“We can’t keep this up” closing, a winning group, an outfield ace, and a first baseman… Seven men to the second base line in one week, what were we looking for?
KIA has announced a major roster shake-up.
With the KIA Tigers slumping to a four-per-cent winning percentage, manager Kim Jong-kook made a decision ahead of June. On the 29th, he removed pitchers Sean Anderson, Kim Dae-yu, and Jung Hae-young, and infielders Hwang Dae-in and Yoon Do-hyun from the first team roster. On the 30th, they will be replaced by five Futures Team players. This is an unusual move. .메이저사이트
Anderson was in ace mode in April, but slumped in May with a 7.71 ERA. Jung went 3-1 with six saves as the closer, but his velocity hasn’t improved and he’s been in trouble every time. Hwang Dae-in, who had 91 RBIs last year, slumped to an abysmal 2-for-1 with two doubles, three home runs and 18 RBIs. Kim Dae-yu was selected as Park Dong-won’s free agent compensation after posting 37 HRs in 2021-2022 with LG, but struggled with a 6.92 ERA. Yoon Do-hyun was sent back down to the second team two days after his call-up.
With five second-teamers, it’s a major reshuffle. With Anderson’s move to the second team, the possibility of a foreign replacement is being eyed. Adonis Medina is also in a slump. If the foreign pitchers don’t perform, the team won’t be able to jump to the top of the table. Jung Hae-young will be given a day off and time to readjust to improve his delivery and velocity. Instead, Choi Ji-min is likely to be the closer. He is currently the best pitcher in the bullpen.
Hwang Dae-in hasn’t shown any signs of improvement in his batting form. Kim Dae-yu has also not done much, and his poor pitching has not improved. The first baseman will likely be Byun Woo-hyuk or someone called up from the second team on the 30th. Kim Dae-yoo will likely be replaced by Kim Yoo-shin and a pitcher called up from the second team.
Kim has made minimal roster changes since the opening day. It’s safe to say that there have been very few roster changes. In April, infielder Choi Jeong-yong, right-hander Yoo Seung-chul, and right-hander Jang Hyun-shik were added to the roster. There were no further roster changes. On 14 May, the only change was the call-up of Shin Beom-soo from the team’s slumping catcher Joo Hyo-sang.
There were signs of change last week. Right-hander Jeon Sang-hyun and left-hander Kim Ki-hoon, who hadn’t lived up to expectations as the first-team bullpen triumvirate in the wake of the losing series to Hanwha, were sent down to the second team. Instead, they called up Park Jun-pyo and Kim Yoo-shin, and dropped Hong Jong-pyo in favour of second-year pitcher Yoon Do-hyun. After losing back-to-back series to LG, the decision was made to send down five players. In one week, seven first-team players were sent down.
Most of all, it was a message to change the loose atmosphere and use it as an opportunity to rebound. They gave them plenty of chances without making any changes, but it didn’t work. Fans also started to criticise the lack of call-ups for second-team players. Kim’s decision seems to be based on the realisation that a deep reorganisation is necessary for a rebound in June.
