There are times when ML comes back. Kelly, Thames, and Peddy are successful. He got injured from the start of his 54-win ace, who shook off his two-year contract. Is it a failure again this year?

Feb 19, 2025

David Buchanan during his time with the Samsung Lions. Reporter Jung Jae-geun

There are players who return to the Major League after performing well in the KBO League. Despite the KBO League's aggressive courtship, he challenged again for his dream of becoming a major league player.

Some of them fail, but there are also success stories. Meryl Kelly, Eric Thames, and Eric Peddy are successful cases in which they returned to the Major League from the KBO League and performed better.

Unfortunately, there are some things that have failed. The most unfortunate case in recent years is David Buchanan, who left the Samsung Lions. He played as an ace in the KBO League and held it so desperately that Samsung offered an exceptional two-year contract, but chose the Major League as his last challenge, but the world was cold.

Buchanan's major league challenge is tough this season following last year. This year, the road was not easy due to injuries from the beginning. The U.S. local journalist 『Dallas Morning News』 reported that Buchanan, who signed a minor league contract with the Texas Rangers, injured his left ankle during defensive training in spring training. He joined the Major League spring camp as an invited player, but he was injured from the beginning and was in poor condition, making it difficult to get an impression from the Major League coaching staff.

Buchanan was loved by KBO league fans for not only his skills but also his personality. He has been an ace for Samsung for four years from 2020 to 2023. He pitched 113 games, 699 ⅔ innings, 54 wins, 28 losses, and a 3.02539 ERA. He always instilled a positive mindset in his teammates in the dugout, and he was always kind to his fans. When he threw, he was impressed with his concentration of pitching, and he was friendly with his teammates, so he was not like a foreign player. Buchanan, who was born in 1989, had a dream of a major league challenge, and the time was numbered. Samsung even took out the last card of a two-year contract to catch the ace, but failed to catch him.

David Buchanan during his time with the Samsung Lions. Reporter Jung Jae-geun

David Buchanan during his time with the Samsung Lions. Reporter Choi Moon-young

But there has been a reversal since then. I thought there was a club that offered Buchanan a major league contract, but the result was a minor league contract. Buchanan signed a minor league contract with his former team, the Philadelphia Phillies. Pitching well in Triple-A but rarely called up. He was traded to the Cincinnati Reds in late August, and he pitched as a relief pitcher against the Milwaukee Brewers on Sept. 1 and took the mound in the Major League with two hits, two walks, one strikeout and one run in three ⅓ innings, but that was the first and last time. The next day, he went back down to the minor leagues, and the season ended without being able to come back up.

He tried to challenge for the major leagues again in Texas this year, but his injury held him back.

He is 36 years old this year. Even if you try to come back to Korea, you can come only when Samsung needs it because Samsung has the right to hold it even if you are older and come. The challenge is beautiful, but the reality is cold.

Kyle Hart of the NC Dinos, who became the strikeout king last year and won the Choi Dong-won Award and the Golden Glove Award, also challenged the Major League again and signed a one-plus-one-year contract with the San Diego Padres. The first year is guaranteed $1 million, and if released a year later, you will receive an additional $500,000. If the club decides to continue to be together for the second year, they will receive an annual salary of $5 million. It is possible only when you perform well this season. Will Hart follow a success story or a failure story.

This article was translated by Naver AI translator.