Professional baseball player Estevan Florial (28) of the Hanwha Eagles will not start in the three-game series this week due to the effects of being hit by a pitch and will wait as a pinch runner. Fragments of bone have been discovered in his right hand, so he needs to be monitored for a bit longer. Hanwha is in an emergency situation after losing their starting center fielder and leadoff hitter.

On the 10th, Hanwha announced their lineup against Doosan's left-handed starter Cole Ervin, featuring An Chi-hong (designated hitter), Ha Ju-suk (shortstop), Moon Hyun-bin (left fielder), Roh Si-hwan (third baseman), Chae Eun-seong (first baseman), Lee Jin-young (right fielder), Lee Won-seok (center fielder), Lee Jae-won (catcher), and Hwang Young-mook (second baseman). The starting pitcher is Ryan Weiss.

Florial has been excluded from the starting lineup for the second time this season. This marks his second exclusion since the game against KIA in Gwangju on the 4th of last month. The impact is from being hit on the right hand in the game against KIA on the 8th.

Hanwha manager Kim Kyung-moon noted Florial's condition, stating, “He says he’s fine and that he wants to play somehow, but it’s not looking good for now. From a manager's perspective, our team has worked hard to get here...” He added, “We will wait for three days and monitor his condition. He can be a pinch runner. I plan to watch how he progresses over the next three days and then make a decision.”

Examination results revealed that Florial has bone fragments in his right hand. There is no pain or swelling, but caution is necessary as it is a crucial area for exerting force while batting. Ahead of the Doosan game, Florial skipped batting practice but participated in defensive and baserunning drills.

Florial reached base after being hit by a pitch in the 10th inning with one out and a runner on second in the KIA game on the 8th. He was hit on the right hand by a fastball thrown at 151 km/h from KIA pitcher Jeong Hae-young. The catcher requested a high fastball on the third pitch, and Jeong threw one that came in high and inside.

He was hit in an area with little flesh. It was a frightening pitch that could have led to a fracture, but Florial endured the pain and made it to first base. He minimized the impact by getting hit while releasing the bat from his hands. He went through the 10th inning defensively and played through the entire game.

This season, Florial has played in 63 out of 64 games for the team as a starter, recording a batting average of .271 (70 hits in 258 at-bats), 8 home runs, 29 RBIs, 13 stolen bases, an on-base percentage of .333, a slugging percentage of .450, and an OPS of .783. Despite some inconsistency in his early season batting leading to rumors of replacement, after entering the leadoff spot since the game against NC in Ulsan on the 21st of last month, he has rebounded with a batting average of .314 (22 hits in 70 at-bats), 4 home runs, 7 RBIs, 4 stolen bases, an on-base percentage of .380, a slugging percentage of .571, and an OPS of .951 over the last 17 games.

Despite five errors leading to defensive instability, he has played the most innings among outfielders with 548⅓ innings in center field, contributing to the speed baseball that manager Kim Kyung-moon advocates with his quick feet and aggressive play.

An Chi-hong will step in for Florial's leadoff position. An Chi-hong provided a turning point with his first three hits of the season in the KIA game on the 8th. Manager Kim Kyung-moon said, “Chi-hong has improved a bit since that day. Lee Won-seok might find the leadoff role burdening, so I entrusted it to Chi-hong.”

Lee Won-seok will take over in center field, but this does not guarantee a permanent spot during Florial's absence. Manager Kim stated, “For the time being, we don’t have a regular center fielder. It would be nice if Won-seok goes out and plays well defensively, but we can't just rely on him since there are players waiting behind him.” He added, “This week, we have several left-handed starters coming up. I hope either Won-seok or Tae-yeon comes through.”

Hanwha has called up outfielder Yoo Ro-kyul from the Futures team in preparation for Florial's removal from the roster. He will not be registered on the roster but will accompany the first-team squad. Additionally, base running coach Ko Dong-jin has been elevated to the first team to strengthen the coaching staff.

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