The Lotte Giants have suffered another injury. Lotte’s veteran infielder Jung Hoon (36) has been sidelined with a side injury. Jung-hoon complained of side pain while hitting a grounder to shortstop in the fourth inning 꽁머니 against the Incheon SSG on April 16. Afterward, Jung-hoon did not enter the defense and went straight to the dugout, complaining of pain. Earlier, on the 15th, he was substituted after hitting a pinch-hit double against resigned Hanwha, but this time the pain was of a different intensity.
Eventually, Jung-hoon underwent an MRI and was told he had a torn left side muscle and would miss at least three weeks. Jung-hoon started the first month of the season in a backup role, but struggled mightily, going 1-for-13 with a 7.7 OPS. He had an adjustment period in the second team for about a month, and when he returned, he showed off his batting average.
After returning to the first team on the first day, he batted 2-for-7 with six RBI (8-for-29) and five runs scored. He was especially 토토 가입머니 즉시지급 effective as a specialist, going 5-for-4 with an 8-for-8 slugging percentage as a pinch hitter. He was finally fulfilling the role Lotte originally expected him to play. The team as a whole was in a downward cycle, but Jung-hoon seemed to be keeping them from falling further.
But with his injury departure, Lotte has lost both a specialist and a leader. “He was a player that the players followed well, and he was the center of attention in the dugout, on the field, and in the locker room,” Sutton said, “and he did his part as a late-game defender and pinch-hitter, and we’re going to miss that.
In addition to Jeong-hoon, Lotte left pitcher Kim Do-gyu and Yoon Myung-jun out of the first team. Instead, they called up pitchers Kim Sang-soo and Kim Jin-wook and rookie infielder Jung Dae-sun.
Jung is expected to take on Jung-hoon’s role. Jung was drafted in the fifth round of this year’s rookie draft out of SeAd. Last year, he was named to the WBSC U-18 Baseball World Cup squad and was named to the best team.
This year in the Futures League, he batted 3-for-9 (30-for-97) with 15 RBIs and a .775 OPS in 27 games.