Kiwoom Heroes manager Hong Won-ki reported on the condition of left-handed rookie pitcher Jung Hyun-woo.

Hong Won-ki, in an interview before the game against the KIA Tigers at the '2025 Shinhan Bank SOL Bank KBO League' held at Gocheok Sky Dome in Seoul on the 7th, noted, 'Yesterday's game was disappointing. Starting pitcher Jo Young-gun pitched well. After getting through a crisis in the top of the 7th inning, there are many parts that did not lead to consolidation into scoring in the bottom of the 7th inning.'

Kiwoom lost 3-5 to KIA on the 6th. Park Yoon-sung became the losing pitcher, allowing 2 hits and 1 walk without recording an out, and was removed from the first-team roster. Instead, Kim Woong-bin was called up to the first team. Kiwoom's starting lineup for the day included Song Seong-moon (third baseman), Choi Joo-hwan (first baseman), Yasiel Puig (left fielder), Ruben Cardenas (right fielder), Kim Woong-bin (designated hitter), Kim Tae-jin (second baseman), Kim Jae-hyun (catcher), Oh Jun-seo (shortstop), and Lee Yong-kyu (center fielder). The starting pitcher was Kenny Rosenberg.

Hong Won-ki said, 'Park Yoon-sung has been hit hard in Busan, hit hard in Suwon, and the results were not good yesterday. Although the team is in a hurry, I thought it would be more helpful for him to reorganize and return. In the early part of the season, he pitched impressively in the 7th and 8th innings with confident stuff, but it seems he has become more passive as results began to decline. I think it will take time to regain the stuff from the early part of the season.'

Kim Woong-bin, who was called up to the first team, achieved a batting average of .325 in 21 games in the Futures League (25 hits in 77 at-bats), with 4 home runs, 25 RBIs, and 12 runs scored, posting an OPS of 1.065. 'He performed well in the second team, so I called him up and put him directly in the starting lineup,' said Hong Won-ki, adding, 'Our team has a lot of exchanges between the first and second teams in both the lineup and the pitching. I hope that players with good performance can come up and strengthen the team.'

This year, left-handed rookie pitcher Jung Hyun-woo, who was highly anticipated as the overall first pick, suffered a shoulder injury and has yet to have a scheduled return date since being sidelined. Hong Won-ki said, 'He has received a re-examination for now. I plan to look at his condition by tomorrow and establish a concrete return plan. If his condition is okay, I think about throwing the ball and readjusting the schedule.'

'It is important to fully recover and return to minimize the risk of recurrence,' emphasized Hong Won-ki, explaining, 'Just because he has recovered doesn't mean he can be brought back immediately. It is necessary to increase pitch counts in the second team. We also need to check his condition after pitching. It seems practically impossible for him to come back right away just because he has recovered.'

Currently, Kiwoom lacks left-handed pitchers in the bullpen. Hong Won-ki remarked, 'It's not just about left-handed pitchers; it would be comfortable to have a strong pitcher. It would be great to have a definitively strong pitcher, but Kim Sung-min and Yoon Seok-won are not yet at the level of a winning group. It seems that the reality is that there are no pitchers available to lift to the first team.'

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