Mark Paynesand, a columnist on Major League Baseball's official website (MLB.com ), announced on his social networking service (SNS) on the 5th (Korea time) that Pedi's return is imminent. Paynesand quoted officials, adding that Pedi is currently facing a final decision between the Chicago White Sox and the New York Mets, and that the contract will be confirmed as early as the 6th.

Paynesand's estimated two-year contract amount is around 10 million dollars. Prior to Paynesand, multiple local media expected Peddy to sign a contract worth an average of 5 million dollars per year, which is in line with this. It is expected to far exceed the amount that NC can give. The annual salary cap for foreign players in the KBO League is 4 million dollars, and 100,000 dollars will be added for each player's annual leave.

For this reason, it is widely believed that even if a team rakes in as much money as possible to invest in a foreign player, the annual limit is the early to mid 2 million dollars. In fact, NC reportedly offered the maximum amount that its team could afford. However, the Major League faced a higher wall. In an extreme example, NC could offer a maximum annual salary of 4.1 million dollars even if a team uses just one foreign player, but the team offered 5 million dollars a year, which eliminated the team's possibility of staying in the Major League.

If this is true and confirmed, Peddy could set a new record in the history of retro-exporting the KBO League. There are quite a few foreign pitchers who returned to the U.S. after playing in the KBO League, but none of them made $10 million in guaranteed total. Peddy, who became the MVP of the regular season this year by achieving the first triple crown in the history of foreign players, is expected to leave Korea with many significant mark in some areas.

◆ Returning to Major League Baseball after a year, Peddy's dream came true

Peddy, who was drafted in the first round (18th overall) by the Washington D.C. in 2014, once had high expectations as a promising player representing his team and the Major League Baseball. It was quite a long time when he was listed in the top 100 in all major league prospects rankings of various media including Baseball America. In Washington, he had high expectations as one of the best prospects to lead the rotation of starting pitchers in the future. After playing in the minor leagues, Peddy finally made his Major League debut in 2017.

As a promising player who has worked hard for a long time, his team has given him many opportunities. He played in three games in 2017 and 11 games in 2018. All of them were starters. Pedi started to improve his performance slowly. During the two seasons of 2017 and 2018, he won two games, lost five and posted a 6.44 ERA in 14 games, but in 2019 and 2020, he performed well with a 6-6 record with a 4.42 ERA in 32 games (20 starts). And from 2021, he effectively started rotating full-time.

However, the pitcher failed to meet expectations. He pitched 133 ⅓ in 29 games (27 starts) in 2021, but recorded seven wins and nine losses with an ERA of 5.47. He had a chance to start again in 2022, but failed to shake off the stigma of being a starting pitcher with a five-run ERA in 27 games by posting 6 wins and 13 losses and an ERA of 5.81.

This led to Washington's abandonment and release. Pedi was paid 2.15 million U.S. dollars in annual salary in 2022. As the company is now making annual salary adjustments, it is not worth that much as it has to pay more in 2023. Consequently, Washington treated Pedi as a non-tender, and NC, who watched the process, contacted him quickly, and successfully recruited him for just 1 million dollars. Everyone was surprised. Not many people expected Pedi to come to Korea despite his poor performance.

After signing a contract with the NC Dinosaurs, Peddy moved to a new major league spring training site. He settled down in Arizona State, the state where many systematic training facilities are located. He prepared for the 2023 season by calmly adjusting his pitches as well as changing his body shape. He wanted to return to the Major League after playing well for a year in Korea. Peddy then made his wish come true by bombing the KBO League in 2023.

He pitched 180 ⅓s in 30 games this year, recording 20 wins, 6 losses and an ERA of 2.00, achieving the triple crown as a pitcher. He adapted well to the team and was praised for being excellent in terms of personality. Sweeper, in particular, also had a big impact on the KBO League. Major League scouts started paying attention to Peddy, who changed in the middle of the season, and the better his performance, the more likely he was to return to the Major League. Eventually, his life at the NC Dinosaurs became more likely to be settled down to one year.

◆ Teams in need of selection focused on 'cost-effectiveness' Peddy

Peddy is not the name that dominates the Major League Baseball free agent market. However, it is a good sell for teams that want to strengthen their starting rotation for a small amount of money. Not only is it not that expensive, but he has experience in the Major League, and his performance this year was so good. As foreign pitchers representing the KBO League have returned to the Major League and performed relatively well, the burden of league level differences has also eased a lot.

Major League teams have reportedly compared Pedi's old self with this year's performance, and decided that he has developed much more than before. He has simply been labeled as a failed pitcher in the Major League. Furthermore, Pedi's value has skyrocketed due to difficulties in pitching even within the Major League.

The New York Mets and the Chicago White Sox, who are mentioned as Peddy's destinations, are aiming to win the World Series championship next year as well. In the case of the Mets, they tried to win the World Series through aggressive investment ahead of this season, but failed disastrously, and eventually, they sold both Max Scherzer and Justin Verlander in the trade market, and switched to a team that seeks two to three years from now. Analysts say that they intend to recruit Peddy to fill in the poor starting lineup for now.

The Mets have Senga Kodaly, who was crowned the ace of the team this year, and Jose Quintana, David Peterson, and Taylor Magill are holding out for the starting lineup. In order to reinforce the fourth to fifth starters, they are targeting Pedi following the recent signing of Luis Severino for a one-year contract of 13 million dollars. Quintana and Severino have many injury experiences, so they may need another stable starting pitcher. The Mets also have Brooks Raley, one of the myths of retro-exporting the KBO League.

The White Sox are also a team that needs to strengthen its starting lineup. There are Dylan Seese and Michael Soroka, but the 4th to 5th starters are weak, and Seese is considering the possibility of a trade. In terms of opportunity, it can be a better team than the Mets.

The Major League Trade Rumors, which specializes in news on the Major League's transfer market, said on Sunday, "If the deal is concluded, Peddy will return to the Major League after one season in Korea. The 30-year-old has had an excellent year with the NC Dinos, posting an ERA of 2.00 in 180 ⅓s. He recorded a 29.5 percent strikeout rate compared to the 5 percent walk rate," summarizing Peddy's outstanding season.

The media then explained that Pedi joined the team with the 18th overall pick in the 2014 draft, was one of the top 100 prospects in the Major League, and how he settled in the Washington starting rotation. "Washington refused to offer Pedi a salary adjustment contract during the last offseason, which led to Pedi's transfer to the KBO," said Major League Trade Lumus. "Overall, the dominant performance in batter-friendly foreign leagues served as a stepping stone for a quick return to the Major League."

Major League Baseball trade Lummers explained, "In addition to his improved performance, he appears to have completely revamped his pitching lineup. Peddy told The Washington Post in August that he had further improved his horizontal movement on his slider and adjusted his change-up grip. Those changed weapons obviously intrigued some teams."

Meanwhile, NC has faced a difficult situation due to the departure of Peddy, which forced it to replace all three foreign players. NC has already announced that it has no intention of renewing its contract with Jason Martin and Tanner Turley, removing them from its pending roster. With Peddy also leaving, the lineup of foreign players is expected to change completely from this year.   스포츠토토