The trade deadline was a quiet one…a rumored pitching swap that ended in nothing.

The KBO trade deadline for the 2023 season is over. The rumored foreign pitcher swap never came to fruition.

July is the last month that KBO trades can be made during the season. This season, there have been three KBO trades in July.

On July 5, the KIA Tigers and Samsung Lions executed a one-for-one trade that sent infielder Ryu Ji-hyuk and catcher Kim Tae-gun. On July 18, the LG Twins and NC Dinos also announced a one-for-one trade, sending pitcher Chae Ji-sun and outfielder Choi Seung-min.

The culmination of the “big deal” trade was between LG and the Kiwoom Heroes. On July 29, the two teams announced a major trade of pitcher Choi Won-tae, outfielder Lee Ju-hyung, pitcher Kim Dong-gyu, and a first-round pick in 2024.

LG, which proclaimed its “win now” mantra, instantly filled its biggest weakness, the homegrown starting lineup, with Choi Won-tae. With a long-term injury to center fielder Lee Jung-hoo virtually halting the team’s momentum this season, Kiwoom focused on acquiring prospects for the future.

Ahead of the July 31 trade deadline on a non-baseball Monday, the baseball world was eager to see if another big trade would be made, especially as rumors of a trade for a foreign pitcher had been circulating for some time.

LG and SSG Landers, two of the top two contenders for the regular season championship, were in need of a foreign pitcher. LG was concerned about the struggles of longtime starter Casey Kelly (20G, 7-6, 4.53 ERA). SSG was disappointed with the ambiguous performance of Roenis Elias (9G, 4W, 3L, 4.08 ERA), who was brought in early in the season as a backup foreign pitcher.

On the field, there was speculation that LG and SSG clubs could be active in trading foreign starting pitchers. A possible trade for a local parent club’s top foreign pitcher was reportedly discussed in the background. However, after LG decided to reappoint Kelly, they decided to bolster their starting staff by trading Choi Won-tae. SSG also ultimately decided to trust their existing foreign pitchers rather than make a trade.

When contacted by MK Sports on July 31, an SSG representative said, “We were fully aware of the weakness of our starting pitching in the first half of the season and made moves in the trade market. We looked for a lot of things, but there was a gap in our thinking at the negotiating table. Now that we’ve reached the deadline, I don’t think we’ll be able to make a trade this season.”

The most recent foreign player trade in the KBO was for Daniel Rios in July 2005. Rios, then a member of the KIA Tigers, was traded to the Doosan Bears in a one-for-two deal for infielder Kim Joo-ho and pitcher Jeon Byung-doo. 스포츠토토

After nearly 18 years without a foreign player trade, 2023 will not be the last time we see one. Teams were hesitant to offer counterpayments for foreign players who could literally leave at any time. It will be interesting to see how teams’ decisions to move (or not move) in this trade market will have a butterfly effect on the second half of the standings.