Professional baseball LG Twins player Oh Ji-hwan, who is experiencing a prolonged slump in hitting, has finally been sent down to the second team.

LG adjusted the first team roster on the 9th, excluding Oh Ji-hwan and Son Yong-jun. An LG official noted, "Oh Ji-hwan has been removed from the first team roster to reorganize his condition." He has been sent down to the second team to allow time for reorganization regarding his hitting.

Oh Ji-hwan has appeared in 61 games this season, with a batting average of .218 (39 hits in 179 at-bats), 6 home runs, 26 RBIs, and 23 runs scored, along with an on-base percentage of .284, slugging percentage of .374, and an OPS of .658. In May, his batting average was .184 (14 hits in 76 at-bats), and in June, it dropped to .063 (1 hit in 16 at-bats).

Manager Youm Kyoung-youb said on the 7th, "We need to help Ji-hwan. The best scenario is for Ji-hwan to play defense in the latter half of games while getting practice through substitution in winning games." He also added, "Oh Ji-hwan has a definite role in the atmosphere as the team's leader (captain) along with Ha Min."

Manager Youm said, "To balance development and results, Ji-hwan absolutely needs to recover because the backup players are still in the process of growing. Furthermore, as a senior member of the team, he has a significant impact and is making great sacrifices to foster teamwork."

Oh Ji-hwan has been excluded from the starting lineup for four consecutive games since the match against NC on the 5th. He increased his batting practice before the games and was substituted in the later innings for defensive purposes. However, in 3 games, he recorded no hits in 5 at-bats with 3 strikeouts. He has struggled to regain his batting balance.

As Manager Youm mentioned, having Oh Ji-hwan substitute to strengthen defense in winning games definitely benefits the team. However, stepping up to the plate and continuing to perform lethargically in a situation where his batting balance has collapsed does not help him as an individual player.

Concentrated training in the second team for at least ten days will help him break out of this slump. After Shin Min-jae faced a prolonged batting slump at the beginning of the season, he trained for 5 hours each day in the second team and has returned with a batting average over .350.

Starting third baseman Moon Bo-gyeong has been exclusively serving as a designated hitter since May 24 due to poor condition in his knee. He is expected to return to defensive play this week. Manager Youm said over the weekend, "Bo-gyeong seems to need a bit more time. That’s why we haven’t been able to give Ji-hwan any time." Because of defensive needs, Oh Ji-hwan was kept in the first team, but as his hitting failed to improve, a backup infielder was called up to support Moon Bo-gyeong, allowing time for Oh Ji-hwan to reorganize.

On the 7th, Son Yong-jun was called up to the first team and started as a third baseman for two consecutive games against Kiwoom on the 7th and 8th, recording 1 hit in 5 at-bats with 1 run and 3 strikeouts. Manager Youm said on the 7th about Son Yong-jun, "He has reported the best hitting condition in the second team. He has been trained extensively in defensive skills as a third baseman and shortstop. Defense coaches also said he performed decently." However, after two games, he was sent back down to the second team.

Meanwhile, in addition to LG, Samsung pitcher Lim Chang-min, Kiwoom pitcher Lee Jun-woo, SSG pitcher Jeong Dong-yun, Lotte infielder Lee Ho-jun and outfielder Kim Dong-hyun, and KIA outfielder Kim Seok-hwan have been excluded from the first team roster. Samsung veteran bullpen pitcher Lim Chang-min has failed to record an out in both of his last two games and has been pulled from the mound. He recorded 0 innings with 1 hit and 1 walk, and 0 innings with 2 hits and 1 earned run.

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