SSG Landers head coach Kim Won-hyung explained the roster changes ahead of the team’s upcoming game against the Doosan Bears in the 2023 Shinhan Bank SOL KBO League at Jamsil Stadium on Saturday.
First, Young-geon Song Young-jin,안전놀이터 who started a day earlier (25th), will head to the Future League. Song Young-jin pitched against the LG Twins in Incheon on the 25th, giving up six runs on six hits (one home run) and three walks in two innings, his worst performance since his debut. He was replaced by pitcher Lee Roon.
“We used up a lot of bullpen for two days, so we brought up (Lee) Gun-wook, and I think Young-jin will have to make one trip to the Futures. He’s a little sluggish as his performance has gone backwards.”
Veteran Choo Shin-soo will also head to the Futures League. It was too late to make a roster change, but he will be removed from the first team a day later (on the 27th). Shin-soo Choo has struggled this season, batting .202 (25-for-124) with three home runs, six RBIs and a .639 OPS (on-base plus slugging percentage) in 37 games.
Kim said, “(Choo) Shin-soo came up with his ankle not fully recovered, so I had a bad feeling about him, and I thought he needs time to recover now. There is no set time for a call-up. He needs to fully recover his ankle, train with the second team, play a game, and then we’ll see when he’s ready,” Kim said, adding, “We’re planning to call up Choi Jun-woo as a substitute.”
SSG lost 3-8 against LG a day earlier. However, Han Yoo-seom hit his first home run in 16 games, and reliever Baek Seung-gun stood out with three clean innings.
Kim said, “Han Yoo-seom didn’t have a hit, but he had a lot of hits before that. Yesterday, he hit a home run, and then he hit a pitch directly at the pitcher. (Baek) Seung-geon pitched well for three innings and didn’t show any signs of slowing down when he reached 40 pitches. When the bullpen is good, it’s right to take them out, but the middle relievers are limited, so I said let’s go as far as we can, and he pitched well. Hopefully, yesterday wasn’t the only day he had a good outing,” he laughed.