Professional baseball Doosan Bears sidearm pitcher Choi Won-jun (31) has been excluded from the first-team roster. In a situation where luck is not on his side, he has ultimately been given some rest time.

Doosan excluded pitchers Choi Won-jun and Park Jung-soo from the first-team roster ahead of the game against Hanwha in Daejeon on the 12th, and registered pitcher Kim Yu-seong.

Choi Won-jun has been excluded from the first team for the first time this season. He has started all 14 games this season, logging 72⅔ innings, and has recorded only 6 losses without a win, with an earned run average of 4.95. Although he has had four quality starts and pitched fairly well, luck has not been on his side.

Support in runs per 9 innings is low at 2.8, and there was one victory blown by the bullpen. In the 14 games that Choi Won-jun started, Doosan has a record of 3 wins, 10 losses, and 1 tie, with a winning percentage of .231.

In the game against Hanwha on the 11th, he pitched 4⅓ innings, allowing 8 hits (including 1 home run), 2 walks, 1 hit by pitch, 2 strikeouts, and 5 earned runs, resulting in a loss. In the second inning, he gave up a grand slam to Lee Won-seok, and bad luck continued as he did not receive help from the defense.

Ultimately, he was removed from the roster ahead of the game on the 12th. Doosan acting manager Jo Seong-hwan noted about Choi Won-jun's roster removal, "In fact, I had been thinking about this continuously. I was considering that there should be a time to take a break, and after watching yesterday's game, I felt it was the right moment. So, he will take a break this time."

He added, "(Choi Won-jun) said he was having a hard time. His body is exhausted, and he must have been mentally struggling yesterday as well. It must have been harder for him as he hasn’t recorded any wins in the games he pitched. Although Choi said he is okay as long as the team wins, he must have been really pressured mentally. I hope this ten-day break will serve as a period for both the team and Choi Won-jun to regroup. We will prepare well so that he returns on the scheduled date after the 10 days of rest."

Replacing Choi Won-jun in the starting rotation will be Choi Min-seok. After Choi Won-jun was pulled from the game against Hanwha on the 11th, Choi Min-seok pitched 1⅔ innings, allowing 2 earned runs while throwing 35 pitches. Acting manager Jo Seong-hwan explained, "We are preparing Choi Min-seok. He threw 35 pitches yesterday, and there shouldn't be any problems with preparing for his next appearance."

Kim Yu-seong, who has been called up to the first team, will be utilized as a long man in the bullpen. Acting manager Jo noted, "His recent performance records in the Futures League have been really good. He has reduced the number of walks and has a good strike rate, which is why we decided to call him up. If a situation arises where we need someone to pitch long, I think we should use Kim Yu-seong first."

[OSEN]