'50 Days Until Opening': Only 3 Teams Retain All 3 Original Foreign Players; KT and LG in 1st and 2nd Place — There's a Reason

*This content was translated by AI.

'All 10 teams signed foreign players in hopes of a major breakthrough. However, only three teams have kept the same three foreign players signed at the start of the 2026 KBO League season, now over 50 days into the campaign.

'On the 18th, the first foreign player to be released this season was announced. Kiwoom Heroes filed a waiver request with the Korea Baseball Organization (KBO) for Brooks and announced the signing of Rio, a new foreign hitter who has hit 50 career home runs in Major League Baseball. Brooks appeared in 41 games this season, batting .217 and was the only foreign hitter among the 10th teams to record zero home runs.

'Brooks was the first foreign player to have his contract terminated due to poor performance this season. However, many teams have brought in replacement players to fill gaps caused by injuries.

'Before the season began, the Samsung Lions signed a six-week contract with replacement pitcher Oracle due to an injury to pitcher Manning and later extended the contract through the end of this month. Doosan Bears and Kiwoom also had to urgently acquire Benjamin and Rosenberg due to injuries to Flexen and Wales, respectively. SSG Landers replaced White with Kengo, and KIA Tigers signed Adelin to replace Castro.

'Some teams have ended contracts with replacement players after their injured foreign players returned. The Hanwha Eagles parted ways with Cushing, who had replaced White, and the NC Dinos did not extend their contract with Verhagen following Riley's return.

'Only three teams — KT Wiz, LG Twins, and Lotte Giants — have all three foreign players signed at the start of the season performing normally. Among them, KT and LG currently sit in first and second place, separated by just 0.5 games. This season has once again proven that the stability of foreign players is directly linked to team performance.

'KT's Boshley has five wins and Sauer has two, anchoring the starting rotation, while Hilliard leads the league with 12 home runs, ranking second in the category. LG's Austin continues to excel with a .359 batting average, 11 home runs, and 36 RBIs, while Tolhurst shares the league lead in wins with five. Chirinos, sidelined for about 20 days due to an elbow injury, returned on the 9th.

'The Asian quota players introduced this year are delivering mixed results across teams. Hanwha's Wang Yencheng (4 wins) and LG's Wells (2 wins) are performing as key starters, while Kiwoom's Yuto (9 saves) has taken on the closer role.

'NC's Toda (2 wins), KT's Sugiimoto (6 holds), and Samsung's Miyaji (3 holds) are not considered particularly impactful. In particular, SSG's Takeda (1 win), Lotte's Koyama (1 hold), Doosan's Tamura (2 holds), and KIA's Dale (the only hitter with a .256 batting average) have underperformed, causing frustration within the bench. It remains to be seen which team will resort to making changes among their Asian quota players.

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*This content was translated by AI.