“Fatigue has set in. Precautionary decision. The last 30 games are much more important.”
The Twins activated left-handed set-up man Ham Deok-ju from the active roster, along with Adam Plutko, who suffered a pelvic contusion before his start against the Doosan Bears in Jamsil on April 29. In Ham’s case, there was no specific injury. The decision was made to give him a break because of fatigue.
“He pitched a lot of innings for the first time in a long time, so his recovery was a little slow after pitching,” said LG Twins manager Yoon Kyung-yeop. “I think it would be better for him to take 10 days off, so I deleted him as a precaution.”
One of the most sought-after players in the postseason free agent market is Ham Deok-ju, 28, who has become LG’s go-to setup man this year.
In fact, Ham has appeared in 57 games this season, posting a 4-4 record with 16 saves and a 1.62 ERA. His WAR (Wins Above Replacement) of 2.65 ranks 15th among all pitchers in the league.
If you limit it to relievers, he ranks third overall, behind closers like Seo Jin-yong (SSG) and Kim Jae-yoon (KT), who are also performing exceptionally well this year. By far, he’s the best in LG. The bullpen’s performance cannot be explained without mentioning Ham Deok-ju’s presence in LG.
That’s why the decision to remove him from the roster simply to rest him seems a bit surprising.
Manager Yoon Kyung-yeop said, “I think there’s fatigue from the recent games, and it’s been a long time since he’s pitched so many innings. Even if I rested a day after pitching, the recovery was slow, so I decided that if I gave him a preventive shot in advance, he would be ready for more important games and more important times.”
The LG coaching staff and coach Yeom explained that they saw fatigue in Ham Deok-ju’s most recent outings and decided to focus his energy at a more critical time.먹튀검증
“I think it’s a sign that he’s not at 100 percent,” said Yeom. “I think it’s a sign of something, and it’s a sign that he’s not 100 percent, and if he keeps going like this, it could hurt him when he needs to fight,” he said. “We need him (when Go Woo-seok is out), and the last 30 games are much more important, and there’s a higher chance of winning there than in the six games we have now (10-day suspension),” he added, expressing his intention to give Ham Deok-ju a run for his money after the Asian Games break and the second half of the pennant race, when the final standings will be decided.