When Park Dong-won, who qualified as an FA, left for the LG Twins, KIA pointed to him as a compensation player. He is a must-win agent with 37 holds in the previous two seasons and even the scarcity of left-handed sidearms that make left-handed batters flinch. From KIA’s point of view, it was evaluated that he got the best card to choose from LG.
However, Kim Dae-yu’s 2023 season, which started in a KIA uniform, was not smooth. During the month of April, the ERA of 6 2⅓ innings reached 12.79. There was a big shake in the middle of the game when they met Kiwoom and Lotte and lost points one after another. In May, he seemed to find stability with a 6⅔3 ERA, but his control was rarely caught. 스포츠토토
KIA canceled Kim Dae-yu in the first division along with Sean Anderson and Jung Hae-young in the mound reorganization situation at the end of May. It was based on the judgment that bullpen resources could be a problem in the future if they do not solve the problem that has been revealed. As much as KIA, Kim Dae-yu himself, who left LG and drew a new baseball life, was also regrettable.
In the Futures League, Kim Dae-yu focused on getting zero points. He allowed eight walks while playing 20⅔ innings, while striking out 22. The hit rate was somewhat high at 296, but he focused on solving the problem regardless. For the month of August, the Futures ERA was only 0.93. If the expansion entry is implemented in September, KIA is expected to call up Kim Dae-yu to strengthen the bullpen, and the trend continued.
In two games after the first-team call-up, Kim allowed only one hit against five batters. There was no strikeout, but the walk was also zero. KIA manager Kim Jong-kook, who watched the two games, said, “I think it has improved in terms of restraint. Above all, I think the command I wanted was done well,” he said. “I think my control was gradually finding stability in Futures, and I thought it was steadily doing its part,” he said. “I think I should play a role in Choi Ji-min’s vacancy (to be transferred to the Hangzhou Asian Games national team).” He added, “We also need to distribute roles with (left-hander) Lee Joon-young.”
Kim Dae-yu is an important resource in many ways for KIA, which has reached the peak of the ranking fight. In addition to strengthening the left-handed bullpen depth, he can also play the role of a specialist against the left-handed batter. If the powerful ball that was bent greatly from the head of the batter and inserted into the strike zone, which was introduced during the LG era, is revived, it could be a considerable force for the KIA bullpen. KIA, which made a bold investment of three months of readjustment, seems to be the most desired.