In the KBO League, cases of major league ‘reverse export’ have been shining almost every year in recent years. In the case of pitchers, Merrill Kelly (Arizona) and Brooks Reilly (New York Mets) succeeded, and recently even Chris Flexen (Seattle) has joined the ranks.

This year’s prospect was Drew Luchinski (35, Oakland), who played in the KBO league for four years and played an active role as an ace in the league as well as NC. Luczynski signed a 1+1 year, $8 million contract with Oakland ahead of this season. It was not a bad treatment in that he was a player in his mid-30s and had played in the KBO league. The fact that it was easy to enter the starting rotation in terms of Auckland team strength was also a basis for expecting his performance.

However,안전놀이터 Luchinski’s current performance falls far short of his expectations. He started four games, but is posting a 9.00 earned run average without a win. There was an injury during the demonstration game, and the problem of a late start to the season in the aftermath is well revealed. Luchinski’s average speed is rather worse than when he was in the KBO league. He fell about 2-3 km.

However, a candidate to write the ‘reverse export myth’ appeared out of nowhere on behalf of Luchinsky. Former Samsung pitcher Ben Lively (31), who joined Cincinnati’s starting rotation, is the main character. It is also significant in that it disappeared from our gaze for a while and reappeared this year.

Lively played an active part in the major leagues from 2017 to 2019, but failed to stand out, and stepped on the KBO league stage as a replacement foreign pitcher for Samsung in mid-2019. Despite his good pitches, Lively has been plagued by command and injury issues. He was eventually ejected in 2021 and returned to the US.

Even in the United States, he has not been able to appear on the major league stage for a while. He signed a minor league contract with Cincinnati last year but had no major league call-ups. However, Cincinnati took note of Lively’s utility, and offered him a minor league contract this year as well. Lively, who knows that Cincinnati’s starting lineup is not strong, also took this hand.

▲ Meryl Kelly is on a winning streak after being treated as the second starter by Arizona.

▲ Brooks Reilly is active as an agent of the New York Mets.

And when there was a vacancy on the Cincinnati mound at the beginning of the season, Lively was called up to the major leagues and is doing well. At first, he played in the bullpen, but when his performance was good, he even entered the starting rotation. In the game against the New York Yankees on the 20th (Korean time), although he was defeated, he struck out 8 in 5⅔ innings and gave up 2 runs.

He hit Aaron Judge with a home run in the first inning, but he did not collapse, and he endured by suppressing additional runs as much as possible until two outs in the sixth inning. This kind of performance could help Lively’s player value. Although he is still a player whose status is unstable, his range of motion can widen even when he moves to another team in the future.

Pitchers from the KBO League are doing well this year as well. Kelly, who has been reborn as Arizona’s second starter, is 4-3 with a 2.92 ERA in 9 games this season. It has the potential to be his personal best season. Brooks Reilly has been on a stable track after overcoming hunting and injuries at the beginning of the season. He is active as a member of the Mets’ winning group. Chris Flexen, who was pushed down from the selection competition and went down to the bullpen, is also active as a swingman who plays 2-3 innings in search of stability in the bullpen. Attention is focusing on whether Lively can also join this ranks.