Free agent left-handed pitcher Ham Deok-ju (28) received a background check from the Major League Baseball office. The KBO received a request from the Major League Baseball (MLB) Secretariat for a background check on LG Twins’ Ham Deok-ju on the 30th and informed the MLB Secretariat that “the player is a free agent and can sign a contract with any team, including overseas teams.”
On the 14th, the MLB office requested background checks on Kiwoom outfielder Lee Jung-hoo and LG pitcher Ko Woo-seok, and requested a background check on Ham Deok-ju for the third time. Overseas clubs must go through an identity check before they can sign KBO players.
Ham Deok-ju joined Doosan in 2013, and through 11 seasons, he has a record of 397 games (30 starts), 501⅔ innings, 35 wins, 21 losses, 59 saves, 49 holds, and a 3.50 ERA with 515 strikeouts.
Ham was primarily a bullpen pitcher for Doosan before being traded to LG ahead of the 2021 season. In the two years since the trade, he has been plagued by injuries. He was sidelined with a bone spur in his elbow in early May 2021 and returned in September, but the injury returned at the end of the season. In 16 games, he finished with a 1-2 record and a 4.29 ERA. He underwent season-ending surgery to remove bone chips from his elbow.
In 2022, he continued to pitch out of the bullpen and tried to make the transition from the second team to the starting rotation in early May, but was hampered by injury. 온라인카지노 He did not return to the first team until the end of the season. By May, he had appeared in 13 games for the first team, posting a 2.13 ERA with no wins or losses.
Ham Deok-ju has been a stalwart in the bullpen this season.
He appeared in 57 games (55⅔ innings), posting a stellar 4-0 record, 16 holds, 4 saves, and a 1.62 ERA. He also pitched well in the Korean Series, appearing in four games and allowing one run in 3⅓ innings.
While Ham has been a quality bullpen pitcher in the KBO this year, his Major League Baseball status comes as a surprise. It’s rare for teams to be interested in a bullpen pitcher who isn’t a 150+ mph fireballer and isn’t a starter.
While Ham has performed well this year, there are some durability concerns. Injuries have plagued him for the past two years, and this year he was shut down in late August due to season-ending elbow fatigue. After two months of rest, he pitched in the Korean Series in early November.
In Game 3 of the Korean Series, his fastball was in the mid-to-high 130s. In Game 5, he topped out at 140 mph, but his fastball was mostly in the low 130s. To put it bluntly, he doesn’t have a lot of appeal to the major leagues.
As a free agent, Ham is a Class B player, which means he is subject to a 25-man roster spot if another team signs him. Since he’s a free agent, he doesn’t need a team’s permission to post about him like Ko Woo-seok (LG) or Lee Jung-hoo (Kiwoom).
He has received a request for a background check from the MLB office, but it remains to be seen if he will make it to the US. There have been many cases in the past where MLB has requested background checks, but it was just a simple inquiry.