The U.S. Major League Trade Loomers (MLBTR) reported on the 23rd (Korea time) that Goodrum signed a minor league contract with Minnesota. Goodrum, who returned to Minnesota, which nominated him in the 2010 draft, is expected to join spring training as an invited player in February next year.
192cm 99kg switch-heater infielder Goodrum joined Lotte on July 11 as a replacement for Jack Rex, signing an annual salary of $400,000. The reversal of Lotte’s winning streak ahead of the second half. Goodrum’s career, which played 402 games in six major league seasons, was enough to have expectations.
In 50 games, however, Goodrum only posted a batting average of 295 percent (51 hits in 173 times at bat), no homers, 28 RBIs, 16 runs scored, 23 walks, 46 strikeouts, and a .373 slugging percentage of .387 OPS.760. He complied with his batting average and on-base percentage, but was not very threatening at bat as he did not have any home runs.
In mid-September, when Lotte’s hope for autumn baseball remained, he missed five games due to a right hamstring injury. In the last 10 games of the season, he hit a batting average of 444 percent (12 hits in 27 times at bat), raising his batting average to nearly 30 percent, but Lotte’s fall baseball was over. 파워볼실시간
Most of all, his defense was disappointing. He played in five different positions, including 38 games for the third baseman, eight for 274 innings, 14 for the shortstop, 13 for the third baseman, one for the second baseman, one for the left fielder (one for the first starter, six for the eighth inning), and one for the right fielder (one for the first inning, five for the fifth inning), but failed due to 13 errors. His throws seemed to be stuck in his mouth and kept making mistakes. In the match against KT Sajik on Aug. 26, he killed himself by himself with three errors. Lotte, whose much-anticipated Goodrum showed lethargy in offense and defense, failed to rebound in the second half and finished seventh. Sung Min-gyu, the general manager who brought him, stepped down, and Goodrum had to leave the team.
MLBTR said Goodrum, who was drafted 71st overall in the second round of the 2010 draft by Minnesota, debuted in the big league in 2017 but was excluded from the 40-man roster after 11 games and only one hit in 17 at-bats. After signing a minor league contract with the Detroit Tigers, he spent four seasons there. “I spent two productive years as a versatile utility man,” he said. “I played in all positions except catchers and pitchers while playing for Detroit. Since then, I have played for the Houston Astros, Boston Red Sox, and KBO Lotte Giants.”
“In KBO, Goodrum displayed excellent performance with .295/.373/.387 (batting/on-base/long-hitting) and wRC+ (adjusted scoring capacity). He had a high walk rate of 11.4 percent, but failed to hit a home run. It is surprising that he has not hit any home runs in the U.S., considering that he has hit double-digit home runs.”
During the Detroit years between 2018 and 2019, Goodrum had 16 and 12 homers, respectively, in the Major League. He is a batter with some power, but he has never hit the fence in the KBO League. He was the first foreign hitter who ended up with no homers in more than 100 at-bats for a single player since Lotte John Gall (43 games, 124 at-bats) in 2006. Goodrum had 201 at-bats in 50 games, which was worse than that.
For Goodrum, who is trying again in the big league after failing in Korea, Minnesota could become a land of opportunity. MLBTR said, “In the midst of uncertainty over TV broadcasting rights, Minnesota tries to reduce its payroll. Among backup members, catcher Christian Vazquez and infielder Kyle Farmer are considered candidates for trade this winter. Utility man Nick Gordon suffered a severe slump this year but fractured his shinbone after being hit by a foul ball. Gordon should show good performance in the spring to solidify his position as he no longer has the option to play in the minor league,” adding, “There is a possibility that Goodrum will enter the race depending on Farmer’s trade and Gordon’s spring performance. Otherwise, Goodrum will head to Triple-A St. Paul. He will reduce his depth to Minnesota’s insurance veteran option in all positions.”