Lotte will have a hole in its starting lineup during the Hangzhou Asian Games starting on the 23rd.
Native starters Park Se-woong and Na Kyun-an, the mainstays of the starting lineup, have been selected for the final entry of the Asian Games, so two starting pitchers are needed during this period.
First, one position was filled. Shim Jae-min, who recently served as a substitute starter, gave hope by allowing one run in five innings in two consecutive games. In the game against KIA on the 13th, Gangwoo led the team to a cold win by allowing 1 run in 5 innings. Acting manager Lee Jong-woon said, “Fortunately, a replacement starter is needed right now, and I think it will be of great help to the team.” He added, “If the two starters leave, someone has to take over, and Shim Jae-min pitching like that is a strength for us.”먹튀검증
The remaining seat is the problem. Acting Director Lee Jong-un is considering various options.
One of the candidates is Han Hyun-hee. Han Hyun-hee signed a free agent contract with Lotte last winter and took a position in the starting lineup at the beginning of the season.
But the results weren’t very good. He seemed to be doing his part, recording 3 wins, 4 losses, and an average ERA of 4.61 in 8 games as a starter through May. However, in June, after allowing 2 runs in 5 innings against KIA on the 4th, he performed poorly by allowing 5 runs (3 earned runs) in 4.1 innings against Samsung on the 10th, and 5 runs in 4.1 innings against SSG on the 16th.
In the end, he was moved to the bullpen and is in the process of taking charge of the back of the mound. However, he does not have a sense of stability. In his 12 games in the second half of the season, he had 1 win, 2 losses, and an average ERA of 5.73, similar to his record in the first half.
You may want to turn your attention to group 2. The players selected by this agency include Lee In-bok and Kim Do-gyu.
Lee In-bok seemed to be establishing himself as a fifth starter last year. He had 9 wins, 9 losses, 1 hold, and a 4.19 ERA in 26 games in the 2022 season. He showed potential as he played a season in the starting lineup for the first time since his debut.
However, after the season, he underwent bone fracture surgery in his elbow and was not named in the opening lineup. He belatedly made his return match against KT on June 22, but could not play his role. His first-team record this year was limited to 8 games, 1 win, 3 losses, and an average ERA of 5.92.
Kim Do-gyu is a right-handed pitcher who has established himself as the team’s sure-to-win team in recent years.
However, he has the disadvantage of not being able to play long innings because he mainly pitched out of the bullpen.
Lotte has recently had difficulties operating the bullpen, with Kim Sang-soo out of the lineup due to an adductor rupture and Koo Seung-min, who pitched 58.1 innings in 63 games, out of the lineup. Meanwhile, if the starting pitcher cannot play his role, the burden on the bullpen becomes even greater.
This may be burdensome for Lotte, which has been raising hopes for fall baseball by risking life and death in every game.
First of all, this agency plans to use the pitchers in the first team as much as possible. He said, “It can be flexible depending on the condition,” and “It is an opportunity for players who haven’t had the opportunity, and what we need to do is take advantage of the good content they throw at us.”