[Official] 'Flexen injury' Doosan → '31 wins at KT' Wes Benjamin fills the vacancy... "Six-week $50,000 contract" for temporary replacement non-subsidiary

*This content was translated by AI.

Chris Flexen (32, Doosan Bears), who returned after a six-year absence, was injured. Wes Benjamin (33), who played for KT Wiz for three seasons, will fill the position.

The Doosan Bears announced on the 6th that they signed Benjamin as a substitute for Flexen's injury.. The contract is worth a total of $50,000 (about 75 million won) for six weeks.

American left-hander Benjamin is 188 centimeters tall and weighs 95 kilograms and was a fifth-round pick by the Texas Rangers in the 2014 MLB Rookie Draft.

In the big league, he pitched in 21 games (three starts) and recorded 2-3 with an ERA of 6.80, and in the minor league, he recorded a career of 139 games (123 starts) with 36-37 with ERA of 4.91.

He also has a lot of experience in Korean baseball. Benjamin pitched in 74 KBO League games and 406 ⅓ innings for KT for three seasons starting in 2022, recording 31 wins and 18 losses and ERA 3.74. In 2023, he ranked second with 15 wins.

Flexen, who joined the MLB Seattle Mariners in 2021 after playing 8-4 with ERA 3.01 in 21 games in Doosan in 2020, and became the main character of the "reverse export myth" with 14-6 ERA 3.61, has since fallen into a slump, passing through the New York Mets, Colorado Rockies, Chicago White Sox, and Chicago Cubs, and returned to Doosan for the first time in six years ahead of this season.

In the exhibition game, he struck out as many as 21 in 12 ⅓ innings in three games, raising expectations with just one run and an ERA of 0.73, but it was completely different in the regular season.

He stepped down with three runs (two earned) in four innings in his first appearance, but was replaced after suddenly complaining of pain in his right arm in the second inning against the Hanwha Eagles at Jamsil Stadium on the 3rd. As a result of the examination, he was diagnosed with damage to the lower muscles of the right scapula (shoulder). They say they will recover for four weeks and then watch the trend through a re-examination.

A Doosan official said, "Benjamin has been a stable starter for three seasons in the KBO League. We still judged him to be a competitive player, and we expect him to minimize the rotation gap.

Benjamin will join the team as soon as he completes the administrative process.

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*This content was translated by AI.