David McKinnon is the newest member of the Samsung Lions squad

Foreign batsman David McKinnon is the newest member of the Samsung Lions squad. If McKinnon can be as good as Darin Rough, who was Samsung’s No. 4 for three years starting in 2017, we’ll be happy. Samsung announced the signing of McKinnon on April 15. The deal is worth $1 million, including a $100,000 signing bonus and a $900,000 annual salary.

In his big league debut last year, McKinnon played for the Los Angeles Angels and Oakland Athletics, batting just 1-for-50 with six RBIs and two runs scored. In 357 career minor league games, he batted .294 (1247-for-367) with 36 home runs, 210 RBI, 212 runs scored, and an OPS of .875.

This season, he played for the Seibu Lions of Nippon Professional Baseball. In 127 games, he batted .259 (120-for-464) with 17 home runs, 안전놀이터 53 RBIs and 53 runs scored. “McKinnon is a medium-to-long range right-handed hitter with a good leadoff stroke and excellent contact ability who can play solid first and third base defense,” the club said.

“With his diligent work ethic and Japanese baseball experience, he will be able to adapt quickly to the KBO,” the club said. “We look forward to adding him to our infield depth and strengthening our center field lineup.”

If McKinnon can perform as well as Ruff, it will be a huge boost for the team.

Ruff spent three years as Samsung’s No. 4 hitter, starting in 2017, playing a fixer-upper role. In his career, he batted .301 with 467 hits, 86 home runs, 350 RBIs, and 267 runs scored. In his rookie year, he hit .305 with 30 homers and over 100 RBIs. He also led the league in RBI with 124.

There was no sophomore jinx for Ruff. He batted .167 with 33 homers, 125 RBIs, and 97 runs scored. In his third year, he batted 29-for-138 with 22 homers, 101 RBIs and 80 runs scored. Although Ruff was no longer with the team, he was given a chance to return to the big leagues.

Samsung hasn’t had a 20-homer hitter this season. This is the first time in 15 years that the club has had zero 20-homer hitters since 2008. Kang Min-ho and Jose Pirela are tied for the team lead in home runs with 16.

With the new addition, it will be interesting to see if McKinnon can make his mark at the hitter-friendly Daegu Samsung Lions Park.