LG Twins pitcher Choi Won-tae, who continued to perform poorly, was eventually demoted to the second team.
The Korea Baseball Organization (KBO) 카지노사이트 announced the status of first-team entry registration and cancellation on the 11th. There are no registered players, and 9 players have been expunged. By club, SSG Landers has the most with 3.
The name that stands out on the expungement list is, of course, Choi Won-tae. Choi Won-tae, who transferred from Kiwoom Heroes to LG through a trade at the end of July, has raised a lot of expectations to the point where he is called a ‘winning contractor.’ After the trade, LG coach Yeom Kyung-yeop welcomed Choi Won-tae’s arrival, saying, “It feels like a blockage has been cleared.”
When LG recruited Choi Won-tae, the biggest concern was ‘local selection.’ It is not that there were no starting resources, such as Lee Jeong-yong, who changed his position from bullpen to starter, and ’10-win pitcher’ Lim Chan-gyu. However, a clear ‘ace’ was needed to solidify first place in the regular season, and LG hoped Choi Won-tae would play that role.
Coach Yeom Kyung-yeop said, “When the team was in a difficult situation, Choi Won-tae came and filled in well, and I think the timing of the trade was good when a big crisis could come in July. Also, it was a condition that could help them live (in the new team). He expressed his expectations, saying, “There will be a lot of plus factors because it is equipped with these facilities.”
As the head coach hoped, everything in the first appearance after the transfer was perfect, both content and results. Choi Won-tae became the winning pitcher in an away game against the Doosan Bears on July 30th with 2 hits, no walks, 5 strikeouts, and no runs in 6 innings. He lived up to the head coach’s expectations by making a strong move, including continuing a streak of 14 batters in a row.
The joy of his first win as a transfer was short-lived, as Choi Won-tae suffered a defeat in his first appearance in August against the Daegu Samsung Lions on the 5th, allowing 9 hits (1 home run), 1 walk, 4 strikeouts, and 6 runs in 5 innings. In his next appearance, against Jamsil Kiwoom on the 12th, he won, but his performance was not as good as against Doosan, with 6 hits, 2 walks, 2 walks, 5 strikeouts, and 2 runs in 5 innings.
Choi Won-tae pitched 7 innings for the first time since his transfer, recording 3 hits (1 home run), 3 walks, 4 strikeouts, and 4 runs in 7 innings in an away game against SSG on the 18th of last month. However, in the game against Changwon NC Dinos on the 25th, he collapsed with 15 hits, 2 walks, 5 strikeouts, and 11 runs (9 earned runs) in 4 innings, and in the game against Suwon KT Wiz on September 5th, he gave up 5 hits (1 home run), 1 walk, 3 strikeouts, and 2 runs in 3 innings against Suwon KT Wiz. He showed off a pitch that was below expectations.
Choi Won-tae, who continued to receive opportunities to start despite his sluggish performance, was kicked out early in the game against Gwangju KIA Tigers on the 10th, allowing 8 hits, 5 walks, 3 strikeouts, and 7 runs in 2⅔ innings. This was the first time this season that he was replaced without even completing 3 innings, including during his Kiwoom days. Choi Won-tae failed to play the role of ‘inning eater’ that the team wanted, to the point where he left the mound before the fifth inning in all three of his recent appearances.
In the end, LG could no longer watch Choi Won-tae and decided that it would be better to reorganize in the second team. Even though Plutko was away due to injury, Choi Won-tae was boldly removed from the lineup. After the trade, Choi Won-tae’s performance was 7 games, 32⅔ innings, 2 wins, 2 losses, and an average ERA of 8.27.
Of course, it is true that Choi Won-tae showed a weaker performance in the second half than the first half not only this year but also during his Kiwoom days. Choi Won-tae’s personal career records in the first half of the regular season were 121 games, 659 ⅔ innings, 47 wins, 32 losses, and an average ERA of 4.17, which are better than the second half (70 games, 336 ⅓ innings, 21 wins, 18 losses, and an average ERA of 4.84). Even taking into account the differences in the samples from the first and second half of the year, differences exist.
It’s important to finish the rest of the season well, but LG’s ultimate goal is to reach the top of the Korean Series. As LG must find a way to utilize Choi Won-tae, which is the final piece of the puzzle to win, attention is being paid to whether Choi Won-tae can solve this problem while he stays in the second team.
SSG, which recorded 1 win, 1 draw, and 1 loss in three consecutive games against KT last weekend, excluded pitcher Lee Ki-soon, infielders Kim Chan-hyung and Jeon Eui-san from the entry. It is expected that players who will take their place will be promoted to the first team ahead of the home game against KT on the 12th.
SSG was once competing with LG for the lead, but after losing second place to KT, it became difficult to maintain the top spot, and it is now impossible to guarantee whether or not they will advance to the postseason. It remains to be seen whether changes to the entry will bring positive changes.
Kiwoom excluded pitcher Byun Si-won and outfielder Lee Hyeong-jong from the entry. Lee Hyeong-jong, who moved to the team as a future free agent ahead of this season, has been struggling throughout the season with 68 hits in 316 at-bats in 99 games, a batting average of 0.215, 3 home runs, and 37 RBIs. He was sent down to the 2nd team on the 3rd of last month and had about 3 weeks to reorganize, but even after returning to the 1st team, he was unable to improve his batting skills and was once again notified to be transferred to the 2nd team.
KIA Kim Geon-guk, who appeared as a starting pitcher in the home game against LG on the 10th, was also moved down to the second team. On this day, he retired without a win or loss, recording 5 hits, 1 walk, 3 strikeouts, and 5 runs in 4 ⅓ innings, but considering that he appeared as a substitute starter, he met the team’s expectations. After the game, KIA coach Kim Jong-guk also sent encouragement to Kim Geon-guk, saying, “He did a good job as a starting pitcher while taking responsibility for relatively long innings.”
In addition, NC outfielder Cheon Jae-hwan and Samsung pitcher Kim Si-hyun were also excluded from the first team entry.