Professional baseball player Doosan Bears' Cole Irvin (31) has been removed from the first team roster.
Doosan has set the starting lineup for the match against Kiwoom Heroes in the '2025 Shinhan Bank SOL Bank KBO League' at Gocheok Sky Dome in Seoul on the 30th, consisting of Jung Soo-bin (center fielder), Jake Cave (right fielder), Yang Eui-ji (catcher), Kim Jae-hwan (designated hitter), Yang Seok-hwan (first baseman), Kim Min-seok (left fielder), Kang Seung-ho (second baseman), Lim Jong-seong (third baseman), and Park Kye-beom (shortstop). The starting pitcher is Choi Won-jun. Park Jun-sun, Kim Dae-han, and Kim Min-seok have been called up to the first team, while Cole Irvin, Kim Myung-sin, and Choo Jae-hyun have been removed from the first team.
Doosan's manager Lee Seung-yeop noted in an interview before the game, "There are players we need right now, which is why we had to change the roster." He added, "Irvin is having command issues. Since he is struggling with his control, it’s difficult for both him and us. Given that his performance has not been good in May, we decided to give him some time to regroup and refresh by skipping a turn."
Irvin, who had garnered much anticipation during his time with Doosan as a starting pitcher with 10 wins in Major League Baseball, has had somewhat disappointing results this season with 12 games (67⅓ innings), recording 5 wins and 5 losses with an earned run average of 4.28. Until April, he had performed well in 7 games (42⅔ innings) with 4 wins and 2 losses and an earned run average of 2.95, but in May, he has struggled, posting 1 win and 3 losses with an earned run average of 6.57 over 5 games (24⅔ innings).
Manager Lee Seung-yeop stated, "There doesn’t seem to be any technical problems. There haven’t been many games where he has simply been hit hard. I would say he is self-destructing. He is giving up walks and struggling, and we are seeing many weak hits. Since he is a very important number one starter for us, we cannot provide him with too much time. I hope he can take a turn off, refresh himself, organize his thoughts, and be ready for his next appearance." He added with a smile, "Now that one-third of the season has passed, we have to keep going until the end."
"Irvin also mentioned that it’s difficult for him to be out of the starting rotation as a number one starter," said manager Lee Seung-yeop. "In that regard, I feel sorry for the team. Ten days can be long or short. If he can refresh himself and win more games in the remaining matches, I believe this rest won’t be in vain. We look forward to seeing the benefits of that."
The likely candidate to fill Irvin's void is Kwak Bin, who is returning from injury. Manager Lee Seung-yeop said, "Kwak Bin can timely step into Irvin's spot. He pitched in the second team yesterday, so we will check his condition today and have a meeting. It would be best if Kwak Bin can come in."
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