(LEAD) baseball club-player
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| ▲ In this file photo from June 8, 2023, Addison Russell of the Kiwoom Heroes hits an RBI single against the LG Twins during a Korea Baseball Organization regular season game at Gocheok Sky Dome in Seoul. (Yonhap) |
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| ▲ This photo captured from the website of the Lexington Counter Clocks in the Atlantic League shows the team's outfielder Ronnie Dawson, who signed with the Kiwoom Heroes in the Korea Baseball Organization on July 13, 2023. (PHOTO NOT FOR SALE) (Yonhap) |
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| ▲ In this file photo from May 19, 2023, Addison Russell of the Kiwoom Heroes hits an RBI single against the Kia Tigers during a Korea Baseball Organization regular season game at Gwangju-Kia Champions Field in Gwangju, some 270 kilometers south of Seoul. (Yonhap) |
(LEAD) baseball club-player
(LEAD) Kiwoom Heroes release injured Addison Russell, acquire Ronnie Dawson
(ATTN: RECASTS headline, lead; UPDATES throughout with signing of new player)
By Yoo Jee-ho
SEOUL, July 13 (Yonhap) -- The Kiwoom Heroes released injured shortstop Addison Russell on Thursday, cutting his second stint in the South Korean baseball league short.
The Heroes said they asked the Korea Baseball Organization (KBO) to place Russell on waivers. The 29-year-old hasn't played since June 16 due to a wrist injury.
Less than half an hour later, the Heroes announced the signing of former major league outfielder Ronnie Dawson as Russell's replacement. Dawson, 28, will make US$85,000 for the rest of this season.
In 59 games this year, Russell batted .286/.339/.400 with four home runs and 42 RBIs, and hit a robust .415 with runners in scoring position.
Instead of waiting for Russell to heal, the Heroes have cut bait and found a new foreign hitter in Dawson, who had a cup of coffee with the Houston Astros in 2021 and the Cincinnati Reds in 2022.
Russell, a member of the 2016 World Series-winning Chicago Cubs, first played for the Heroes in 2020. In 65 games as a midseason replacement for Taylor Motter, Russell didn't live up to his billing as a former National League All-Star. In 65 games then, Russell only batted .254/.317/.336 with two homers and 31 RBIs.
The Heroes brought him back for this season, and Russell enjoyed a strong month of April with a .342 batting average and a team-high 24 RBIs. His production dropped considerably over the next two months before the injury did him in.
Dawson has logged just eight at-bats in the majors. He has mostly bounced between Double-A and Triple-A in recent years. Then in 2023, Dawson had been playing with the Lexington Counter Clocks in the independent Atlantic League, where he batted .278/.355/.498 with 12 home runs, 37 RBIs and 13 steals in 63 games.
The Heroes called Dawson, who bats left and throws right, a "five-tool" player who can hit, play strong defense and run the bases well.
"He generates a lot of power and makes good, hard contact using his excellent bat speed," the Heroes said in a statement. "He can also run well and cover a lot of ground in the outfield."
The Heroes, after finishing runners-up to the SSG Landers in last year's Korean Series, are in ninth place among 10 teams this year at 38-45-2 (wins-losses-ties). They have lost six straight games.
"To turn things around in the second half of the season, we needed to be more productive on the offense," said Heroes general manager Ko Hyung-wook. "We are counting on Dawson to provide the spark in our lineup and inject some positive energy into the clubhouse."
The KBO will go on an All-Star break starting Friday, and the season will resume on July 21. The Heroes said they expect Dawson to be available to play by that point.
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