Alcantara released, now Brandon? Yokishi vs. Shirakawa 2v2, my concluding strand of the weekend...who will replace him?
Raul Alcantara has been released. Now it's up to Brandon Waddell to decide his replacement. The two-way battle between Eric Yokishi and Keisho Shirakawa is expected to be finalized by the end of the week.
In a recent phone conversation with OSEN, a Doosan Bears representative said, "The decision on Brandon's replacement will be made by the end of the week. We are planning to meet with Eric Yokishi for an interview first."
Doosan's foreign pitcher Brandon voluntarily left the game against the Daegu Samsung Lions on March 23 after complaining of shoulder pain. He underwent two medical examinations and was diagnosed with a subscapularis muscle injury in his left shoulder, and was scheduled to return in three weeks. With the decision to reevaluate after three weeks instead of returning, Doosan turned to the KBO's short-term foreign pitcher program, which the Korean Baseball Organization (KBO) introduced this year.
The KBO tweaked the system this season to allow teams to sign a replacement foreign player if a foreign player is sidelined with a long-term injury. If a foreign player suffers an injury that requires medical treatment for more than six weeks, a team can either terminate the contract and sign a new foreign player or place the player on the rehabilitation list and sign a substitute foreign player to play until the player returns, without using the number of substitutions. SSG Landers, KIA Tigers, and Hanwha Eagles have already utilized the program.
Doosan's list of possible replacements for Brandon included overseas independent clubs and American minor league pitchers, but two low-risk options popped up on the radar from unexpected sources. Shirakawa, a short-term foreign pitcher for SSG, and Yokishi, a former ace for the Kiwoom Heroes.
SSG signed Shirakawa, a former Japanese Independent League ace, to a six-week short-term contract after existing foreigner Roenis Elias suffered a side injury, and he pitched better than expected, proving his domestic competitiveness. SSG officially announced the termination of Shirakawa's contract on the afternoon of the 2nd, adding an attractive option for Doosan. Shirakawa was placed on waivers by the KBO as of March 3.
The options for Shirakawa are given in reverse order of their ranking at the time of the waiver announcement. Doosan's three-day ranking is fourth, which means they must wait for 10th-place Kiwoom, ninth-place Hanwha, eighth-place KT, seventh-place Lotte, sixth-place NC, and fifth-place SSG to pick up their options. Three days later, no other clubs have expressed interest.
Shirakawa's strengths include a 150-kilometer fastball and a sophisticated arsenal of pitches. His changeup is sharp, with a slider, forkball, and curve. Shirakawa's six-week record is 2-2 with a 5.09 ERA in five starts, but if you exclude his brief struggle against the Sasak Lotte Giants on June 7 (eight runs in 1⅓ innings, seven earned), his ERA drops into the low 2s. Although he has a weakness that it is difficult to digest a five-day rotation, he has high scores in terms of visa and adaptation to Korean baseball.
The other is Eric Yokishida, a former left-handed ace for Kiwoom. According to a Doosan official, Yokishi recently contacted the club to say he was "feeling fine," and Doosan offered him a tryout in exchange for airfare and accommodation.
Yokishi is a former KBO mercenary who last played in a Kiwoom uniform in 2019, going 56-36 with a 2.85 ERA in 130 games over five seasons through 2023. From his first year to 2022, he won 10 games in four consecutive years (13-12, 16-16, 10-10) and dominated the league with three straight years of double-digit ERAs (2.14-2.93-2.57) starting in 2020. Unfortunately, Yokishi was released by Kiwoom in June of last year after tearing a thigh muscle.
Yokishi held two tryouts at Icheon Bears Park, Doosan's second team base camp. Despite jet lag and long flight issues in the first tryout, Yokishi threw 45 pitches and topped out at 143 kilometers with his fastball in the second. "I got a report that it wasn't too bad. I think he's at about 90 percent," Lee said.
While Yokishi's experience makes him an obvious choice, he has been without a team for more than a year after being released by Kiwoom last year. Although he has been working out regularly, there are concerns about his practical skills, and unlike Shirakawa, he may not be able to utilize the full six weeks due to the need to obtain a visa. "We have to think about whether to use the full six weeks (with Shirakawa) or whether to use four or five weeks because of the delay in getting a visa," Lee said.
Doosan plans to interview Yokishi, who is staying in Icheon, over the weekend before making a final decision on a short-term replacement. Of course, that assumes that the team below Doosan doesn't pick up Shirakawa during his waiver period. Between Shirakawa and Yokishi, it will be interesting to see who will take the mound at Jamsil Stadium in a Doosan uniform.
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