Hanwha Eagles infielder Ahn Chi-hong (35) has been excluded from the first team roster. He has been given time to recover his wrist condition amid severe hitting struggles.

Hanwha excluded Ahn Chi-hong from the first team roster ahead of the game against Samsung in Daejeon on the 6th and registered rookie infielder Lee Seung-hyun. This is Lee Seung-hyun's debut first team registration after being promoted from the developmental squad on the previous day (the 5th).

The reason for Ahn Chi-hong's removal from the first team roster is injury. Hanwha manager Kim Kyung-moon noted in a pre-game interview, “Chi-hong thinks of the team and says he is okay, but his right wrist is still not completely healed. I think he needs to concentrate on treatment. Fortunately, the team is doing well right now, so I told him to focus on treatment first.”

Ahn Chi-hong has faced extreme difficulties this season, with a batting average of .098 (5 hits in 51 at-bats) in 16 games, no home runs, 5 RBIs, 5 walks, and 13 strikeouts, resulting in an on-base percentage of .179, a slugging percentage of .098, and an OPS of .277. He has struggled with conditioning due to the aftereffects of stomach pain at the beginning of the season and spent 16 days in the developmental league recovering and re-adjusting from the 7th to the 22nd of last month.

However, after returning to the first team on the 23rd of last month, he continued to struggle with a batting average of .143 (3 hits in 21 at-bats) and 3 RBIs with an OPS of .286 in 6 games. During the game against Lotte on the 24th, while attempting a diving catch in the field, he aggravated pain in his right wrist and was substituted after hitting a foul in the 7th inning.

Even after that, manager Kim Kyung-moon kept using him as the lead-off hitter, making accommodations to allow him to find his rhythm at as many plate appearances as possible, but he couldn't easily regain his hitting form. In the game against KIA in Gwangju on the 4th, he went 0-for-5 with 3 strikeouts and remained silent, ultimately being removed from the first team roster again to focus on wrist treatment.

Lee Seung-hyun, who has taken over Ahn Chi-hong's position, is a right-handed hitter and left-handed fielder from Sungkyunkwan University, who joined as a developmental player after going undrafted. Since last year’s finishing camp in Miyazaki, Japan, to this year’s first spring camp in Melbourne, Australia, manager Kim Kyung-moon has directly observed his potential. He was a shortstop in college but has primarily been seeing time at second base since joining Hanwha.

Manager Kim noted about Lee Seung-hyun, “I have been watching him since camp, and he is a player with a lot of strengths. He is not big in stature, but I think he has solid fundamentals that allow him to play as a shortstop or second baseman when needed, and even at third base.”

On this day, with Lee Seung-hyun being called up, another rookie infielder, Bae Seung-soo, has been accompanying the first team since the previous day (the 5th). Although he is not officially registered, he will experience training with the first team for three days until the 7th. Bae Seung-soo, a shortstop prospect from Deoksoo High School, has performed well in the Futures League this year, with a batting average of .375 (24 hits in 78 at-bats), 3 home runs, and 25 RBIs with an OPS of .954. Manager Kim explained about Bae Seung-soo, “He has improved a lot while playing in the second league. Since we are playing at home this time, I want to see firsthand how he performs in practice over the three days.”

Meanwhile, Hanwha's lineup against Samsung's starting pitcher Won Tae-in on this day featured Choi In-ho (designated hitter), Esteban Florial (center fielder), Moon Hyun-bin (left fielder), Noh Si-hwan (third baseman), Chae Eun-sung (first baseman), Lee Jin-young (right fielder), Hwang Young-mook (second baseman), Choi Jae-hoon (catcher), and Shim Woo-jun (shortstop). The starting pitcher is Ryu Hyun-jin. Lee Jin-young, who was substituted after being hit on the left ankle by his foul ball in the 6th inning the previous day, is available to play after the injury was determined to be a simple bruise.

[OSEN]