The Korean Baseball Organization (KBO) has removed a number of key players from its first team roster ahead of June.
The Korean Baseball Organization (KBO) announced the changes on its official website on 29 June. No new players were registered by any of the 10 clubs, and a total of 10 players were removed from the roster.안전놀이터
KIA had the most players removed from the first team with five: infielders Hwang Dae-in and Yoon Do-hyun, and pitchers Sean Anderson, Jung Hae-young, and Kim Dae-yu. LG sent pitcher Kim Dae-hyun, KT sent pitcher Bo Schulcer, Samsung sent outfielder Kim Sung-yoon, NC sent pitcher Lee Jun-ho, and Hanwha sent outfielder Kwon Kwang-min to the second team.
In the month of May, KIA struggled with a record of 8 wins, 11 losses, and a winning percentage of 4.32/1. As a result, KIA head coach Kim Jong-guk went under the knife to shake things up ahead of June.
The roster adjustments appear to be a strong message to the underperforming players. Of the five players expunged from the first team, three were first-team players.
Hwang Dae-in, an infielder in his seventh year as a professional, has been the starting first baseman since last year. In 129 games last season, he batted .259 (122-for-476) with 14 home runs, 91 RBIs, and 40 runs scored.
This season, however, he’s batted just 2-for-25 (118-for-25) with three home runs, 18 RBIs and 11 runs scored in 36 games. May was particularly disappointing, as he batted just 2-for-15 (9-for-45) with five RBIs and three runs scored in 15 games.
Closer Jung Hae-young was also shaky throughout May. In eight appearances during the month of May, he only lasted 6⅓ innings, and his ERA was a dismal 4.26. He also struck out just four batters as his velocity has dropped recently.
Anderson, who impressed in the opening month of April with a 3-2 record and 2.58 ERA in six starts, will also take a break. In May, he went four games without a win and took three losses, and his ERA soared to 7.71. He was particularly shaky against the Gwangju LG on 28 May, giving up six runs on four hits and four walks in three innings.
This season, KIA has struggled without its centrepiece hitters, including Na Sung-beom and Kim Do-young. They’ve been held together by Kim Sun-bin’s third-best batting average (3-for-2) and Choi Hyung-woo’s fifth-best batting average (3-for-1). However, the mound has been shaky with Anderson and Jeong Hae-young collapsing, so the team is in desperate need of a change of scenery.
It is also noticeable that KT has left foreign player Schuler out of the first team. Schuler went winless in five games (24⅔ innings) in May and struggled with an 8.39 ERA.