The Lotte Giants have made a change to their first-team roster. The team has designated outfielder Hwang Sung-bin for assignment and called up veteran Jeong Hoon.
The Giants will play the first game of a weekend series against the KIA Tigers on April 28 at Kia Champions Field in Gwangju.
With Hwang Sung-bin’s demotion to the second team, Lotte has only three official outfielders on the first team. Aside from Kim Min-seok (center field) and Yoon Dong-hee (right field), there is only Shin Yoon-hoo.
However, Jeon Jun-woo was in the lineup as a left fielder to play alongside the two. Jun-woo Jeon’s official position in the KBO is infielder, but he has been playing designated hitter (249 at-bats) this season. He has also gotten more at-bats in left field (48) than at first base (13).
The Lotte lineup for the game is Kim Min-seok (center field), Yoon Dong-hee (right field), Niko Goodrum (shortstop), Jeon Jun-woo (left field), Ahn Chi-hong (second base), Yoo Kang-nam (designated hitter), Jung Hoon (first base), Han Dong-hee (third base), and Son Sung-bin (catcher).
Eight of them are right-handed batters (including switch-hitter Gudrum), except for Kim Min-seok. Kim Min-seok has a 5-for-5 batting average in the second half of the season. In addition to Jeon, Goodrum can also play the corner outfield.
This will be Jung-hoon’s first start since June 16 against the SSG Landers in Incheon. Coincidentally, KIA will use left-handers Lee Yi-ri, Yoon Young-cheol, and Panoni for the three-game series. Jung-hoon is a right-handed hitter who can fill Lotte’s weakness against lefties, and he’s also a veteran and excellent first base defender.
Lotte manager Larry Sutton said, “Sung-bin Hwang is down in his batting cycle. When he went down to the second team, we gave him some direction in the hitting department and asked him to train accordingly,” said Lotte manager Larry Sutton.
“It’s still in the ‘possibility’ stage, but Ahn Kwon-soo and Ko Seung-min could be called up to the first team next week,” he added. Ahn Kwon-soo has already joined the Futures team and will play in the Futures game against KIA’s second team today. Go Seung-min is just starting to train.
“Ahn Kwon-soo is ahead of the official schedule in his rehabilitation,” Sutton said. He’s just getting the at-bats he needs,” Sutton said. “He’s just starting to work out. Ahn’s timetable is relatively fast.”메이저놀이터
When asked about the improvement in his batting in the second half of the season, he said, “We did a lot of different drills during the break. It’s important for the players to have confidence in themselves at the plate. The concentration to score runs after two outs is good. However, we need to work on our game plan and situational hitting.”
“The batsmen seem to be in better shape after the break. “I think the batsmen’s form improved after the break because they cleared their heads and took a simpler approach during the break, and that’s why their batting improved. That’s how you build confidence, and that’s how you get good results.”