Peter Bendix, president of the baseball operations division, who oversees the management of the Marlins' team, met MK Sports at a general manager's meeting at a resort in San Antonio, Texas, on the 7th (Korea time), and said about Ko Woo-seok, who ended the season in the minor league, "He is a pitcher with the ability to put out a big league hitter."토토사이트

The way Ko Woo-suk has shown this season makes us wonder if this is the right evaluation. Since moving to the Marlins in a trade in early May, Ko Woo-suk has a 4.29 ERA in 16 Triple-A games and a 13.26 ERA in 18 Double-A games since then.

He was excluded from the 40-man roster during the season and finished the season as a minor league player. The Marlins will have the right to play until 2025 as they previously agreed to a two-year contract with the San Diego Padres.

"I'm happy to be with him next year," Bendix said, signaling that Ko Woo-seok will return to the Marlins in 2025.

What was the problem with the 2024 season? "I think he showed that he can have a good ball combination. I think he still has room for improvement," Bendix said, evaluating his pitching.

"He is a player who used to be a critical player in important games. We know that he has that ability," he said, expressing trust in Ko's ability.

What should he do to throw at a higher level in 2025?

Bendix said, "I think he needs to keep going out and fighting. He needs to understand for himself what it takes to get better. Every pitcher thinks he has room to get better, and he also has that ability. You have to keep grinding your commands and trying to get better pitches. I think it's probably for a reason that he was able to sign with a Major League Baseball team," he said of what he needed.

"Stillness" is a virtue for every player, but it may be something more especially for him.

Bendix nodded, "I agree" with this point.

Meanwhile, the Marlins have another Korean minor league pitcher. Shim Jun-seok, who was acquired from the Pittsburgh Pirates in a trade before the trade deadline last summer, is the main character.

He has been unable to play due to a shoulder injury in the 2024 season, but has recently pitched in the Arizona Fall League.

The Arizona Fall League is called the "graduation stage of promising players" and is a stage where top promising players play in the minor leagues. Is it because the team chose a too difficult stage to play in its first try? It seems that the team managed six hits, 10 walks and 11 runs in three innings in its four appearances.

"The most important thing for Shim is to throw in good physical condition. To finish the offseason healthy and start the next season anew. I think it will be great as long as he is healthy," Bendix said.

"When we sent him to the Arizona Fall League, he said, 'We don't worry about his performance.' Now, he is playing healthy against batters and building up for the offseason on his own. Next season, he will be able to face lower quality batters."

He said, "I don't worry about my performance," but there is a risk of losing confidence if bad results continue. He, who was not aware of this, said, "We kept telling him, 'The batters you're dealing with now are really good batters. It's okay because I haven't thrown a real game for more than a year. We're just satisfied that you can go out and throw. I'm sending a message that I don't care about my performance,'" stressing that he is trying not to let the player lose confidence.