Samsung Lions pitcher Choi Chung-yeon returned to the mound after a month.

Choi Chung-yeon took the mound as a relief pitcher in the game against Doosan Bears held at Icheon Doosan Bears Park on the 26th for the 2025 Futures League, recording no runs in 1 inning.

He completed the inning in a flash with just 5 pitches. Choi Chung-yeon appeared as the second pitcher in the sixth inning with a 5-1 lead, following starter Jung Min-seong, and retired the first batter, Hong Seong-ho, with a foul fly out to third base. Kim Min-hyeok also made an out with a fly ball to right field on the first pitch, resulting in 2 outs. Choi Jae-hyun ended the inning quickly with a fly ball to second base on the third pitch after 2 balls.

Choi Chung-yeon had not pitched since recording 1 inning with 1 hit and 2 walks, and no runs in the game against KT Wiz in the Futures League on May 24. He showed clean pitching after recovering his ability and condition for a month.

Choi Chung-yeon was a promising player picked in the first round, but has been suffering from minor injuries, leading to an extended time away from the first team. He was drafted by Samsung as the first overall pick in the 2016 rookie draft. In his debut year, he pitched in 3 games in the first team, recording 2 losses with an earned run average of 12.91, struggling on the mound. In 2017, he recorded 3 wins, 8 losses, and 3 holds in 42 games (84 innings) with an earned run average of 7.61, serving both as a starter and in relief.

The 2018 season was a career-high for him. As a relief pitcher, he appeared in 70 games (85 innings) with 2 wins, 6 losses, 8 saves, and 16 holds, achieving an earned run average of 3.60. He played as a reliable backup in the Samsung bullpen along with Shim Chang-min, Jang Pil-jun, and Woo Kyumin. He won a gold medal as a member of the national team at the Asian Games in 2018, receiving military exemption benefits.

However, in 2019, he struggled with 2 losses, 1 save, and 4 holds in 34 games (36⅔ innings), recording an earned run average of 7.36. After the season, he was caught driving under the influence in January 2020, receiving a 50-game suspension from the Korean Baseball Organization (KBO) and a 100-game suspension from the Samsung club. He underwent elbow surgery at the end of 2020 and has not pitched in the next two years.

He returned to the first team in 2022, but could not regain his former pitching ability. He recorded 1 loss with an earned run average of 4.70 in 38 games (38⅓ innings). Since 2023, he has been suffering from minor injuries, spending more time in the second team rather than the first team. In 2023, he recorded an earned run average of 4.82 in 7 games (9⅓ innings) in the first team and pitched only in the second team in 2024. In the second team, he also had only 9 appearances (7⅓ innings). In this season, he has recorded an earned run average of 7.04 with no wins or losses in 6 games (7⅔ innings) in the second team.

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