KT Wiz release William Cuevas after elbow injury disrupts season

William Cuevas [NEWS1]

The KT Wiz on Wednesday released longstanding foreign pitcher William Cuevas and signed Chicago White Sox minor leaguer Wes Benjamin.

Cuevas leaves the Wiz after an elbow injury took him out of action two games into the season.

Cuevas picked up a win against the Samsung Lions on opening day at the start of April, giving up just one hit in six innings pitched. He appeared again on April 8, giving up one hit in five innings, but has been unable to start since then.

The loss of Cuevas comes as a big blow to the reigning KBO champions. The Venezuelan ace has been a key part of the KT squad since 2019 and played a crucial role in last year's pennant title.

Cuevas pitched in the tiebreaker game between the Wiz and the Samsung Lions to decide who took the 2021 title, throwing seven shutout innings despite having played just a few days earlier. He went on to pitch seven and two thirds innings for a win in the Korean Series.

Cuevas leaves the Wiz with a career 3.89 ERA and 33 wins and 23 losses over 82 games.

Wes Benjamin [AP/YONHAP]

Cuevas is replaced by former Texas Rangers pitcher Benjamin. A 2014 draftee, Benjamin made his major league debut with the Rangers in August 2020. He appeared in a total of 21 games in the 2020 and 2021 seasons, mostly from the bullpen but with a couple of starts mixed in as well, with a 6.80 ERA over 45 innings pitched.

This season Benjamin has been playing with the Charlotte Knights, a Triple-A club in the White Sox organization. Benjamin leaves the team with a 3.82 ERA this season having picked up two wins and no losses over seven starts with 30 and two thirds innings pitched.

Prior to joining the Charlotte Knights, Benjamin previously played for the Round Rock Express under the Texas Rangers alongside Kia Tigers ace Yang Hyeon-jong, who spent a lot of last season with the minor league team.

Cuevas is the first foreign pitcher to be released with a quarter of the 2022 season now released.

The Wiz are currently sitting in eighth place on the table with 17 wins and 21 losses as of press time Wednesday, 8.5 games behind the leading SSG Landers.

BY JIM BULLEY [jim.bulley@joongang.co.kr]