"There were truly no players available" – LG General Manager Cha Myeong-seok's inner turmoil, 'Even if we can't eat well, we must go to Korea' – 161 km/h LG foreign investor KBO move confirmed with sincerity

*This content was translated by AI.

LG Twins' new foreign pitcher Yacel Rio (33) was genuinely interested in joining the Korean KBO League. Thanks to this, the long-delayed replacement of LG's foreign pitcher was completed swiftly.

About two months ago, LG found itself in deep trouble. Yoni Chirinos (33), the foreign pitcher who had won the Korean Series with the team last year, complained of elbow pain on April 22 and was removed from the first division roster. He chose rehabilitation through injection therapy without surgery and made his starting return in the Daejeon Hanwha Eagles game on May 9.

The result of the wait was not hope, but despair. Over four games in May, he posted an ERA of 6.62, recorded 13 strikeouts in 17⅔ innings, and failed to perform as a true number-one starter. In fact, LG had been considering a foreign pitcher replacement since April. Given Chirinos' extensive injury history, his April elbow pain raised concerns about his ability to complete all 144 games. LG General Manager Cha Myeong-seok departed for the United States on April 30 to discuss the return of Ko Woo-seok (28, Miami Marlins), who was challenging the Major Leagues, while also searching for a foreign starting pitcher.

Signing a foreign relief pitcher was a heavy burden for LG. Although LG had a relatively solid starting rotation, surviving the remaining six months without a powerful number-one starter for a team aiming for the Korean Series was akin to gambling.

However, there were simply no suitable starting pitcher resources available for replacement. This season, each KBO team had been deeply concerned about the declining competitiveness of the foreign player market since before the season began, and LG faced the same obstacle. The best option available at the time was Thomas Hatch (32), recently acquired by the SSG Landers.

Speaking to StarNews ahead of the Gwangju KIA game on the 16th, General Manager Cha Myeong-seok explained, "We went looking for a starting pitcher, but at that time, there truly were no players available to sign. The only option was Hatch, but he also had an injury history, making it difficult to choose him."

Ultimately, General Manager Cha Myeong-seok explained the situation to Manager Yeom Kyung-yeop and proposed expanding the scope of foreign player recruitment to include relief pitchers. Around the same time, relief pitcher Yoo Young-chan (29) underwent elbow surgery, and LG also needed bullpen support, bringing the long deliberation to an end.

Fortunately, the time lost to deliberation was made up by Rio's quick decision-making. According to General Manager Cha, although Rio was initially considered only as a relief pitcher, his blazing fastball clocking up to 161 km/h placed him at the very top of the acquisition list. Rio's wife is a Korean-American, born to a Korean mother and an American father. During his debut, Rio stated, "My wife's influence was 100%. We talked a lot about Korea from the moment we first met. My in-laws visited Korea frequently, so I heard a lot about the country."

General Manager Cha added, "Rio was originally one of our acquisition candidates. Among them, he had the best velocity, so we immediately made a contract offer. Rio did not hesitate much. He had a Korean wife and was already interested in Korea and the KBO League," sharing the behind-the-scenes story of the swift deal.

After many twists and turns, Rio has been adapting smoothly to the KBO League as of the 16th. In his debut game against the Jamsil SSG Landers on the 10th, he threw a 158 km/h fastball from the first pitch and recorded a scoreless inning.

In the Jamsil Lotte Giants game on the 13th, Rio handled his first multi-inning outing, striking out two batters over two innings while delivering a perfect pitching performance. He showcased a 161 km/h fastball, a 157 km/h two-seam fastball, and a 150 km/h forkball, signaling the birth of a top-tier foreign investor.

In particular, the first pitch thrown to Jeon Min-jae clocked in at 160.84 km/h according to TrackMan, making it the fastest pitch recorded in the KBO League this year. Based on TrackMan official data since 2018, this was the second-fastest pitch in KBO history, trailing only Moon Dong-ju (23, Hanwha Eagles), who recorded 161.44 km/h in the Suwon KT game on September 20, 2025.

Rio's control, which had been poor in the United States, benefited from the KBO League's automatic pitch judgment system (ABS), which features a wider strike zone. Ahead of the Gwangju KIA game on the 16th, Manager Yeom explained, "Rio's control isn't great. Since the ABS zone is slightly wider than the traditional strike zone, I thought his control would be better in Korea than in the United States."

With the restriction on consecutive outings lifted, LG's bullpen is expected to become even stronger. Manager Yeom stated, "Rio is scheduled to make consecutive outings starting this week. He can pitch two innings. If there is no strain while managing him, he could appear in the eighth or ninth inning depending on the situation or when Son Ju-young is unavailable."

However, he firmly ruled out consecutive outings after pitching two innings. Manager Yeom emphasized, "He pitched two innings frequently in the United States. He threw nearly 50 pitches in one outing, but we have no intention of doing that. We will limit him to no more than 35 pitches per outing. If he pitches two innings, he will definitely rest."

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*This content was translated by AI.