David Buchanan (36), who played as the ace for the Samsung Lions in the KBO League for four years, could not get through even one inning in the Major League Baseball spring training game.

Buchanan, who signed with the Texas Rangers on a minor league contract and joined the spring training as a non-roster invitee, recorded ⅓ inning with three hits, one walk, and three earned runs (two earned) on the 4th (Korean time) during a spring training game against the Kansas City Royals at Surprise Stadium in Surprise, Arizona.

This was a return game from injury for Buchanan. He was diagnosed with a left ankle sprain during defensive drills on the 17th of last month and took two weeks for recovery. As a non-roster invitee, he needed to show something quickly in the spring training, but he started late.

After skipping the first 10 games, Buchanan seized an opportunity to pitch in relief on this day. Entering as the fifth pitcher in the seventh inning while trailing 1-3, Buchanan got the first batter Carter Jensen out on a ground ball to first base but allowed the next batter, Joey Wiemer, a straight walk.

Then, during Payton Wilson's at-bat, a wild pitch on the first pitch allowed the runner on first to advance to second. In a scoring position, he threw a low curveball on the fifth pitch to induce a ground ball to second base against Wilson, but an error by Allan Trejo's fielding led to one out with runners on first and third.

After that, against the next batter, Daniel Vasquez, Buchanan was hit with a first-pitch cutter for an RBI single to allow one run. With one out and runners on first and third, he faced Omar Hernandez and Brett Squires, both of whom hit consecutive RBI singles. He allowed three straight RBI singles as both sinkers and cutters came in too high, and he was eventually removed in the middle of the inning. The next pitcher, Avery Wims, managed to end the inning without allowing any runs, leaving Buchanan with three runs allowed (two earned).

Despite the defensive error, Buchanan's pitch quality and control were not good. He threw a total of 22 pitches, with 12 strikes and 10 balls, showing shaky control. He distributed five pitches evenly: cutter (6), four-seam fastball, curve (5 each), changeup (4), and sinker (2), but his highest speed was only 92.3 mph (148.5 km/h). The average speed of his four-seam fastball was 89.4 mph (143.9 km/h).

Buchanan was the best foreign pitcher in the KBO League. From 2020 to 2023, he recorded a total of 113 games (699⅔ innings), with 54 wins, 28 losses, and an earned run average of 3.02, striking out 539 batters during his four years with Samsung. During this period, he ranked first in both wins and innings pitched in the league, and second in strikeouts. He also ranked third in earned run average among pitchers who threw more than 500 innings, proving to be the best foreign pitcher in both quantity and quality of pitching.

With a remarkable competitive spirit and charm, he was loved by players and fans, but after finishing the 2023 season, he was unable to re-sign with Samsung. Samsung offered a multi-year contract, but they could not find common ground on the amount, and Buchanan returned to the U.S.

He faced a tough path in the U.S. Although he signed a minor league contract with his 'former team' Philadelphia Phillies, he did not get a call-up opportunity due to a strong starting rotation. After being traded to the Cincinnati Reds in a cash deal at the end of August, he was called up and experienced the excitement of making his big league return (in relief for 3⅓ innings, allowing 2 hits, 2 walks, striking out 1, and giving up 1 run) for the first time in nine years, but he was designated for assignment the next day.

After being sent back down to Triple-A to finish the season, Buchanan signed another minor league contract with Texas this year, continuing his career. Although he signed under conditions to earn $1.375 million if he stayed in the major leagues, he was sidelined due to an injury early in camp and struggled to pitch even one inning in his first appearance, making a major league call-up difficult. Since leaving Korea, he has faced a tough path.

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