Renewed contract for a total of $1.5 million,
becoming the longest-serving foreign player at LG Club
LG's foreign pitcher Casey Kelly has successfully renewed his contract for next season and will wear the LG uniform for the sixth consecutive year. The photo shows Kelly taking the mound in Game 5 of the Korean Series against KT on the 13th.
LG manager Yeom Kyung-yeop announced his intention to work with foreign pitcher Casey Kelly (34) next year ahead of Game 4 of the Korean Series held on the 11th. Coach Yeom said, “Kelly is a foreign player who sacrifices and devotes himself to the team. “Having a player like this is a great help to new foreign players as well,” he said.
As Coach Yeom hopes, Kelly will accompany LG next season as well. LG announced on the 23rd, “We have renewed a contract with Kelly for a total of $1.5 million (about 1.95 billion won).” The contract deposit is $400,000, the annual salary is $800,000, and the incentive is $300,000. Kelly, who played for LG for six consecutive years, became the longest-serving foreign player in the club's history.
Kelly, who played as the team's ace until last year, showed poor performance at the beginning of this season and there were rumors of his expulsion. In the 18 games in the first half, he was in a slump with 6 wins, 5 losses, and an ERA of 4.44. However, in the second half of the year, he succeeded in rebounding with 4 wins, 2 losses, and an average ERA of 2.90 in 12 games. In the Korean Series against KT, he appeared as a starter in both games 1 and 5 and pitched well with 1 win and an ERA of 1.59 (2 earned runs in 11 and 1/3 innings).
Kelly's contract total was lowered by $300,000 from last year's $1.8 million. This is because among the five seasons he played for LG, this year's regular season performance (10 wins, 7 losses, ERA 3.83) was the poorest. His five-season career record is 144 games, 68 wins, 38 losses, and an ERA of 3.08. Kelly is expected to be used as the second starter instead of the first starter next season. Kelly said through the club, “I’m already looking forward to playing in front of our fans next season. He said, “I once again felt the love of fans in the Korean series, and I want to feel it again next year.”
Samsung is continuing contract renewal negotiations with foreign pitcher David Buchanan (34), who played as an ace for four consecutive years from the 2020 season to this year. If Buchanan wears the Samsung uniform next year, he will also become the club's longest-serving foreign player. The foreign player who has played the longest in Korean professional baseball is right-handed pitcher Dustin Nippert (42, retired), who played for a total of eight seasons, including seven years with Doosan (2011-2017) and one year with KT (2018). 슬롯사이트