Professional baseball player Oh Ji-hwan (35) of the LG Twins has been removed from the first team roster.
On the 9th, a total of eight players were excluded from the first team roster during the KBO League's break.
KIA outfielder Kim Seok-hwan, Samsung pitcher Lim Chang-min, LG infielder Oh Ji-hwan, Son Yong-jun, SSG pitcher Jung Dong-yoon, Lotte infielder Lee Ho-jun, outfielder Kim Dong-hyun, and Kiwoom pitcher Lee Jun-woo have been erased from the first team roster.
The most notable name is Oh Ji-hwan. This season, he is batting .218 with 39 hits in 179 at-bats, including 6 home runs and 26 RBIs, for an on-base plus slugging (OPS) of .658. Since May, he has been struggling significantly, batting .163 over the past 31 games with 15 hits in 92 at-bats, 3 home runs, 11 RBIs, and an OPS of .543.
He has been excluded from the starting lineup for the last four games and has been on the bench. LG has had Gu Bon-hyeok and Lee Young-bin play as shortstops. With Gu Bon-hyeok performing well in defense to fill the gap left by Oh Ji-hwan, LG has decided to give Oh Ji-hwan some time to readjust.
Samsung relief pitcher Lim Chang-min has also been demoted to the second team. This season, he has struggled with a 5.40 earned run average over 13 games (10 innings) with 1 win and 2 holds, and he has been removed from the mound without recording an out in his last two games. On the 3rd, against SSG in Munhak, he allowed 1 hit and 1 walk, and on the 7th against NC in Daegu, he allowed 2 hits and 1 earned run.
KIA outfielder Kim Seok-hwan was replaced due to right shoulder pain after hitting the fence while making a play on Choi Jae-hun's pop-up to left field in the 3rd inning against Hanwha on the 8th, leading to his final removal from the roster. This season, Kim Seok-hwan has a batting average of .239 with 11 hits in 46 at-bats and 6 RBIs, with an OPS of .547.
Lotte is also making changes to its fielders by demoting infielder Lee Ho-jun and outfielder Kim Dong-hyun to the second team. Lee Ho-jun, who had been performing satisfactorily as a backup shortstop, is excluded from the first team roster for the first time this season. He has a batting average of .235 with 16 hits in 68 at-bats and 9 RBIs, with an OPS of .726.
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