The professional baseball team LG Twins lost its first place but removed 'homegrown ace' Im Chan-kyu (33) from the roster as scheduled for rest.

On the 16th, when there were no games in the Korea Baseball Organization (KBO) League, a total of four players were removed from the first team roster. This included LG pitcher Im Chan-kyu, Samsung outfielder Lee Sung-kyu (32), KT outfielder Choi Sung-min (23), and Lotte pitcher Song Jae-young (23).

Im Chan-kyu was removed for rest purposes. LG manager Youm Kyoung-youb said before the Hanwha game on the 15th, "We decided to take Im Chan-kyu out of the roster. I think he needs to rest for a bit," adding, "Compared to previous years, he has pitched a lot of innings. He has pitched very well, achieving the best innings. If we let him rest well now, he can go all the way. We consulted with the training staff and decided to bring the schedule forward and let him rest for a turn. He will take a 10-day break and return," indicating in advance the removal from the first team roster.

Im Chan-kyu is having a career-high season, pitching 86⅓ innings in 14 games this season with an 8-2 record and a 2.61 earned run average, striking out 59 batters. Mathematically, Im Chan-kyu could pitch up to 180 innings, surpassing his personal best of 147⅔ innings in 2020.

LG has been sluggish with a record of 4 wins, 5 losses, and 1 tie in the last 10 games, losing to Hanwha 5-10 on the 15th and conceding first place to them. LG has dropped to second place, 0.5 games behind, but is not rushing and is resting Im Chan-kyu.

Earlier, LG also removed left-handed starter Son Ju-yeong from the first team roster after the game against SSG on the 10th and provided rest to Im Chan-kyu as well. It is not an easy decision to rest two starting pitchers in the race for first place, but the season is not even halfway through, and LG is looking at the long run.

Meanwhile, Samsung's Lee Sung-kyu was sent down to the second team 43 days after being called up on the 4th of last month. He has recorded a batting average of .172 (10 hits in 58 at-bats) in 33 games this season, with 2 home runs and 8 RBIs. He hit a solo home run against KT on the 14th but had no hits in 2 at-bats against KT on the 15th.

KT's Choi Sung-min has a batting average of .118 (2 hits in 17 at-bats) with 2 RBIs in 28 games this season. After his second call-up on the 6th, he mainly served as a defensive replacement, recording 1 hit in 2 at-bats and 2 RBIs over 6 games.

Lotte's Song Jae-young was excluded from the first team roster for the first time since the opening. He has pitched 19⅔ innings in 36 games this season, recording 1 win, 3 holds, and an earned run average of 5.03, while serving as a left-handed reliever. However, he has struggled recently, allowing runs in 3 of the last 4 games.

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