Lotte Giants foreign player Niko Goodrum has fallen to the wayside.

In July, Lotte released Zack Rex and signed Goodrum for $400,000 (500 million won). It was a gamble given Rex’s knee condition. At the time of the signing, Lotte described Goodrum as “capable of playing both infield and outfield defense.”

He is a versatile player who has played 1,200 and two-thirds innings at shortstop, 931 and one-third innings at second base, and 84 innings at third base in the American Major League Baseball (MLB). In the minor leagues, he played 2487 innings at third base, 752 at second base, and 1934 at shortstop. As an outfielder, he played 493 and a third innings in the MLB and 732 in the minors.

However, in the KBO, he’s unreliable at any position. He committed his first KBO error on August 9 at shortstop against Gochuk Kiwoom, and has since racked up a whopping 11 errors over the past month. Goodrum has 11 errors in 36 games this season. If he played a full season (144 games), he would be on pace for 44 errors. The most errors by an individual in a single season in KBO history is 35 by Kim Hye-sung (Kiwoom Heroes) in 2021.

Goodrum committed three errors in a single game, starting at third base against the KT Wiz on March 26. So far, he has seven errors at third base (238 innings) and a 3-1 record at shortstop (43 innings) and second base (eight innings).

That was the case on Sept. 9 against the NC Dinos in his first appearance as a starting second baseman. In the top of the sixth inning with Lotte leading 4-3, NC’s Park Dae-on hit a grounder in front of the second baseman, but it was safe. As a result, both the batter and the runner advanced, creating an even bigger crisis.메이저사이트

It was a fielder’s choice on the scoreboard, but it was a poor call by Goodrum. He couldn’t get the ball out of his glove in one motion, causing time to run out, and his throw home was deflected so the catcher couldn’t make the tag. The next batter walked to load the bases, and Lotte gave up a two-run game-winning single to Seo Ho-chul. Goodrum’s home run proved to be the difference in the loss (5-6).

The offense was also disappointing. Through nine days and 36 games, Goodrum is batting just .263 with zero home runs and 20 RBIs. His OPS (on-base percentage plus slugging percentage) is just 0.682.

Lotte has made a concerted effort to “save” Goodrum, even using him in the outfield. After releasing Rex, who they signed for $1.3 million (KRW 1.7 billion), and spending another $400,000 to get him, they can’t afford to leave him on the bench. But the more errors Goodrum makes, the less hope Lotte has for fall baseball. Lotte has a long road ahead of them, going 4-5 in games in which Goodrum makes an error.