The position of Chris Flexen (28, Seattle Mariners), who was considered a “reverse export success story” for his performance in the KBO League, was at stake.
On the 15th (Korean time), MLB.com, the official website of Major League Baseball (MLB), included Flexen in the list of 10 candidates who could be traded right away ahead of the 2023 season.
Flexen is a pitcher who played for the Doosan Bears in the KBO League in 2020. At the time, he was active with an ERA of 3.01 with 8 wins and 4 losses in 21 games. He failed to fill the regulation innings, but instead played an active part in the postseason and raised Doosan, who was 3rd in the regular season, to the Korean Series (KS). 스포츠토토
Although his performance in the regular season was not top-notch, MLB paid attention to his pitch that overpowered Korean hitters. After the 2020 season, Seattle returned him to the big leagues with a two-year, $4.75 million contract. It wasn’t a big deal, but Seattle’s pitcher-friendly home and the time it took before calling up young pitchers made the Flexen a good fit. He appeared in 31 games in his first season and made a big success with 14 wins and 6 losses with an earned run average of 3.61, becoming one of the myths of KBO league reverse export.
Flexen appeared in 33 games this season, recording an average ERA of 8-9 and 3.73. When he met the condition of 300 innings for two years, the vesting option of an annual salary of $ 8 million next year was automatically executed. He will play for Seattle for one more year, but the team situation is different from a year ago. Seattle, which started to challenge for the championship in earnest, took the fall stage as a wild card this season. Prior to the season, American League Cy Young Award winner Robbie Ray was recruited as a free agent, and young pitchers such as George Kirby as well as promising hitters such as Julio Rodriguez settled into the big league starting rotation. In the summer trade market, he acquired Luis Castillo, a fastball ace from the Cincinnati Reds, and was given an extended contract.
MLB.com said, “Seattle has a rich starting pitching staff. There are Ray, Kistillo, Logan Gilbert, Marco Gonzalez, Kirby and even promising Emerson Hancock.” Low. Trade is the best way to reinforce power.” This means that Flexen, who showed his skills as a starting pitcher for two years, is perfect.
He is likely to be pushed out of the starting lineup, and Flexen is an unfortunate card to use in the bullpen. MLB.com said, “Because Castillo was acquired, Flexen moved to the bullpen,” and evaluated “a pitcher that can still help a team that needs reinforcements in the starting lineup.”