It was a signal that he delayed his enlistment by signing a non-FA contract on October 26 of last year for 5 years and 9 billion won (annual salary of 7 billion won and an option of 2 billion won) with Park Se-woong, who applied for the first round of enlistment as a managing director and passed.
Then, free agent catcher Yoo Kang-nam토토사이트 received 8 billion won for 4 years (down payment 4 billion won, annual salary 3.4 billion won, option 600 million won), infielder Roh Jin-hyeok received 5 billion won over 4 years (down payment 2.2 billion won, annual salary 2.4 billion won, option 400 million won), and pitcher Han Hyun-hee received 3 billion won. +1 year 4 billion won (down payment 300 million won, annual salary 1.5 billion won, option 2.2 billion won).
It didn’t stop there. They accepted Cha Woo-chan, Kim Sang-soo, Shin Jeong-rak, Yoon Myung-jun (Lee Sang-yi pitcher), Lee Jung-hoon (catcher), and Han Kwon-soo (outfielder), who were released from other teams.
On the other hand, pitcher Yoo-Young Kim and Jin-Hyeok Noh as compensation players for Yoo Kang-Nam, catchers Joong-Yeol Ahn and Hyeon-Hee Han as compensation players, pitcher Kang-Jun Lee, withdrew. In addition, by giving up the contract with left-hander Kang Ri-ho, who was an internal free agent, it was evaluated that the power reinforcement was maximum and the power loss was minimal.
The only reason Lotte greatly strengthened its power was to win in 1984 and 1992 as the first year professional team, and was the only KBO league player to finish last 4 years in a row (2001-2004), including last place 9 times in a total of 40 postseasons. It was a strong expression of will to wash away the stigma of being a low-ranking team after only playing 11 fall baseball games.
However, Lotte, dreaming of leaping to the top, had an emergency from the beginning.
It is said that the record that fell to the bottom with 1 win, 5 losses and 1 draw in the demonstration game does not lead to the regular league, but above all, it is because the starting mound seems to be sluggish.
Initially, Lotte was expected to have a relatively solid 5 starter this year.
Lee In-bok, who emerged as Lotte’s new hope for last year’s career high, left the mound at the beginning of the season due to surgery to remove a bone fragment in his right elbow on January 27, but foreign one-two punches Dan Straley and Charlie Barnes are still alive and well after last year, and domestic ace Park Se-woong With the addition of 4th starters Na Kyun-an and Han Hyeon-hee, it was evaluated that they had a sufficient starting lineup.
From May to June, when Lee In-bok returned, Kim Jin-wook, Seo Jun-won, Choi Jun-yong, Lee Min-seok, Lee Seung-heon had enough resources to handle long innings, and they were prepared as one-point specialists.
However, when I opened the lid of the demonstration game, the starting mound was uneasy.
Strayley, who will be the first foreign starter, gave up 4 runs while giving up 6 hits and 2 walks in just 2 innings against Samsung on the 20th. As a starter against LG, he gave up anxiety with 3 runs in 4 innings.
The same goes for Na Kyun-an. On the 16th against SSG, he made a good pitch, striking out 6 in 5 innings, but allowed Shin-Soo Choo to homer in the top of the 1st inning, allowing 7 hits and 3 runs in 5 innings. He was sluggish, giving up 10 hits, including 2 shots, and allowing 6 runs (4 earned runs).
Han Hyun-hee gave Lotte the only victory in the demonstration game with 4 innings, 2 hits, 5 strikeouts, and no runs against Doosan on the 14th, but in the second appearance against LG on the 19th, he became a losing pitcher with 3 runs in 3⅔ innings.
In the first round of the 2023 World Baseball Classic (WBC) against Japan, he climbed the mound in the 7th inning with 2 outs and bases loaded, 4-13 behind, and blocked it with a scoreless score in 1⅓ innings to avoid losing a cold game. Park Se-woong, the ace who led the victory, has yet to start, but the 5 starting candidates who should be on the pitch are also not very good.
Kim Jin-wook still showed problems with control, allowing 5 hits and 5 walks in 4 games with the bullpen, allowing 3 runs in 3⅓ innings (8.10 ERA), and Choi Jun-yong also showed a winning team-like appearance with 3 runs in 3 innings (2 ERA) in 3 games. can’t give
In the midst of this, Seo Jun-won plays relatively long innings in the bullpen and does his part, and rookie Lee Tae-yeon and second-year Lee Min-seok are comforting by showing better-than-expected appearances.
Now, there are 7 games left in the demonstration game and only 10 days left until the regular season begins.
More than anything, Lotte showed a strong aspect in spring enough to be called ‘Bomde’. If the starters do not find their place, they may be out of sync from the start of the season. How far the mound is put on the normal trajectory in the remaining demonstration games is becoming a fire that fell on Lotte’s feet starting the season.