible to run just looking up.

Lotte manager Kim Tae-hyung is a mastermind who led the team to the Korean Series for the first time in KBO history from 2015 to 2021 when he was the head coach of the Doosan Bears. He led the team to three championships between 2015, 2016, and 2019. This is why Lotte, which has no experience in autumn baseball since 2017, chose manager Kim. Coach Kim made Lotte a top-ranked team two years after taking office, and both the team and fans are in a situation where the atmosphere is high.

Coach Kim said "It's important to maintain a good pace in the rest of the game and go all the way to the end. It's four games apart from the top, and I don't know what's going to happen, but the coach shouldn't go after the wins. Keeping our pace is the most important thing. The most important thing is to prevent variables from occurring in the team itself," he said, stressing that it is important not to be happy at the end of the season.

Lotte recruited veteran Velazquez considering the postseason. Attention is focusing on whether this winning move will work.

Meanwhile, Velazquez is scheduled to enter Korea on the 8th to adjust his pitching schedule.

Wow, Lotte is scary. Third place is not satisfied...Will ML's 38th win recruitment be able to break up the 10-win pitcher
The game between KIA and Lotte was held at Sajik Baseball Stadium in Busan on the 6th. Lotte won the game 7 to 1. Lotte players share the joy of victory. Busan = Reporter's wook@sportschosun.com/2025.08.06/




This article was translated by Naver AI translator.